15 Oct 2014

It’s what you all want to hear–taking time out of studying is just as vital to your exams as studying. That doesn’t mean doing jack shit and hoping you get great marks whilst going out every single Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, with lunch dates scheduled every other day. No, sorry, I wish that were the case (If that had of been I would have gotten 100% on any test I’ve ever done).

What it’s about is being mentally energised. It means you still have to spend a significant amount of time studying, but that it is important for you to also balance it out by giving yourself some time to gather yourself and your thoughts.

A lot of people stress themselves out when they lock themselves in a room for hours on end trying to cram in every bit of content, but when they pull themselves away they realise they haven’t actually got that much done. Like those times when you stare at your open document for an assignment and after half an hour you’ve only managed to write the title.

What I've found is that, even though it will give me less time to study or do an assignment, when I take some time out to unwind, I end up with better quality work.

We need to take time out to refresh ourselves and recuperate. Go for a walk, listen to some music, call your friend and have a chat, go out and grab some dinner–do whatever it takes for that mental tension to evaporate, so that when you get back to it you are fresh and reinvigorated, ready to approach your studies with a clear mind and a positive attitude.

Just as you get writers block, you are likely to get study block, where if you sit in a place of complete and utter frustration you will block the energy of the information that could flow freely to you. If you take some time out to breath however, your mind will open and be more willing to operate in full force.

Research has also clarified that even when we sleep, daydream or relax our brain doesn’t stop working or slow down, in fact it does the opposite, when we do so our subconscious mind acts by working out complex problems that consciously we could not solve, we come up with new ideas ( a lot of books and movies were inspired by dreams) and also allows the information we just studied to be retained as it is embedded deep within our minds.

So it really is important to stay mentally sane throughout the insanity of your final exams and to not feel guilty if you give yourself some time out.