Exam Hacks Without All That BS

No matter how long your teacher or tutor has been geeing you up about your exams, there is no escaping the sheer stress and the “I-am-a-diamond-that-works-under-pressure” talk you give yourself, leading up to the exam period.

Now, you’ve probably read it all - get enough sleep, don’t cram the night before, rewrite your notes, yada yada yada. But there are plenty of easy tweaks and ways to adapt to your study habits other than some old codger telling you to get some shut-eye. 

Everybody learns differently - whether that’s visually (graphs and imagery), aurally (recordings and sound), verbally (in a learning environment) or written (learns best through text) so spend some time figuring out what works for you and you only.

Not sure if Kim K adapted the below but here’s how to feel a little more productive and confident going into your exams:

1. Don’t talk about how nervous, anxious and stressed you are

It can be tempting to chat away to your mates about how nervous and stressed you are for exams - sometimes it is quite relieving and reassuring knowing that your friends are struggling as well (to those friends that say they’re struggling but get an A+... we despise you). 

But for the most part, the level of stress and pressure is at an all-time high so do not fall into that collective hype. It gets you into an unhealthy state of mind. Make a pact as a group to not discuss exams and subjects outside of the classroom!

2. Try the Pomodoro technique in your next study sesh

Pick a specific task you want to study within one session, set the timer to 25 minutes, work on the task until the timer rings and then take a 5 minute break.

@wikkin enjoy watching the sunset ⭐️ #timelapse #study #sunset ♬ original sound - 𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓵𝓸𝓟𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓲𝔃a - Angelo 👾🇵🇭

After four pomodoro sessions, take a well deserved half an hour break. Working in short but productive spurts will leave you feeling productive and focused!

3. Explain the subject to your family

Describe the topic or subject to a family member that has no bloody idea what you’re talking about. Dumb it down like you’re trying to make your grandma understand - you’ll be bringing it back to the basics, plus hearing yourself talk about the key points outloud will help with long-term memory and recalling a lot easier.

4. Study at YOUR optimal times of the day

You’ve been studying long enough throughout high school to know when you’re switched on and when you’re about to glaze over. Whether that’s an early wake-up, straight after school or following a belly full of dinner - sit down and study at the times that work for you. Part-time work and family commitments may hinder this but as we all know, diamonds work under pressure so shine bright, baby.

5. Draw diagrams, pictures and tables

I am a visual learner so diagrams, tables and pictures (hell, even highlighted subheadings) for dot points are perfect for me - I don’t know about you but a whole block of text does not work for me. There are amazing apps on iPads for all you pretty note-taking folk out there but some pen and paper won’t go astray.

The lead up to exam time can be tough but with some low-level planning, you will come out feeling confident and knowing you did all that you could. Spend some time getting to know how you learn and study best and you’ll be on the road to success!