When exam is getting nearer, anxiety level among students could soar high. Their fear of failure may actually become a self fulfilling prophecy, if they don’t get prepared properly. Here are things you should do to get better prepared for an exam:
- Make a plan and stick to it: If many exams are coming up, you should have a good plan to deal with them all. The plan should include a list of subjects based on your level of comprehension. Higher in the list should be subjects that you weak on. This will allow you to tackle them first. With a plan, it should be easier to prevent panic and anxiety from setting in. Make sure that your plan is highly realistic, including time for breaks, sleeping and socializing.
- Be realistic: If you are a C and B- student, it may not be possible to get straight A’s in the short period of time. If your goal is realistic, you should be able to control your level of anxiety. Instead of setting unrealistic goal, you should just expect to get things better. This will make you happier, even if you get a decent result, such getting more B’s than C’s.
- Set up a fallback plan: If something wrong happens, it shouldn’t be the end of the world. Perhaps, you just need to take a different path to prepare for your exam. If you’re hell bent on completing your preparation with a method, remember that there’s always an alternative or two. There could be better ways that you haven’t expected before.
- Do enough exercise: You need to some fresh and do exercise as breaks for your regular studying session. Oxygen is a great medicine for our brain. When we breathe in more oxygen we will enjot better concentration and memory retention. In general, after spending 20 minutes absorbing a lot of information, it is a good idea to take a break and breathe in fresh air. You may simply walk briskly, until you gasp a bit and breathe in more air into your lungs.
- Check previous exams: It is a good idea to get copies of past exams and try to complete them within specified time. This will give you an idea whether you can do the exam well. Do this after you have studied everything about the subject and going over past exams is a good simulation. There’s also a good chance that some of the problems and questions will re-appear in your exam.
- Understand it: Memorizing is not enough, you should also understand about the subject. As an example, you should understand the concept behind a formula. There’s a good chance that problems in the exam will have a bit of twists and variations, so you can’t directly answer it by using a single formula.
- Eat well: If you eat well, your brain will perform much better. High-protein beans for breakfast are ideal to ensure good performance of your brain. Brains contain a lot of dietary fiber. Studies show a link between improved cognition and high fiber diet.
