Exam season can be a tricky time because, you want to do your absolute best in exams, but not to the compromise of your well-being! Having done my GCSE and AS exams, by the time it came to my final A-Level exams, I felt I was better at revising for longer periods of time without feeling overwhelmed and burned out. Here are some tips that I think helped me throughout the year, but particularly in the May/June before my exams: 1. Have a plan but also schedule in breaks- and plan what to do in your break! We all know that breaks are important when revising so you don't 'overwork' yourself and to give your brain a rest, but it's important to make sure a break is really a break. Before I became more aware and mindful of this, during my breaks I would be waiting for the break to finish. I would mindlessly check my phone and grab a quick drink, but I'd often feel a sense of guilt and not be relaxing at all! I've found that planning breaks not only helps me to enjoy my break more, but also to study more productively both before and after my break.
Break ideas may include:
Going for a walk
Yoga
Doing a workout
Watching a YouTube video- I often like watching organisation or 'girl boss' type videos, I feel that watching other people being productive makes me want to do the same! I don't tend to watch 'study with me' type videos in my breaks as I don't want to compare myself to other students!
Tidy your deskspace
Play with a pet
2. Track your progress I like to track my revision to visibly see all the work you have done. I think this helps to prevent feeling guilty for having an off-day or taking a break, as you get to see all the topics you have successfully revised already. Using the Forest App is a good way to do this, you can see all of your hours of revision built up over the year.. and every study session results in a pretty tree growing :) Ticking things off timetables is also a good way to track progress, and keep all of your old timetables together so you can flick through them every now and again, just to appreciate all of your hard work. 3. Talk to friends who are also doing exams to realise you're not alone and everyone is still in the same boat. It's easy to become isolated in exam season and feel like you're the only one struggling to sit and revise, so definitely try and take out 30 minutes or so to text or phone a friend!! 4. Write down what's on your mind to stop your brain becoming overwhelmed which could lead to you becoming stressed and burnt out. Have a notebook where you can just scribble down anything on your mind. This could be revision-related e.g. topics you are struggling with and want to revisit, or anything else that is on your mind! Don't beat yourself up for struggling to revise or feeling burnt out, it is totally NORMAL! Take a break, be mindful and appreciative of everything in your life, give yourself a little reboot and write to-do lists and tidy your desk space, and get back to it when you are ready! Best of luck. Jasmine x
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