At the moment, I‘m in the middle of the worst phase of the semester: yes, you got it, the exam phase. But I have a few ideas about how to survive! Read on!
1. Take care of yourself
Try to eat nutritious food! Of course, a bar of chocolate can lift your mood and kick-start the brain; nevertheless, you shouldn’t eat too unhealthily, as this’ll just make you sluggish and tired. Eating nutritious foods will energize you and improve your concentration and memory. Another way to keep the brain awake, to relieve stress and to burn off the extra calories is exercising! Go for a jog in the park, do some yoga, play basketball or go to the fitness centre. However, everyone knows that time, usually around three or four o’clock in the afternoon, when you just can’t cram any more information into your brain. Your motivation has taken a turn for the worse, you’ve been reading the same page for an hour and you just seem to be stuck. So you slowly start to panic because you’re afraid you won’t finish or that you’ll fail. My tip: close the book, sit down, close your eyes and take three deep breaths. But the most important factor is sleep! Staying up all night is never a good idea. If you do, make sure you have time to take a power nap. Such sleep will improve the quality and effectiveness of your studying.
2. Talk to friends but ignore the panic
Talking to other students and friends about your feelings may help to reduce your stress levels, since most of them have “been there, done that”. But for some courses in which hundreds of students are preparing for the same test, they might cause “panic”. The origin of this panic is usually a lack of knowledge about the actual content of the exam and questions that could come up. Don’t listen to any theories spread on social media!
3. Experiment with different study methods
Research has shown that the human brain isn’t designed to focus on one specific topic for a long time. So work on a particular subject for an hour or two and then switch to another. And try to find out which learning type you are. Is it easier for you to remember stuff you have read, heard, watched or written?
4. Live!
No matter how ambitious you are and how much you want to have an A in the exam, don’t forget to live! Don’t give up on your passions and hobbies. Seek a healthy life balance.
5. TURN IT OFF!!
I’m not kidding. You know it needs to be done, so just do it. Turning off your social media for an entire week may not be realistic. But try to use it as a reward. At the same time, be careful with the “just for a moment” syndrome. We all know that “only reading a headline” can lead to watching crazy kitten videos and reading celebrity gossip for hours.
Author & Picture: Sarah Hilbich