Staying Calm During Exam Season: Top Tips!

Student, parent or teacher alike, exam season is a rough time for everyone. Whether you're pulling all-nighters to cram a few extra topics, stressing about the sheer workload you have to face in the coming weeks or trying to ignore your impending assignments/exams completely, I've compiled a few tips on how best to stay calm throughout May and June.

1. The Obvious - Take Breaks!
You've probably heard this a hundred times before, but it's incredibly important to take breaks. Working hard is great, but it can be overwhelming, and we're simply not built to study all day long! Try and find the schedule that works best for you rather than just the first one you're recommended - that could be a 5 minute break every 30 minutes, a 15 minute break every hour and a half, or an hour break every three hours or so.

2. Don't Forget to Exercise
Considering exercise lowers your anxiety, helps you sleep better and improves your brain health in the long-term, it's crucial to work it into your study schedule. Remember, exercise doesn't always have to take very long: for example, if you only have a short time frame to work with, why not try yoga? A mere 15 minutes of yoga daily is known to reduce stress, improve concentration and increase your energy levels - perfect for any busy students!

3. Make Time For Your Hobbies
With the amount of time students have to dedicate to making notes and reading textbooks, it's not uncommon for people to set aside their hobbies for a while. Whilst this does give you a little more leeway, it can also cause your mental health to decline and increase your anxiety - which is not good when your brain's supposed to be focused on getting you those top grades! Instead, set aside some time for doing things you enjoy, whether that's spending time with friends, drawing or just watching YouTube - for example, I used to give myself 45 minutes a day to play on my Nintendo Switch during A-Levels, even if I had an exam the day before! It definitely helped me calm down, and also reminded me that not everything in the world revolved around my exams.

4. Try To Avoid Setting Up Reward Systems Based On Necessities
The stress of exams can often lead to distorted thinking, especially in regards to self-worth. I know a lot of my friends used to give themselves 'rewards' whenever they completed a certain task, such as finishing making notes on a Biology topic or studying for a certain length of time. Whilst this can be helpful for some students, it entirely depends on the reward itself - a treat or break is great, but if you're depriving yourself of basic amounts of food or sleep, that can lead to severe mental health problems in the long run. My best advice is to always look after yourself first, and your exams second - you're going to be the one sitting them, after all!

5. Try and Put Things Into Perspective
Often parents and teachers can make you feel like passing your exams - whether that's GCSEs, A-Levels or uni exams - is the single most important thing you can do in life. Although it's always good to try your best and study hard, sometimes things don't work out and circumstances arise where maybe we're not working at the grade we're capable of. Try not to worry too much - for most exams, you should be able to resit them in the next year, and if not, there are other pathways to getting into your chosen career field. Exams and grades are not the be all and end all, and don't define who you are as a person - so don't let them define how you think of yourself! :smile:

Once again, I hope this was helpful and wish you all an easy exam season! If you have any of your own tips, feel free to leave them down below and share with others.

- Eve (BA Fine Art and Art History).

(edited 12 months ago)