Things you should not do before an exam

Examinations are an important part of college life. It doesn’t matter whether you are an average student or a brilliant one – it is compulsory that you do your exams so that you can successfully complete you course. And when it comes to figuring out strategies on how to pass exams, every scholar has their own way to identify the simplest and most effective methods to study and prepare for their test. There are those who prefer studying in a cool, quiet place while others would understand a thing if the environment in which they are studying is not noisy. Regardless of how you chose to study, where you decide to go, or the approach you choose for revision, there are several things you should not do during an exam period. From our experts, here are things not to do before an exam.

While preparing for an exam, sometimes you may be tempted to tackle on the topics that seem easy to understand and leave the complex ones with the hope that you will gather some of your friends and discuss the topics before the exam. If the exam is around the corner and this is what you are doing, we are sorry to say that you are setting yourself up for failure. Your friends may have other things planned. They also have their own topics to study so depending on them will just mess you up. Also, if you are the kind of person who calls their friends to find out if they have started revising so they can also get started, again, you are set to fail. Learn to do things your way without relying on anyone. If there is a topic that you don’t understand and you fear that it may appear in the exam, it would be wise to ask for assistance from your professor. They are in a better position to guide you and may even hint if the topic will be tested or not.

If you are always replying to emails, chatting, or video calling your friends when you should actually be studying, that habit must stop before you start your exam. Using social media during revision will distract you from studies and it will be very difficult to pick up from where you stopped once you have logged off. To be on the safe side, log out from your social media accounts or disable all notifications so that you can minimize interruptions. You can check your emails or cha messages when taking a break or once you are done with the day’s work.

If you are one of those students who like reading different books when preparing for exams, then you may want to do this a month or several weeks before. Introducing a new revisionmaterial two or three days before the exam will just get you confused because you may not have enough time to cover everything in it. As a result, you will start getting nervous when you realize that revision time is almost up and you are not even half way through. Adding a new material or book to your exam preparation is a fantastic idea and will help you expand your knowledge of the subject you are studying – just don’t delay it until the last minute.

If you are going to start your revision, do it now. Pushing it to a later date may not bear the fruits you need. The more you keep procrastinating, the more the exam date draws nearer and before you realize it and start getting ready for revision, he timetable is already out. If you are a serious student and want to scoop good grades in your exams, start you preparation early enough. You do not want to have a shoddy prep just because you couldn’t do things when you were supposed to.

One of the greatest mistakes students make when preparing for their exams is asking their friends how far they are on their revision or how many textbooks they have rad so far. You don’t want to feel disappointed by finding out that you have studied only a half of what your friends have studied. Create a study plan and stick to it. If you can only read one book per week, don’t beat yourself up or bury yourself with a pile of books just to be like your friends. Follow your pace and you will have a peace of mind. And who said that studying more books makes you a genius anyway? Do things your way and don’t let your friend’s study method intimidate you.

Not to your timetable or study method. Sometimes you may feel like your study method is not good enough or is not going to help you achieve those grades that you have been dreaming of. Well, it is okay to feel this way and it is also okay to do something about it. If youare going to make any amendments to your timetable or study method, do it well in advance. Making changes a few days before the exams won’t work because it may affect your preparation pace.

Just because you are taking an exam doesn’t mean that you should start eating anyhowly. As a matter of fact, this is one of those moments that you should monitor what you eat. Try to consume foods rich in omega 3, as these are known to boost memory and keep the brain functioning properly. Avoid too much carbs or food that has plenty of processed sugar, as these will just get you lazy – the last thing you need while doing an exam.

There are students who believe that studying the entire night will make them remember things faster in the morning or when they start doing their paper. If that works for you, well and good but it is not one of the best things to do when prepping for an exam. Ensure that you have enough sleep the night before the test. Your body needs to rest and so does your brain. 7 or 8 hours of sleep will be great. You will feel more refreshed when you wake up and think much better.

Taking a few minutes to breathe and refresh your mind is important when studying for your exams. It gets you thinking straight and helps you retain information effectively. If you want to reap maximum benefits of your exam prep, know how to manage you time properly. Speaking, know when to take a break and when to continue with revision. If you have assigned a 10-minute break after every 2-hour study session,make sure that whatever you are going to do during the break doesn’t exceed ten minutes. You can set an alarm so that you do not take longer than intended.

Although this works for some people, trying to learn everything in less than an hour can give you a seriousmental breakdown. That’s not even the worst part. Ever entered an exam room and realized that everything you had studied in the last 30 minutes is all gone? Cramming will sometimes make you forget even things you already knew!

Things that will happen inevitably when preparing for your exam

When we start revising for exams, we promise ourselves that we will stick to our study plans to the end. However, there are things that happen during this time that we have absolutely no control of. For instance:

You start feeling like everything else is better than spending time in the library. You start liking things you never fancied before just avoid the library.

You will fall asleep regularly in public because you have spent the entire night revising for your paper.

You will spend the best part of your revision time calculating the lowest possible mark that you can get away with.

You will start noticing things you never saw before, like that yellow strip on your sweater.

You find it practically impossible to retain information in a sentence that you have read more than 20 times. You can’t even remember being in class when your professor first taught it to you.

You care less about how you look. You don’t even remember where you put your comb.

You start showing early signs of mental breakdown like talking to yourself or reciting key information.

You get more religious and pray that everything you have studied comes up.