Tips for surviving exam season
Welcome back to my weekly blogs! This blog will find many of you bang in the middle of exam season, so I thought the most appropriate topic would be simply to talk about the best ways to survive exam season, whether you are sitting university exams, GCSEs, A Levels or even end of year mocks. Exams are difficult and take a toll on you mentally and physically, which is why taking care of yourself now is more important than ever. Below are some of the most important things to keep in mind:
1. Listen to your body
Exams are incredibly strenuous and tiring. You may have noticed that after an exam you feel far more drained and tired than you would studying for the same amount of time. This is because the intense focus, anxiety, stress and pressure all take a larger mental and therefore physical toll on you as the two are always linked. It is therefore important to listen to your body as you need extra care during this time. For example, I always found myself hungry after an exam as I felt physically exerted and drained despite not doing any physical activity. It is also important to give your body the rest it needs for extended exam seasons like GCSEs and A Levels are. For a lot of students, this may be the first exams they have done in a few years, so the adjustment will inevitably be challenging. Eating well, staying hydrated and getting enough sleep especially on exam days is incredibly important.
2. Plan your time
Especially for long exam seasons, you may still be working and revising on days between exams. Planning your time is especially important now as you need to schedule in sufficient time to rest and recover from exams. It is also useful to think strategically - in this time so close to the exam, focus on the topics or subjects that are soonest and the ones that you struggle with the most and could use the lookover. Make sure that you are not learning new content the night before the exam - by this time, you should know all of the content and be using this time to simply review and revise things.
3. Stress management
This is a stressful time and very taxing mentally. It is important that you are aware of how you are feeling and your wellbeing, and using methods to try and deal with some of that stress and anxiety. Different things will work for different people to destress, whether it is a hobby, a sport, catching up with friends or family or tasks that practise mindfulness like meditation. Managing stress effectively from the start of your exam season will stop you from getting burnt out quickly and allow you to survive this very stressful period better.
The most important thing I cannot stress enough is to take care of yourself. It may be tempting to spend all night revising for a test the next day, but it will be much better for your physical health, mental health, productivity in the exam and long-term productivity if you instead had a good night’s sleep. Schedule in break and rest time where you do something that is completely different from working to allow your brain a bit of a rest. Most importantly, if you feel tired, rest more. These are all preventative measures to stop you burning out early in your exam season and to ensure your wellbeing stays a priority, as it is sometimes easy to forget about it.