{"id":1665,"date":"2018-04-11T22:28:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T21:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/?p=1665"},"modified":"2018-04-17T13:11:19","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T12:11:19","slug":"five-tactics-to-tackle-exam-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/2018\/04\/11\/five-tactics-to-tackle-exam-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Five tactics to tackle exam season"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s tha<\/strong>t time again; Exam Season<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Coffee marathons.<\/p>\n

Heavy eyelids with a couple of yawns every twenty\u00a0mins \u2013 don\u2019t forget the designer bags under those eye lids. They come as a special\u00a0bonus.<\/p>\n

Last but certainly not least – sleepless nights.<\/p>\n

This, dear friends is an apt description of\u00a0exam season.<\/p>\n

If university has taught me anything \u2013 besides how to get out of bed, get dressed and ready for my 9am – 6pm day in five\u00a0minutes from a previous all-nighter\u00a0then it\u2019s this.<\/p>\n

Plan, prioritise, perform, practice<\/strong> \u2013 the 4 -golden p\u2019s if you will. If I had the chance, I would have my former self memorise this motto.<\/p>\n

With every academic year, exam season\u00a0dutifully rolls around and they are just like that annoying cousin that comes by to visit a couple of times a year. You\u2019re aware that their visit is impending but time chooses to take on the spirit of Usain Bolt and sprint right by your face. Before you know it, he\/she is knocking on your doorstep.<\/p>\n

Before you know it, you\u2019ve made the tragic mistake of blinking and suddenly January is now April and you what you had thought was months and months away is weeks away. This is typically the time where some students will set up camp in the library (thank you Drill Hall Library for open door 24\/7). For others, caffeine has\u00a0become the non-negotiable fuel of choice and the concepts of resting eyelids and peaceful interrupted naps are foreign to the average stressed student. Submission dates and deadlines are the new mantra.<\/p>\n

Welcome to university life \u2013 exam season 101.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re slowly feeling the pressure with the workload your course is handing you or you\u2019re struggling to know how to approach your studying for exams, here are few tips that have helped me navigate the tumultuous waters of exam season.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NUMBER ONE: Deep breaths<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Breathe in<\/strong><\/p>\n

Breathe out<\/strong><\/p>\n

A simple two second action with a ripple effect.<\/p>\n

The action seems self-explanatory, but its value holds true. It’s important to realise that in a time where sometimes students can feel like exam season preparation can be hectic, stressful and controlling\u00a0we can, in the same way utilize and take charge of\u00a0this\u00a0stress to serve as an impetus. Stress is inevitable but stress-induced fear and anxiety can become crippling. It’s important to know that being calm and centering yourself can be a great way to reboot your mind and help redirect you remind back to a good study session. Instead of letting stress take the steering wheel, take a step back, take a deep breath and use it that \u201cstress\u201d as a positive motivator to steer yourself into productive study period.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NUMBER TWO: Write down everything you need to\u2026. Everything!<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Oh yeah, I\u2019ll remember that\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The one mistake students make is creating mental tabs of tasks we need to.\u00a0I encourage everyone, student or not to get into the\u00a0habit of writing\u00a0down every task that needs to be done.<\/p>\n

Get out a pen, piece of paper\/notebook\/ the\u00a0planner you bought last year that’s still shiny and brand new from it’s lack of use\u00a0and begin to record every activity you need to accomplish. Google calendar is a great but\u00a0simple tool that allows you to make to-do lists. You can put them order of priority (one of the golden p\u2019s), tick them of as you go and put additional reminders on each task. With a plethora of activities that can be thrown at us whether it be course assignments or projects for certain modules or essays\/mock examinations\/personal tutor appointments its incredibly easy to use the line \u201cOh yeah, I\u2019ll remember that\u201d only to draw near to the deadline and realise that you\u2019ve left that piece of work late. Mental tabs have a short expiry date and unless you\u2019ve been blessed with the gift of impeccable eidetic memory chances are you will be left juggling a hundred and one tasks in your mind without realising that you\u2019ve dropped the ball on one task due.<\/p>\n

Forget mental tabs \u2013 take the mental tab from out of your head and onto a visible source that you can refer back to.<\/p>\n

Three key words \u2013 write down everything!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NUMBER THREE: Work in short bursts \u2013 but it make count<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Set your timer – 25 minutes of work time\/study time\u00a0and a five min break. With regards to efficiency, working in short bursts supersedes the infamous 12-hour cram session that some students tend to boast about. Your ability to assimilate and retain information efficiently is done best by the work and rest technique. Aim to make your study time\/work time fully productive.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The act of being productive and feeling productive (pseudo work) are distinct in nature. Sometimes we can get carried away with the feeling of being productive whilst\u00a0the quality of our work yields little result. I read an article written by Dr. Cal Newport, an author and science professor and his explanation on this topic made it clear. \u201cMost assume that: work accomplished = time spent studying. To understand our accomplishment, you must understand the following, more accurate formula: work accomplished = time spent x intensity of focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jump into your study session with both feet, take breaks and focus, focus, focus!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NUMBER FOUR: Social Media \u2013 Turn it off, shut it down,<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The sad truth about exam season \u2013 distractions seem to glisten ever so brightly when there are\u00a0tasks to complete.<\/p>\n

Social media takes home gold in the category of attractive distractions.<\/p>\n

From Snapchat, to Twitter feuds, to Facebook, to mindless scrolling through\u00a0Instagram feeds\u00a0\u2013 social media platforms are attractive distractions that can be lethal to a good, quality, productive study session. A simple solution to rid the futile habit of incessant perusing on social media\u00a0\u2013 log out of all your social app accounts\u00a0or better still delete your social apps (if you\u2019re feeling adventurous).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NUMBER FIVE: Plan, Prioritise, Perform, Practice \u2013 The four golden P\u2019s<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Remember my 4-golden P slogan\u00a0I mentioned earlier on? It can serve as a great action plan when you feel you are lost when trying to tackle your workload. The first P – is plan. Your plan is essentially the to-do list that you\u2019ve created which will help break down massive activities into bite-size tasks that you can work towards. The second P – is prioritise.\u00a0Which upcoming tasks have a deadline approaching soon? Which activity do you think you will need to set out extra time for? Set out to do the most important tasks first! In my first year of pharmacy, my Achilles heel was\u00a0starting my\u00a0favourite tasks and leave my challenging, not so \u201cfun\u201d tasks till the end.<\/p>\n

I quickly learned that this action was indeed the perfect way for\u00a0self-sabotage. Not only was I leaving less time for challenging tasks but when I finally got around to starting said task, my stress levels were through the roof with the amount of prep I would have to squeeze in and my. Don\u2019t make my mistake! Prioritising is a major key in alleviating stress and making sure that your study session\/ work submissions are of high quality.<\/p>\n

As with any thing you set out to start – once you actually start doing that task, you set the ball in motion and create momentum.\u00a0The hardest part is usually starting.<\/p>\n

The last two P’s are perform and practice. Make sure you have a distraction-free work zone and try to place all your concentration at your task at hand to ensure your work is productive. Perform your tasks, check them off as you progress and start to inculcate this habits as part of a study routine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NUMBER SIX<\/u><\/strong>: Deep Breaths – Relax\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My first tip started with deep breaths and my last tip is just the same. It is\u00a0easy find yourself stressed and\u00a0overwhelmed during this limbo period of deadlines and submissions. Planning, prioritising and performance are vital but if you are feeling anxious, this can be a crippling feeling.\u00a0It’s vital that you listen to your body<\/strong>. Take regular breaks to refresh your mind, go\u00a0outside for a chat with friends\u00a0and enjoy some fresh air, stretch and drink lots of water.<\/p>\n

Coming from a caffeine fanatic, I\u2019ve let my coffee quotas reach some startling heights however in the long run, the aftermath doesn\u2019t feel pretty. Swap the coffee for some water.<\/p>\n

Remember\u00a0Breathe in, Breathe out<\/strong><\/p>\n

You’ve got this !<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This post is by Denise Ekundayo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s that time again; Exam Season Coffee marathons. Heavy eyelids with a couple of yawns every twenty\u00a0mins \u2013 don\u2019t forget the designer bags under those … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54828,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[143728,9871],"tags":[189799,398,189798,51522,174454,1426,37,165991,189800,189802],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1665"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54828"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1665"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1698,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1665\/revisions\/1698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kentstudents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}