Exam tips and tricks - staying positive and productive!
- Kaylee Mak-lin
- Nov 23
- 3 min read
Exam season is right around the corner and it becomes a stressful time period for many of us. Although the outdoors may not be in our best favor since it’s always dark and gloomy now, it’s important we stay positive and keep a productive mindset going into exams and studying.
Firstly, how can you stay productive during this time? I know as much as the next person that it feels like you are almost done so you might choose to slack off a little, but in fact think of this as the final lap and give it your all. To stay productive it’s important to put yourself in the mindset to study, you can do this by changing your study environment to best suit your needs, set up a study schedule and stick to it, give yourself breaks and stay on top of your mental and physical health.
Your environment can play a major role in effective and productive studying, it is best to eliminate all distractions surrounding you. This might mean studying at a quiet cafe, being away from devices such as your phones, listening to calm music, or working at a clean desk. Change your space to best suit you and how you work best.
A study schedule is a great way to stay on top of tasks, some people use planners, calendars or to do lists - at the end of the day they all have the same goal: keep you on track with your daily goals. Setting daily goals is a great way to make sure you are learning sooner rather than later. Give yourself enough time to go over the material, review, and have time to ask questions if you are confused – do not study last minute and cram! Having a tracker and a schedule is great but it’s important that you stick to it, make sure you are actually following the schedule. You know yourself best so how much one person might need to study does not always correlate with your needs. Organize your schedule in a way that you understand and this will help you in the long run keeping yourself accountable on what you have studied versus not.
Giving yourself breaks is also very important. This varies with every person, some people find it helpful to study for long periods and take one large break, while others find it best to study for a slightly shorter amount of time and take shorter breaks. Find what works best for your mindset and stick to it. A break however should not be going on your phone and distracting yourself, you aren’t actively studying but phone distractions should still be kept away. Instead, you can go on a walk, grab a snack or eat food, or do some exercise. Eventually once you have completed your daily or weekly goals, you can also motivate yourself by allowing yourself rewards. By giving yourself an end goal reward, you will be motivated to work harder to reach and earn that.
Now, secondly, staying positive during this time is equally as important. Time-management is key during this period, but allot yourself time to still have fun. Give yourself small rewards for finishing certain tasks and keep on top of your mental and physical health. There should be a good balance between your personal life and working hard to study. Negative mindsets won’t push you to work hard in the way positive mindsets do, by keeping a positive mindset you can reduce stress and anxiety, and increase your focus and memory.
Everyone is different and we all learn and study differently, take these tips and tricks and make them your own during exams! A grade does not define who you are, there is always room for failure and improvement. Do your best and study hard, I am wishing for everyone's success!
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