Do you feel weighed down by the stress of ‘exam season’?
Do you find yourself increasingly unable to concentrate as the exams just keep coming?
Do you feel that even with all that last-minute cramming you’re doing, things are going horribly wrong?
Join the party.
Most of the students around you are feeling the same thing.
Except maybe the guy who’s always in first place and the guy who’s always the first one to disrupt class with his Zorro skit for his YouTube channel. But those are the exceptions that prove the law – students taking exams are stressed.
The first step in dealing with a problem is recognizing that you have the problem.
So, step one is cleared.
What’s step two?
Reading through the rest of this article and adopting the steps I suggest.
1 – Clear your desk
I’m no psychiatrist.
But I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that you keep cluttering your desk when you’re frustrated and your mind is cluttered.
You need to take back control.
Clear your desk, remove the clutter and take a deep breath.
You will feel your frustration melting away and your mind becoming more organized.
2 – Cut back on the caffeine
We’ve all done it.
Gulped down coffee to remain awake while we keep up the cramming.
Do it; but don’t overdo it.
Excessive caffeine intake can lead to heartburn/acid reflux, anxiety, restlessness and several other conditions which it’s safe to say you would want to avoid.
3 – Try to inspire yourself
This is a trick I used with great success during my own college days.
Write down ‘I Can Do It!’ on a large piece of paper and paste it in front of your desk.
So, every time you look up from your books, you see a positive message.
4 – Avoid the last-minute cramming
It’s a natural tendency to keep at your books till the last minute. You know, to ensure that you’ve looked up that last theorem you kept screwing up at tutorial.
I would not recommend it. Sure, if there is something you’re sure needs a little revision, look it up but do not keep scrolling through your notes books to see if there is anything you’ve forgotten completely or skipped completely during your preparation.
Take it from me, you’re never going to be able to study any fresh concept you’ve forgotten completely in one day or a few hours. If you want, just look up the basics, but do not spend a lot of time on it.
That’s because it becomes a vicious circle. The more you keep scrolling through your notes, the more you feel there is this thing or that thing you’ve forgotten completely and the more nervous it will make you…without adding to your preparation.
5 – Plan a reward for yourself when the exam gets over
Remember Will Smith’s Captain Steven Miller telling David Levinson that they were to smoke the victory cigars when ‘The Fat Lady Sings’ in the 1996 film Independence Day?
It’s always good to plan a reward for yourself for when the exam gets over. It gives you something to look forward to and an incentive to give your one hundred per cent to the exam. Would you really enjoy your reward if you knew you didn’t throw your entire effort into the exam?
- Plan for a movie night.
- Go axe throwing.
- Try to rob a bank.
- Binge-watch Slasher.
Whatever’s been your dream for a while now – plan on doing it.
Exams will always keep coming.
Even when you pass out of college and are working. There will always be projects to wrap up, deadline to meet; stress looms everywhere.
You need to keep calm, reinforce positive messaging, cut down on caffeine, avoid last-minute revisions or jitters and give yourself an incentive for working hard.
And you will succeed for sure.
