6 Tips to Study for Exams

With finals fast approaching, you might be scrambling around trying to get prepared to study for finals. Exams seem to have this way of creeping up on you, and the next minute they’re already here and you begin to hyperventilate at the amount of stress building up. Trust me, I’ve been there and I get it. If you are one of these people, then have no fear. Here’s a couple of tips that will help get you through the dreadful thing that is studying.

1. Pace Yourself

The last thing that you want to do is try and plug in three different classes or three different sections all in the same hour of studying. Chances are none of these things are going to stick in your brain and you’ll just end up wasting you time. If you have a lot of material to go over — space your time out. Study one section for about 20 minutes, take a break, and then go back or move on to the next section. That way you’re absorbing the information, sitting on it for a while and you can focus on only that instead of everything at once.

2. Take a Breath

I know, easier said than done. It’s not difficult to instantly get overwhelmed by what’s going on, stress out and have a panic attack at how much you need to get done. I’ve done that before and it doesn’t make anything better sometimes. If this is you, then take a minute, take a deep breath and relax. Once you are calm, you’ll be able to focus more and you can do this.

3. Use Websites to Help You Out

There are a few websites that can help you out when it comes to studying and you should use them if you can. One of the ones thatI love the most to use is Quizlet. Quizlet is a website that allows you to make flashcards which you can study from. It’s great because you can do little quizzes and games to study and you write them yourself or you can look for others that already exist. There are also websites that can lock certain pages for you if you’re one that gets easily distracted. That way, if you try to go on these websites, they’ll be blocked and you can access until the timer runs out.

4. Plan Everything Out

If you have so much stuff to do that you just can’t keep track of what’s going on, you can make a plan so that you have a visual of what’s spiraling in your head. Make a list of everything that you need to get done. Once you have that written down, take a complete look at the list that you have and prioritize what needs to get done when. I’ve done this before and it helps me out to not have my brain be so frazzled. Then, you can also learn what you need to do so that you’re not spending your time studying for an exam that can wait as opposed to an exam that’s tomorrow.

5. Reward Yourself

It’s always nice to treat yourself when you can. And sometimes, that’s what you need to keep you going throughout the time you’re studying. Whenever you finish studying a section or for a certain amount of time, give yourself a reward for gettin through it. You can make yourself a quick snack to eat while you’re studying, have a one song dance break or watch a 5-minute YouTube video. When you set rewards for yourself, you’ll be motivated to get to the end - especially if you set a big reward at the end like watch a movie or order food. You can even try the gummy bear trick if that works for you.

6. Environment is Key

A lot of times when I’m studying, my environment can affect me - and maybe that goes for you, too. If this is the case for you, then put yourself in an environment that will positively affects you. For me, I put myself in a space where there’s no one around to distract me, play my “chill vibes” playlist and sit in a comfy place with comfy clothes and zone in. Just do what works for you and is going to help you - you’ll notice the difference.