01 Aug 2019

High school is a ticking time bomb full of stress leading up to the final exams explosion and in the last few months, you would have been able to feel the pressure building. After trials and major works and final assignments are finally done, there is a very tiny window of time before final exams start. You need to take advantage of this time to relax and release some of the tension before you start clogging your brain up with information again.

What? That sounds counterintuitive, right? Surely at this point in the year, you need to be studying as much as you breathe...? But if don't give yourself at least a small grace period between trials and the final exams to wind down and recharge, you're gonna boil over from the pressure you're putting yourself under. 

Basically, take a dang break before final exams start. It will be way more beneficial than simply powering through to the end of finals. 

 

And I'm not talking a quick snack break either. I'm talking as much as you can get - a day, a weekend, take a whole bloody week if you think your studies can handle it. Watch some TV, play some guitar, paint, meditate, get outside, see your mates, do whatever works for ya when it comes to relaxing. 

By taking the time off to have some fun, when it comes time to get back to studying for the final exams, your concentration, productivity and time efficiency will have improved. Also, just having some fun is essential for being happy (duh) and I don't know about you, but studying isn't exactly music to my ears. Burdening my brain and body by sitting in the same spot for hours and hours and reading over notes sucks, there's no denying it. So taking time to distract my brain from textbooks, prescripted texts, formulas and the works is well-deserved.

Even once exam period has started, finding at least some time to hang with friends and family, go to the beach, see a movie or go out for a delicious meal will relieve stress, distracting your mind from the impending doom that is your final exams. If you walk into a test feeling frazzled as hell, lugging all your highlighted notes and mumbling memorised material like a madman, you will inevitably stress yourself out. But if you've studied a fair amount as well as given yourself regular breaks, you'll walk into that exam hall with a clearer, fresher mind. I literally went for a dip at the beach before a few HSC tests to zen me and it truly helped. Just push the books aside for a while, live in the moment and treat yo'self!

Look, exams are important, but they're not everything. Don't beat yourself up if you're not able to sit for ten hours at a time, cramming as much information as possible. There's a lot of pressure around exam period to sit inside all day and study but, by taking a break from the books and getting out there in the world, you'll be surprised just how much easier studying will be.