5 Ways to Stress Less During Exam Season

1) Keep your desk neat

Studying at a cluttered desk can worsen the feeling of having an overwhelming workload. By keeping things organised, you’ll know what’s where and how much needs to be done. Clarity of direction helps keep stress levels from skyrocketing!

When studying for a particular subject, try to keep only materials related to that subject on your desk. This concentrates all your mental resources on one thing at a time, so you won’t feel swamped.

2) Set up a reward system 

While your ultimate goal may be to score an A, there are many small milestones you can hit while working your way there! For example, every day, you can reward yourself with 15 minutes of play for every chapter that you cover.

Coming up with your own reward system can break up the monotony of studying, and even make it fun because you have all these pockets of relaxation keep you going throughout the day! 😊

3) Fling your phone far, far away

How many times have you picked up your phone in the middle of studying to check social media for “just a minute”, only to end up wasting 60? These irresistible phone breaks might bring temporary relief, but added up, you’ll accumulate a ton of work to cover in a lot less time! How stressful would that be?

Avoid putting yourself in this situation – put your phone in another room! Out of sight is out of mind. And when distractions stay out, exam info stays in.

4) Work out to work well

If you’re feeling sluggish, a 30-minute run or swim can recharge your studying battery as it increases blood flow and oxygen to your brain. You’ll be able to concentrate better and retain more information.

Exercise also lowers your body’s stress hormones and releases endorphins, so it can quite literally take away the pain of studying!

5) Remember: failure is never final

Setting goals is good and achieving them is great, but remember that even if you fail, it’s not the end of the world. Life doesn’t screech to a stop because of one setback – or five, or ten! Not doing well in your exams merely means that you have some catching up to do. Maybe you need to change the way you study, or start earlier.

“But what if this is the final exam that decides what school I go to next year?” Well, life has a way of surprising you! Sometimes, people become so fixated with achieving a particular outcome, they mistakenly believe that it is the only way they can ever be happy. But the truth is that life has plenty of goodness in store for those who are willing to do their best wherever they are planted. 😊