Exams: Preparation and Managing Stress
Yearly Exams are on the horizon. It can be a stressful time, but do not despair; you can combat exam stress and prepare effectively for this busy time of year.
Take the time to plan
Be Prepared
Take some time to plan the next week and organise a study schedule. What time can you devote to studying and what time can you put towards relaxation and managing your stress?
Take the time to plan
- Prepare a study plan and goals for each day / week. Make sure it is balanced with other important things in your life - that way it will be easier to stick to.
- Create a study space that is comfortable, quiet, well lit, organised, and has no distractions nearby, such as a TV, phone, people talking, etc.
- Make sure you have everything you need for each study session as this helps to feel more confident and organised.
Be Prepared
- Read/ write important notes three times as this also helps to commit the info to memory.
- Use previous exam papers to get a feel for what to expect. You can ask your teacher to attempt a previous exam in class – it’s great preparation!
- Ask friends what they are doing that is helping with their study or friends who did it last year.
- You need to study within 24 hours of the exam on that subject to retain more info.
- Write things in coloured texta that you have trouble remembering (such as names and dates) and blu-tak to your toilet wall/door. Sounds funny, but it really works!
Take some time to plan the next week and organise a study schedule. What time can you devote to studying and what time can you put towards relaxation and managing your stress?
Look after yourself
Make a list of strategies to help you deal with stress.
Rest when you need to
- Self care is especially important when you have a big demand in your life - that way you have the energy to commit to what you need to accomplish.
- Build activities you enjoy and that bring your stress levels down into your study plan, such as sport, spending time with friends, internet, etc.
- Don't get hungry before or while studying. Grab nutritional snacks that keep you going, such as fruit/nuts/dairy, etc.
- Remember to get some exercise every day as this helps you to keep focused and energetic.
Make a list of strategies to help you deal with stress.
Rest when you need to
- Work out what times of day you have the most energy and plan to study then.
- Don't study more than 40 minutes without a short break. Even a 10 minute break will help.
- When you have a break do something physical or fun, such as go for a short run or play with a pet.
- Relaxation is important, especially before bed, to slow the brain activity down. Try some slow, deep breathing, a shower or a bath, herbal tea
Here are two relaxing tasks you can find on your laptop:
Quick Draw
Can a neural network learn to recognize doodles? That’s the question that this A.I. experiment poses, and by playing this game, you’re helping with machine learning research! The website will give you an object to draw. Your job is to draw that object with your cursor and see if the website can guess what you’re drawing in less than 20 seconds. https://quickdraw.withgoogle.com/#
Typeshift
This word game is slightly different than your typical crossword or word search puzzle. You’ll see a few columns of letters, and your job is to slide the columns up and down in order to form a word in the center row. There’s no time limit, so it’s a great way to de-stress! http://playtypeshift.com/
Here are two apps you can try out that will raise the relaxation levels:
Colorfy
Have you ever heard of art therapy? It’s such a big thing because the act of participating in a creative process is shown to have therapeutic qualities. The good news is, you don’t have to go out and purchase a physical coloring book to reap the benefits. A free app like Colorfy brings this type of stress relief right to your phone. https://www.colorfy.net/
Happy Glass
In this app, you’ll find a sad glass wishing that he was full. Your job is to simply draw lines in order to guide the water into the cup. Pretty simple, huh? It’s addicting and relaxing at the same time.
Quick Draw
Can a neural network learn to recognize doodles? That’s the question that this A.I. experiment poses, and by playing this game, you’re helping with machine learning research! The website will give you an object to draw. Your job is to draw that object with your cursor and see if the website can guess what you’re drawing in less than 20 seconds. https://quickdraw.withgoogle.com/#
Typeshift
This word game is slightly different than your typical crossword or word search puzzle. You’ll see a few columns of letters, and your job is to slide the columns up and down in order to form a word in the center row. There’s no time limit, so it’s a great way to de-stress! http://playtypeshift.com/
Here are two apps you can try out that will raise the relaxation levels:
Colorfy
Have you ever heard of art therapy? It’s such a big thing because the act of participating in a creative process is shown to have therapeutic qualities. The good news is, you don’t have to go out and purchase a physical coloring book to reap the benefits. A free app like Colorfy brings this type of stress relief right to your phone. https://www.colorfy.net/
Happy Glass
In this app, you’ll find a sad glass wishing that he was full. Your job is to simply draw lines in order to guide the water into the cup. Pretty simple, huh? It’s addicting and relaxing at the same time.