Your Guide to Exam Prep and Wellbeing

With exams approaching you need to remember that while studying, it's still very important to look after yourself, mentally and physically. 

We've put together some study tips and ways to look after yourself at this busy time, below. 

Leading up to Exams

• Reach out to lecturers, PDT or other trusted members of staff - if you are struggling with something, don't wait until the night before to reach out. Go over your notes and identify what needs work or the things that you're unsure of. Ask staff questions before they become too busy to reply or before they go on leave. 
• Working with peers, this can be a really useful form of revision and support to be with people that are experiencing and feeling the same thing as you. Going over complex concepts with friends or simply revising in the same room can offer a sense of community and support. However, be mindful of working too closely with others, if you have prepped extensively with your friends you may end up producing the exact same answers, this can lead to academic integrity concerns. 
• Traffic lighting your revision can be really helpful. This is when you summarise or list the topics under study and colour code them red, amber or green. Red - this needs work, amber - ok but need a refresher and green - confident and don't need to revisit very often. You can do this once a week or every few days in the lead up to exams, this helps you stay accountable and focuses your revision.
• Set realistic goals and create a study timetable. Fail to prepare and prepare to fail - try to be as organised as possible when it comes to revision, this may include things like the traffic lighting above or creating a study schedule where you chunk your time according to what you need to focus on. Lots of research points to studying little but often, one such technique is the Pomodoro Method where you revise in 25 minute bursts with a 5-minute break in between. This has been shown to decrease procrastination and gives more structure to your study day. 
• Pulling all-nighters, surviving on fast food or energy drinks and sitting in one place for too long can make you feel more anxious and stressed. Try to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep, eat  a balacned diet and make sure you get some movement in; this can be a simple walk or going to the gym. 
• Environment can also contribute to stress, try to change up your study space and keep your revision materials organised. These may be digital or hardcopy materials but having a filing system on your laptop for example can decrease stress levels as everything you need is easily found and accessible. 

Night Before and Day of Exam 

• Get everything ready for the exam the night before. If it's an online exam, make sure your laptop is set up and if it's open book, that you have all of the notes you need, handy. If your exam is on campus, make sure you know the room number and how to get there, this will save you a lot of unnecessary stress on the morning of. 
• Avoid cramming, this can make you feel overwhelmed and underprepared when in reality you've been revising for weeks and you're ready! 
• Get plenty of sleep the night before so you're well rested. 
• You may not feel like eating anything the morning of your exam but give yourself the option of a cereal bar or piece of fruit, so your hunger doesn't distract you during the exam.
• As simple as it sounds, take some deep breaths before and during the exam - linked here are some breathing techniques that you might want to try. 

Post-exam 

• Resist talking to peers and your friends about the exam; this can make you feel more stressed; it's in the past so try to move on from it.
• Don't compare how you're feeling to what your friends are feeling - this too can lead to more stress. 

If you would like to speak with an Adviser prior to an exam or in the immediate days (up to 5 working days) following an exam, please book an appointment here. 

ENSA Advice wish you the best of luck in your exams.