I'm currently in my fourth and final year at university and my exam timetable for my finals in April / May was published today - yikes! It got me thinking that as it comes to the dreaded exam time of year we all could use a bit of exam study motivation. I also thought it would be a good idea to share some tips and advice to get us through exam season together!
1. Do something today you'll thank yourself for tomorrow.
Every single thing you study today will take the weight off as exams approach. Too many times have we all said to ourselves "I wish I started studying earlier". The truth is it can never be too early to start studying. Even if you forget what you've learnt (which is most people's excuse to not start "too early"), it will make it easier for our brains to handle when we learn it the second time around. It saves panic - "I've never seen this before!" and will increase confidence for exams.
2. Climbing a mountain is just taking a series of steps, one after another.
I have entire degree to pass.
It consists of 7 exams.
Each exam is based on a course.
Each course has 7 chapters.
Each chapter has an exercise sheet.
Each exercise sheet has 10 questions.
Now that seems a lot more manageable than an entire degree right?
Climbing a mountain can seem extremely daunting, but when you break it down into individual steps, it immediately appears easier. Take this approach to studying the same thing will happen. You will feel calmer, have a clearer head and in turn will be more productive
3. Have a plan.
-This follows from the above step. In my experience, when I sit down at my desk and say "I'm going to study course X today" I end up aimlessly wondering about my lecture notes and examples waiting for lunch time. If you make a plan, it makes studying much more productive. E.g. Course X has 7 exercise sheets and there are 7 days until the exam, then I must complete 1 exercise sheet per day (although in reality that would be cutting revision a bit fine but you get the idea). Work out everything you need to cover for the exam well in advance and split it up into manageable chunks, working out how many chunks you need to cover in a set space of time.
-Make a realistic study timetable. With all of the above in mind make a study time table that you know you can actually stick to. If you say you'll study all day everyday from 9am until 9pm, chances are you won't. Everyone studies in a different way - and that's ok! Personally, I study best in the morning. I start studying at 8am and do it in 40min intervals with a 15min break in between when I get up and leave my desk and stretch my muscles. I try and take 1.5 hours for lunch and 2 hours for tea. I then stop studying at 8pm.
This might seem like a bit of a relaxed approach - but if I try and do anymore than that I end up procrastinating (a student's worst enemy). Similarly you have to find out what works best for you and just go with it :)!
4. Eat well / Sleep well.
This is probably the most boring and obvious, but perhaps the most important. All of the above can only work if you eat and sleep well. A balanced diet - 5 a day and lots of water, and plenty of sleep (8hours is ideal).
5. Be Patient. Persevere.
This is why starting sooner is better. If you're like me you'll perhaps start you're revision thinking "what on Earth is going on?". Be patient, if you try and rush your revision it'll never sink in, but if you take breaks and keep coming back to it each day and give your best effort, eventually it will sink it. For example, I wrote my dissertation over 10 months. For the first 8, I won't lie, I didn't really get what was going on. After a lot of perseverance, in the final 2 months it all started to come together. This didn't happen overnight but slowly but surely I started to understand what was going on and in the end I was really happy with it. Be patient. Persevere. Don't give up.
On a final note - there will be days when you just don't get any work done and end up procrastinating all day. If you find yourself doing this - walk away from studying. Enjoy the day doing things you love, meet with friends, have a nice bath, watch a good film. This will be more productive for your well-being that sitting on Facebook all day. Golden rule is that you don't beat yourself up if your studying hasn't gone to plan. It happens to everyone and we can't help it - we are just human (as long as you stick to productive studying most other days ;) ). As my dad always says "tomorrow's another day".
Other than that I will leave you with some motivational quotes courtesy of Pintrest. If you have any good study tips it would be great for you to share them! x
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