The Xero Blog
IB study and training advice from someone actually doing both — no recycled study-tips listicles.
Training 5×/week during the IB: the schedule that actually survives
A real weekly layout for combining the IB Diploma with serious training — including what to drop when a deadline week hits.
ManageBac tips nobody tells you
Small ManageBac habits that stop deadlines from ambushing you — from calendar exports to the deadline types teachers forget to post.
An Extended Essay timeline that doesn’t ruin your summer
Work backwards from your school’s deadlines: a month-by-month EE plan with the two milestones that actually matter.
Using AI in the IB: what’s allowed, what gets flagged, and where it actually helps
The IB’s academic integrity policy treats AI like any outside source. Here’s the practical line — and the uses that are both allowed and genuinely useful.
IB burnout: the early signs and the first three things to change
Burnout doesn’t start with collapse — it starts with small slips. What to watch for, and the highest-leverage fixes.
The past-paper method: how to use them so the marks actually move
Doing papers isn’t the strategy — what you do in the 30 minutes after is. A concrete weekly routine for the final stretch.
How IB predicted grades work — and how to move yours
Who sets them, what evidence teachers actually use, when they’re sent to universities, and the realistic window to change them.
Sleep is a study strategy: what training taught me about the IB
Athletes treat sleep as recovery. Students treat it as spare capacity. The athletes are right — here’s how to protect it in a deadline week.
Should you keep lifting during IB exam season?
Yes — but not your normal program. How to cut volume without losing strength, and why zero training usually backfires in exam month.
Choosing IB subjects when you also compete in sport
The workload isn’t evenly distributed across subjects. How to build a six-subject package that leaves room for training.