28 Feb 2022
Overview
  • From getting back into old skills to blasting your fave tunes and boogieing your heart out, here's how to spend that "in-between" period after exams and before results are released. 🤩

Finishing the HSC seems like a far away and dream-like paradise now, but it comes sooner than you think. Everyone talks about what to do during Year 12, the best study methods and how to get your dream result, but no one talks about the in-between.

The “in-between” is the period of time between exams and when results are released around a month or so later. Going from 100% to nothing may seem easy, but studying for hours every day is harder to shake than you think.

So here are my top tips on what to do when you're stuck in limbo and anxiously waiting for your results.

1. Read for fun

Studying involves a lot of reading. Extracts, English texts, questions, answers and so much more. By the end of the day, you're sick of reading and writing. But reading a good book is the ultimate form of distraction. Start with your faves that you'll be able to read easily, then read whatever floats your boat -- it's not like they're needed on an upcoming exam! Hurrah! 

2. Binge watch your favourite tv show

Whether you have a Harry Potter movie marathon, binge-watch Friends for the 10th time or rewatch every season of Keeping up with the Kardashians, watching TV is a way to shut off your brain.

When you first press play, you may start stressing over not doing anything but don’t worry, it's just fake procrastination guilt. You don’t have to do anything so assume the position of a couch potato and relaaax.

3. Get back into a skill you didn’t have time for 

Studying will take up lots of your time, meaning doing what you love gets pushed to the side. Bake a ten-tiered cake. Go for a surf at your favourite beach that was too far to go to during the HSC. Destroy your friends in Mario Kart. Learn a new ukulele song. Whatever you missed, give it another go and spend some time on it!

4. Spend time with family and friends

You probably missed a few social events here and there as you were busy drowning in past papers. Go over to your grandparents for lunch. Go for a drive with mates. It can take a village to get you through, so giving your time to those who supported you is a way of saying thanks for the encouragement. 

5. Let out some stress 

Make a celebration Spotify playlist and sing or dance your heart out. Make a big bonfire and burn your past papers (not encouraging you to create a bush fire but it is satisfying to watch). Get a plate and use markers to write out all your frustration, then smash it. Box your heart out. Use a shredder to shred all your notes. Go for a bushwalk and once you are in the middle of nowhere scream or cry your heart out. Studying can give you a slow and steady build-up of stress over time until you don’t realise how much burden you are carrying so now it's over its time to off load. 

6. Re-organise your life

Since you're ending a chapter, it feels like it's time to do a mental and physical cleanout. Whether you're just cleaning out your socks or your entire room, throwing things out and re-organising cleans out your mind too. Cleaning might not have been a priority when you have a three-hour bio exam the next day and a floor-drobe might have developed, so give it to clean to give your mum some sanity.

Doing something is better than sitting and stressing about your results. Take the time to recharge and relax. You've earned it!!

Written by Nat Guyot