How to overcome Exam Stress?
Exams coming up? Sometimes the pressure of exams can cause stress.
There have been constant debates and discussions regarding the topic of whether exams are necessary for us or not. However, most of us might agree that it is absolutely necessary for us, for various reasons, like understanding where you belong, testing one’s caliber, and so on. But performing exams is not an easy task for everyone out there. For the ones who have been or are currently studying in their school or college can vouch for the fact that exams are student’s worst enemies.
At times, they can stress you out, bring out the worst in you, and can eventually lead to a meltdown just before the exam, thus ruining your entire academic career and opportunities. Exams tend to bring out an inherent fear in all of us. But until and unless you think of completely conquering that fear from your lives, you’ll never be able to overcome the exam anxiety, and this will only create more fear in the future.
If you are experiencing exam stress, it is important for you to remind yourself that this only a small part of your life. Working towards the exams can create a feeling of worry and being under pressure, especially at university or college, where you are aiming for a degree. So we’ve provided a range of things that can help you deal with the stress that you might be feeling right now…
Keep track
It is always advised to keep track of whatever is happening in all of your classes. Though, this does not mean that you are only listening to a few lectures and taking some notes in class. This majorly involves the understanding of where you stand with your lessons and knowing how far on the track you are, either personally or as a whole class. Thus, you need to keep track of whatever happens and goes on in your class because every inch of the thing that the teacher teaches you in the class is essential for your entire exam preparations. So make sure that you carry a little notebook with you in the class that doesn’t fall off the track and is also well appreciated for its efforts.
Plan everything
To ace exams without fear, all you need to do is to know what you are doing, even the last moment things. This will further help you to maintain your cool just before the exam. Make sure that you keep it necessary to plan things much ahead in time for your exam preparations. You also need to keep this thing in mind that planning does not actually mean starting with your preparations. Rather you should plan on things, like when to do what. Being more precise on it, you need to plan on when and how to prepare what portion of your text for exams.
Stick to your timetable
After planning everything with your preparations, it is essential for you to devise a timetable that can help you work more efficiently with your exams. Organizing a timetable during exams would help you to be in complete sync with your provided study material. This timetable, unlike the one that the university gives, should be more personalized and comfortable in nature, so that you do things greatly when preparing for exams.
Stick to your target
When you begin with your preparations for exams and create a timetable, it is important for you to stick to a particular target that you need to achieve during a day or a couple number of hours in order to actually go with the entirety of the plan.
Revise
When everything included in the preparation goes well, all you need to do is face the examination. But before that make sure you revise everything again to refresh your memory. Also, keep this thing in mind that revision is not something that you do in the eleventh hour. It needs to be done at least a few hours before you enter the examination center to avoid last-minute worries and panic attacks. There are also situations when you realize that you have left out a certain portion of the text unprepared or underprepared. No need to worry; you should always understand that there will be no good time that comes out of preparing it at the last minute, i.e. your revision time.
Ask for help
While preparing for exams, it is common that you might have some doubts regarding a particular portion, and you feel like a little pulled over to ask for help. Therefore, it is essential for you to get over the hesitation and ask for help from a fellow student or the concerned faculty. You can easily clear your doubts with friends when you prepare for exams in the group.
Sleep well
It is always advised to sleep well before exams, especially when you are undergoing some stress. When you are preparing for your exams, every effort you put in is totally acceptable if you go through a little stress that can be removed only when you sleep well at night. And for the ones who prepare at night and not early morning, it is advised that you can stay up all night, but not afford to miss a lot of sleep during this period.
Do not skip meals
Another most important thing that you need to keep in mind is that do not skip your meals while studying. Walking around in an empty stomach will only worsen your health, along with that added up exam stress. It is also equally important for you to drink a lot of water and keep yourself hydrated during the entire exam preparation.
Relax
When you are done with everything, including the planning, study time, timetables, and revision schedules, it is finally time for you to ace the examinations. In order to do that, make sure that you remain calm and patient in the exam hall. If you don’t know the answer to any question, do not worry; just take long, deep breaths and relax, and try to memorize the answer to that question. It is sometimes common that you might blank out of a certain portion of the study material. So close your eyes and try re-imagining your preparation that will help you to regain the most of it.
