Exam Stress & Coping

Luckily this year I don't have any exams but I know plenty of people who are stressing out completely over the thought of the next two/three weeks filled with as/a2 and uni exams so I thought this little post would be a great help in the upcoming weeks! I used to get terribly nervous at school with the pressure of exams and doing well but a few years down the line I've learnt a few things to keep me calmer and less stressed around exam time & if someone had put one of these together a few years ago it probably would have probably helped me a lot! 

1. The most important thing is to keep organised, always find out exactly when your exams are and then make a revision timetable making it as realistic as possible - that way you'll having a better chance of sticking to it. Don't forget to pencil in things you can't avoid like appointments & most importantly sleep and then revise around that. If you do this well in advance, you can even make a countdown on an app or the old fashioned way on your calendar and give yourself more than enough time to write notes AND learn them, cramming last minute is never good! 

2. Make enough to do lists to last you a lifetime. If you need to write a to do list for how many sections you still have notes to write for or if there's something you don't understand and need to ask someone about, write it down, it keeps you on top of everything plus it's ever so satisfying scribbling out what you've completed. 

3. Put your social life on hold and stay off social media, you don't need distracting. This may sound like something your parents would say a lot but really putting two weeks aside to revise is beneficial in the long run, staying off Facebook or snapchat although we all love them, it'll do us a world of good not talking about pointless things instead of studying. Plus the way I see it after the two weeks you've got the entire summer to enjoy it with your friends and you'll know you've done your best in your exams, a win win really. 

4.  Write in blue and keep things pretty. I remember reading somewhere that writing in blue helps you learn things better, it must stand out on the page more, maybe it's phscological but I've definitely wrote all of my notes in blue since and it's seemed to have worked. Also highlighters, colourful post its and cute stationary are also a major motivator, if something looks nicer you're more likely to be drawn to it and important notes wrote on coloured paper or mates often stick in your head better because they stand out more.

5. Don't write too much, it's a thing. Sometimes writing notes seems ideal but know when to stop, usually 30 odd pages later and realise if you keep writing you'll find it impossible to actually learn the information on them. This just comes from looking at your notes and picking out only the real,y important pieces of information, there's no point learning stuff that you don't need, it'll only stress you out more! 

6. Find somewhere quiet. In the run up to exams these days I lock myself in my bedroom, literally and don't come out except for the odd meal break. It's really peaceful, I'm one of those people that needs silence to concentrate so find somewhere quiet to study like a local library - no matter how many times you try to argue you can learn with music on and earphones in, you can't really. 

7. Find out what works best for you. A lot of people (if they're not lucky enough to have photographic memory which I'm always jealous of) write plenty of notes and some people are lucky enough to learn as they do that, then some people re-read their notes and the new information and then there's me who practically reads everything until I've it all memorised and can rhyme it off near word for word. I know this doesn't work for a lot of others but it does for me, if only I'd of known this 5 years ago... Also diagrams can be a great help for learning key points but try & find out what works best and go with it. 

8. Recall things & test yourself. If you're stuck on something or can't remember something completely test yourself by doing the old school, learn, cover and write (or in this case recite the information) ask someone whether it be a friend, other half or family member to test you on it until you get it right. My mums been hassled enough over the years with "can you test me on this?", I'm surprised she hasn't hit me with something heavy just yet! 

9. Don't over panic!  If you set aside the time & learn your stuff for you exam you'll do wonderfully, don't panic or have a breakdown before the exam. You'll be surprised how much comes back to you when you're sitting in the exam hall p.s revising past papers also helps a lot too so you always know what to expect or the layout of the paper but other than that there's nothing you can do - cramming is never the option. 

So there's my exam tips and tricks that I hope come in handy to someone, I know this is length but hopefully it's worth reading if it helps & if you are sitting exams soon, good luck! 

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo 

P.s what're your exam tips and tricks? Are you panicking over upcoming exams? 

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