How To Not End Up Panicking When You Study.
Exam season is here guys! And you know what that means. Sleepless nights, lesser showers, binge eating and attempts at cramming that one topic you tried to avoid the entire year.
Nope, still not feeling it yet? Okay let's try again. Just add some peer pressure, family pressure, fear of failure and the fact that what you're studying has cost your parents A LOT. There you go! Sounds perfect, now you can hit the books. *silently cries*
Studying for exams is hard enough in itself, whether you're a first grader from school trying to differentiate "there" from "their" or a third year dental student trying to recognize and diagnose an ameloblastoma from a 10 year old X-ray. The latter would be my situation. There's too much pressure from everywhere. And you just don't know how to start, or where to start from. Well here's a quick and easy guide to help you get through AND to kick in that adrenaline to pick up your books.
1. Make a schedule.
And actually stick to it. This is a fool proof method only if you decide to follow it, and its not a very hard task to accomplish. Yes it is possible to make a plan and actually follow it if you've decided to. See which subjects trouble you the most and keep them on top, keep the topics you've avoided at the top as well and make sure you've allotted appropriate time for them. Vice versa.
Time consumed: max 1.5hrs with distractions
2. Organize and declutter.
Remember all those rough notes stuffed inside that torn apart book, which you placed in that shelf which you haven't touched in a while, because of the fear of getting into a book and junk avalanche? Yeah same.
Get rid of the unnecessary crap. Organize the important tidbits and staple or stick them in the book that you need to study from. Clean that shelf of books. Gather all your highlighters, pens and all those different colored markers and sticky notes. Now you'll have all your tools in one place when you sit to study. Cause if you're a lazy ass like me, you probably won't get up for that one perfect colored sticky note from the shelf and use the ugly one that's in more proximity - which will definitely give me a good amount of anxiety.
Time consumed: 1 hour without distractions
3. Know what's your best time.
Everyone has that one time of the day when they know they'll be most awake and productive. Some people are morning persons (bless them and their sacrifices, shout out to my best friend for this deed) but some are night owls. I'm not really a night owl. For example, I start studying after the last hour of loadshedding, even though i have a generator and all the lights and fans are working. That time usually works for me because i have no more background distractions that I've to eat, or get mom something or worry about some surprise guests. It's a peaceful timing for me and that's when I'd like to start. I would wind up my books always before 4 in the morning at most. So choose your practical peaceful hours according to what suits you and go for it!
Time consumed: debatable.
4. Keep your mind and body at peace.
I'd like to call these my study rituals. As overly efficient as it sounds, it really works out for me and I'm sure it would work for you guys too!
Time consumed: 30mins max.
5. Just start, goddamit!
Keep calm and start. Panic will hit you if you put those tough topics at the top, but you will definitely cover them once you've dedicated yourself to get it all done. Stick to the schedule, adjust and tweak it according to your saturation or any surprise events in between.
6. Avoid all nighters!
Please avoid all nighters unless you're in the middle of your exam timetable! Skipping sleep just puts more stress on you, and the chances of things going wrong under pressure are always high. I personally have never pulled it off and stayed up till my exam, because I just know that under that kind of pressure I will screw myself up. I do know many people who have done this and succeeded too, and that's totally fine too! But in my opinion, it's just not worth it. Better to work smart than to work hastily.
So guys I've mentioned everything that works for me here. Everyone has their own different way of hitting the books, and I'm sure they all work for them. I hope these little tidbits help you out too! Also wishing everyone a very best of luck for their final exams! May the odds ever be in our favor! 😁😁
Nope, still not feeling it yet? Okay let's try again. Just add some peer pressure, family pressure, fear of failure and the fact that what you're studying has cost your parents A LOT. There you go! Sounds perfect, now you can hit the books. *silently cries*
Studying for exams is hard enough in itself, whether you're a first grader from school trying to differentiate "there" from "their" or a third year dental student trying to recognize and diagnose an ameloblastoma from a 10 year old X-ray. The latter would be my situation. There's too much pressure from everywhere. And you just don't know how to start, or where to start from. Well here's a quick and easy guide to help you get through AND to kick in that adrenaline to pick up your books.
1. Make a schedule.
And actually stick to it. This is a fool proof method only if you decide to follow it, and its not a very hard task to accomplish. Yes it is possible to make a plan and actually follow it if you've decided to. See which subjects trouble you the most and keep them on top, keep the topics you've avoided at the top as well and make sure you've allotted appropriate time for them. Vice versa.
2. Organize and declutter.
Remember all those rough notes stuffed inside that torn apart book, which you placed in that shelf which you haven't touched in a while, because of the fear of getting into a book and junk avalanche? Yeah same.
Get rid of the unnecessary crap. Organize the important tidbits and staple or stick them in the book that you need to study from. Clean that shelf of books. Gather all your highlighters, pens and all those different colored markers and sticky notes. Now you'll have all your tools in one place when you sit to study. Cause if you're a lazy ass like me, you probably won't get up for that one perfect colored sticky note from the shelf and use the ugly one that's in more proximity - which will definitely give me a good amount of anxiety.
Time consumed: 1 hour without distractions
3. Know what's your best time.
Everyone has that one time of the day when they know they'll be most awake and productive. Some people are morning persons (bless them and their sacrifices, shout out to my best friend for this deed) but some are night owls. I'm not really a night owl. For example, I start studying after the last hour of loadshedding, even though i have a generator and all the lights and fans are working. That time usually works for me because i have no more background distractions that I've to eat, or get mom something or worry about some surprise guests. It's a peaceful timing for me and that's when I'd like to start. I would wind up my books always before 4 in the morning at most. So choose your practical peaceful hours according to what suits you and go for it!
Time consumed: debatable.
4. Keep your mind and body at peace.
I'd like to call these my study rituals. As overly efficient as it sounds, it really works out for me and I'm sure it would work for you guys too!
- Take a shower (unless you tend to get sleepy after showers like me) or give yourself a quick freshening to feel more awake.
- Change into your most worn out and comfortable PJ's so you don't fidget with yourself.
- Make sure you've had your meal before you start! I hate getting up or getting called to eat when I'm studying, and studying on an empty stomach- that's just a big no for me. It's distracting and frustrating.
Time consumed: 30mins max.
5. Just start, goddamit!
Keep calm and start. Panic will hit you if you put those tough topics at the top, but you will definitely cover them once you've dedicated yourself to get it all done. Stick to the schedule, adjust and tweak it according to your saturation or any surprise events in between.
6. Avoid all nighters!
Please avoid all nighters unless you're in the middle of your exam timetable! Skipping sleep just puts more stress on you, and the chances of things going wrong under pressure are always high. I personally have never pulled it off and stayed up till my exam, because I just know that under that kind of pressure I will screw myself up. I do know many people who have done this and succeeded too, and that's totally fine too! But in my opinion, it's just not worth it. Better to work smart than to work hastily.
So guys I've mentioned everything that works for me here. Everyone has their own different way of hitting the books, and I'm sure they all work for them. I hope these little tidbits help you out too! Also wishing everyone a very best of luck for their final exams! May the odds ever be in our favor! 😁😁
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