Well... its safe to say that the stress levels are slowly rising inside me this week. I have my Preliminary Exams beginning on Monday which, for those of you who are unaware, are basically practise exams for the National 5s that I will sit in June.
This has provoked a ton of studying over the past month or so, which is much more difficult to do than it seems. So today I thought I would share with you my personal tips for not procrastinating and actually getting your head down to work.
1. Being organised - I find it so hard to concentrate with paper everywhere and no schedule to follow, so doing this makes it much easier to know what your doing when.
2. Setting time limits - I often find myself too engrossed in TV or Social Media and I struggle to get upstairs into my bedroom where I feel "in the zone". This means that I often tell myself "Watch till the end of this programme and then switch it off." and it really does work! People could say that this is difficult, but honestly picking up the remote and switching it off just sparks something in my brain and makes me think "RIGHT...GO!"
3. Put on some music in the background. Now I know for a fact that some people struggle with this as they feel that they cant concentrate, but I have really grown into it, as even I couldn't do it before. Its better if you make a long playlist of your favourite songs, so that you don't have to constantly change the music when an unwanted song comes on. It saves time and stops you getting distracted.
4. Use colour and diagrams throughout your notes if you know for a fact that you are a visual learner. These may help you to remember certain facts and figures for your exams.
5. If you know that you are an auditory learner (you learn by ear) then record yourself saying your notes and play them back to yourself over and over. Or create acronyms and mnemonics to help you remember this using only their initials.
6. Practice lots of examples and exam style questions to help you know what it will be like. This is also helpful if you are a kinaesthetic learner, meaning you learn by "doing" and are a "hands on" kind of person.
7. Takes breaks. It is impossible to study for a really long time as the concentration in your brain begins to deteriorate. I usually study solidly for 2 hours, have a 15-20 minute break and then repeat.
8. Drink lots of water and eat healthily during your breaks. Now this is one I definitely struggle with. I'm such a sucker for endless cups of tea and chocolate... but water does improve your brain power and has many other endless qualities too, so Id definitely consider it.
I've probably forgotten something, but I hope this still helps you all.
If you are sitting any exams soon, then I wish you good luck!
Zoe xxx
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