Posted on 31st May 2012

Staying sane…

How to keep going during exam leave…

For some lucky students exam season is all over, but many of you won’t finish until the end of June, which can feel like aeons away, especially if you’ve been revising hard for a couple of months already. It is very easy to go a little bit crazy wile revising; all of those long days spent alone either in a library or at your desk, drinking in so much information and worrying about whether you’re preparing in the right way. If you feel like you’re going a bit doolally, here are some tips to help you out. Remember, if you’re really struggling it’s still not too late to give us a call and we can arrange for one of our very experience tutors to come and give you a hand with preparing for the exams in these final few weeks. Good luck!

1. Don’t beat yourself up if you are finding it hard to focus all day long. In fact it is pretty impossible to revise well for hour after our after hour. Find out when you work best and structure a sensible six to eight hours a day around when you can concentrate best. Perhaps you find it easiest to do three hours in the morning, spend the middle of the day doing other things and then a final few hours late afternoon, before and evening of relaxing and recharging.
2. Make your revision breaks actual breaks! There’s no point taking a break if you don’t stop thinking about your revision. Find things that really take your mind off your work; dance classes are great because you have to focus your mind on the steps so are distracted, and you get some exercise, which is always a good thing.
3. Steer clear of stimulants and pills that are said to help you focus. These really are not good for you at all.
4. Keep eating healthily! While you may want to boost flagging energy levels with sweets and junk food, these will cause havoc with your blood sugar. Eat plenty of protein, fruit and vegetables and complex carbs. It’s also good to eat little and often, rather than stuff yourself with huge meals every now and again.
5. Stay organised! You will feel so much more in control of your revision if you keep detailed lists of what you have done and what you still need to do.
6. Keep things in perspective! Yes, exams are really important, but they are also not a matter of life and death, and so you need to keep things in perspective. Nothing disastrous will happen if you don’t do as well as you hope, so just try and stay calm and do your best, and not get too anxious about the results.
7. Exercise really will help you feel better and perform better as well so go for walks, a swim, a game of tennis… whatever you fancy. Try and get at least an hour of physical activity each day. This doesn’t need to be an hour on a treadmill, but could be a 30 minute walk around the park with your dog in the morning and then a gentle cycle for 30 minutes in the afternoon.
8. Lastly, make sure you get enough sleep so that you can really rest at night. Having a warm bath, or listening to some classical music before you hit the hay will also help you to relax.