Ah, student life. The learning, the books, the endless studying… Yep, it’s all coming back to me.
I’m preparing for a certification course and the first thing we’re doing is writing an exam. It’s on stuff I’m not well-versed in, so I’m doing some major studying. I feel like a student again, sitting at this table, surrounded by textbooks and notebooks and discarded loose-leaf. I’m resorting to all my old study tricks, like chewing ridiculous amounts of gum, writing the same thing over and over again in the hopes that it will stick, and jamming to long song mixes on YouTube to drown out the TV in the other room.
It makes me feel for all you student types out there, about to start or already in the midst of final exams. It can be a stressful time (even more stressful than the second week of school that I mentioned in this post here).
As someone who’s taken part in several exam periods, here is some advice for you:
Plan ahead
Grab your day planner, or print out a calendar and write down all the times you’re going to study. Give yourself breaks in there, time to eat, time to go for a walk or workout, time for a social life. But stick to that schedule!
Know when you need to take a break
Nobody can study 24/7 and not take a hit to their health and well-being. Please please please, for the love of all that is good, take a break! You can go grab a coffee with your friends. You can go to the gym. You can play video games for a bit. Do whatever it is that lets you unwind and feel refreshed for the next study session. Please.
Do not resort to pop and Kraft Dinner as your only sources of sustenance
I’m not saying no pop or Kraft Dinner at all. Relax. But throw some broccoli and chicken in there, too.
Don’t freak out!
DON’T FREAK OUT! Oh, sorry. Don’t freak out. You’re going to be fine. And if you know that you’re really really not going to be fine, then accept your fate. Go eat some Kraft Dinner to feel better.
Reward yourself along the way
I am definitely going to celebrate after the (successful?!) completion of this exam I’m studying for. Probably with an ice cream. It’s good for your morale to reward yourself after some hard work.
I’ll see you on the other side! Good luck to all those writing exams over the next while.
Heather
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