Exam stress. Everyone goes through it whether they want to
or not (and whether they realise it or not) and it can make the weeks leading
up to those few hours absolute hell. Maybe you’re one of those people that
stresses out loads before the exam, only to be deadly calm when sat behind the
desk, or maybe you’re someone who seems entirely unbothered right until your
legs start quaking under the table. However you stress, it’s fine- it’s a
completely natural response to can be entirely terrifying.
The standard advice for stress is to make sure you’re
spending time away from the sources of your stress, getting exercise, eating
and drinking healthily, socialising and seeing the GP if it gets a bit too
overwhelming. Those are the basics, but there’s ways to make even those steps
even easier. Combine time away from studying with getting a healthy meal and
seeing friends. Socialise while you exercise (or if you’re ungraceful at
exercise like me, run home from wherever you go to socialise so that nobody
sees your red face!). If you struggle to
eat healthily around exams, don’t beat yourself up about it. Make it easier for
yourself and set time aside at the beginning of the week to prepare healthy
(but still enjoyable, you need that in times of stress) meals. Vegetable
fajitas are a good one, as are soups and veggies with dip.
Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t maintain a routine
around studying. Maybe you tend to go to an exercise class once a week or you’re
found in the cinema every Friday. These things are important to keep up but
they’re not the be all and end all- but then neither are exams. The key is to
strike a healthy balance between working and looking after yourself. If you
think of your brain like a sponge, it’s not likely to absorb any more water if
you’ve been soaking it for three hours. Go out, get some air, watch TV or chat
to a friend and let all that information soak in so that you’re ready to absorb
more later on. You might think you need to spend hours on end in front of your
notes, but once it starts to become ineffective because you’re overwhelmed, you’re
just wasting time you could be spending catching up on Agents of SHIELD. See
revision as that perfect time to also perfect your nap technique. Sleep helps
you consolidate your learning- so snuggle up with that duvet, it’s all part of
the process.
A lot of stress can come from feelings of not being in
control. This can be overcome with good organisation and planning- if by the
exam you know you’ve done everything you need to, you’re bound to feel more
relaxed. Work out how long you have until your exams and use these dates to
plan in a deadline. Spread your revision out over those days and it’ll seem
like much less work than if you cram it all in last minute. Break your exams
down- where are the marks allocated? There’s no point revising something you
don’t understand if it’s worth two marks and you could be nailing those two
marks if you revise something you do know. You can’t learn everything, much as
we’d all like to. Split your revision up by topic and try and do different
topics each day- that way if you’re struggling with something, it’s only a
matter of time before you can move onto something else that you do understand.
Make use of your lecturers, classmates and tutors. They’re
at university to help you learn or to learn themselves, and teaching is one of
the best methods to do so- so ask them to teach you. It might just be that
hearing it said in someone else’s voice is enough to get it stuck in your head.
Perhaps they have a memorable accent or like to make it into funny songs. Maybe
they have a really random way of thinking that just suits you better- whatever
it is, it’s worth finding out if they can help.
Don’t set yourself ridiculous amounts of work and cut out
all fun things. Nobody can work for ten hours a day no matter what they claim-
and the people who sit in libraries for ten hours just keep those seats warm
for a really long time and don’t actually achieve that much. They also terrify
those of us who are actually get stuff done, which is entirely unproductive
because hey, we’re getting stuff done. Then again, if you actually can work for
ten hours solid, well done you- but go for a swim afterwards or watch a movie
because your brain will need a rest. Nobody is impervious to burnout, not even
the medics who basically live in the library.
And finally, remember these (and I’m a medic, so I can’t
lie):
-
Exams aren’t everything. Retakes are a thing,
employers won’t look at your marks, and grades don’t define who you are. Maybe
you’re an excellent pianist, but you can’t see that on a biology paper. Perhaps
you’re an amazing volunteer or the kindest person to have ever walked the
Earth, but that won’t show up on a maths test.
-
Think about how far you’ve come. You’re at
university! You have a 100% success rate for days lived! You have made it
through those awkward teenage years! You’re living in an age where your tweets
will never be as weird as Kanye West’s!
You got this.
LOVE KATIE XOXOXOXOXO
