Exams horrify almost every student, no matter how good they are. Maybe it’s the fear of failure that paralyzes us, making us unable to prepare beforehand, maybe it’s our insecurities, maybe it’s our inability to concentrate or something else – in each and every case the reason is different. No matter what this reason is, it still exists, complicating your preparation process greatly.
However, it’s not the end of the world (even if it might seem so). Preparation is the only thing that can help you overcome this fear of the upcoming exam: there’s nothing to be afraid of if you are well prepared. And I’m going to help you to do so. Here’s your free guide that hopefully will help you to prepare for the exams well.
1. Keep your place clean and organized:
Imagine you’ve finally found some time to study (or it simply cannot wait anymore). You go to your desk… and spend the next fifteen minutes at least searching for the things you need: your textbooks, your pens and so on.
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Devil is in the details, they say. You might think that a messy room won’t affect your studying process, but actually, it can. If you don’t keep your college things in one place, you’ll waste a lot of precious time searching for them, and if you get distracted easily, a mess can become your worst enemy. Imagine rumbling through your papers in order to find something, finding a flyer and then spending some time daydreaming about visiting this event.
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To avoid this, spend 15-30 minutes every day cleaning your room. It won’t take much time (assuming the general cleaning is already done), but it will do you so many good. First, you will remember where you keep anything: this will help you to save time on preparation. Second, a clean table can hardly be a distraction.
2. Plan things well:
Most of the students are afraid of exams because they have so many things to do and learn. They probably wouldn’t dread the upcoming exams so much if they already had something done.
Putting things off is one of the worst things we can do to ourselves, yet many students keep repeating this mistake over and over. If you are tired of seeing how your homework piles up on your desk, change it: buy a planner and divide all your assignments into small parts. An hour of reading every day can save you two or three nights of sleep and even a huge essay is easier to write when you have to spend only 20 minutes a day on it.
Not all of us know how to plan things well, yes. However, it’s a skill that can be mastered. The important thing here is to find out how much time it takes for you to write an essay or to complete another assignment: you can do that if you track your time and make notes.
Use all this knowledge to make a preparation plan: set priorities, study the most complicated topics first and divide the work well.
3. Attitude matters:
It can be hard to focus on studying if you are too nervous, too afraid and so on. Your thoughts can wander and your feelings can distract you. Accept the fact that this is completely normal, but try to distract yourself from such thoughts at the same time. Set a time limit during which you’ll be focusing on studying only and promise yourself that you’ll truly concentrate on studying during this time, not allowing yourself to be distracted by your emotions. Remember: your goal is not to spend a certain amount of time studying, but to do it well. Quality is as important as a time spent.
4. Take care of your health:
This might seem strange, as at first look health doesn’t seem to be related to exams at all. However, it is important too: it would be hard for you to concentrate on studying if you hadn’t had much sleep, if you feel exhausted or if your brain just doesn’t seem to work well enough. That’s why to try rest and sleep enough before the final preparation time comes, eat well, avoid sweets and junk food as they don’t give you much energy. While working out is good in general, try to avoid intensive workouts before exams as they tire you a lot too. And don’t forget to take care of your mental health as well: find some motivation and inspiration in your daily life.
As you see, successful preparation depends on some many things, and your ability to organize yourself as well as to build the right attitude often matters more than the time you spend on studying. I hope that you’ll use this advice and ace your exams! Good luck!
