Exam period . You can make it !

Hi Everyone ,

So for my first post on the blog I wanted to talk about a subject that I personally , am currently dealing with .Now I know this may not imply to all of you but hopefully you’ll find this helpful even if you’re not dealing with exams and just have some stress at work or something.
So I am currently in high school and about to go through final exams . Not fun right? But we don’t want to fail. So here are some tips to go through this time of the year as easily as possible and with an A+!

So are you ready? Let’s go!

Organization is Key!
When it comes to succeeding in the exams organization is key .In order to help you stay organized her are a few tips:

1. To Doing 😉

Writing To Do lists can really help you stay organized and focused during exams period
With a good To Do list you can keep track of all you need to do in order to prepare for the exam and see exactly how big is the stress or what you have to deal with.
To Do lists can also help you divide a big task like studying and preparing for an exam to small tasks that will ease the stress by making it look a lot less threatening :- )
Don’t forget how fun it is to check things off after you’re done !
You can write your To Do list on the computer, on your Smartphone or even simply by hand in a special notebook for all of your pretty lists 🙂

Here are some great sites and apps for writing your To Do’s:
1. http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ – a great fun site and app to write your to do lists in style. Just sign up (FOR FREE) and get going!

2.https://www.wunderlist.com/#/login – A great app for your Iphone , Android , tablet even on Google chrome 🙂 And most importantly, it’s FREE! So sign up and start writing.

3.http://astrid.com – Another great option for writing your to do’s . Of course, it’s free and works on any device so don’t you worry 🙂

Not enough? Well i would love to hear about your favorite sites in the comments.

 2. Planning like a pro! 

Another tip to stay organized between all those exams is using a calendar or a planner to plan your day, week and exam period so you wouldn’t get stressed out the day before the exam. I personally use an agenda and a regular calendar for writing down events and of course my exams. But besides the regular stuff I love using a computer planner \ calendar where I can plan my entire day by minutes. Here are some sites that will help you plan your day without stressing about not having time:

1. Google Calendar – (my personal favorite) a great site that will make you super organized.
If you have a Gmail account than you don’t even need to sign up, and of course it’s FREE!
http://www.google.com/intl/en/enterprise/apps/business/products.html#calendar

2. Outlook – If you have Outlook on your computer than you got yourself a great calendar that will keep you organized and stress free! Although you must have a computer Office that comes with it so it isn’t completely free 🙂 (Only for Microsoft)

Got a Mac? I would love to hear about your options 🙂

3. Nicely Decorated :

Organization is in your room and environment too. So try to find an environment that works for you! If it’s the floor, your desk or the library 🙂
Make sure it is calm, and good for studying. I recommend studying in a clean and neat environment in order to help yourself focus on your studying and not adding any stress from the mess that’s around you. You can also make studying more fun with candles, pretty markers and a nicely decorated room.

Now after you are an organization MASTER let’s work on keeping you motivated.

Motivation is the Drive!
Motivation is about having the drive to study and work hard to succeed. So in order to have that drive at all times I have some tips:

1.  Set that Goal!

Drive comes from having a clear and true goal that makes you want to work hard for it. So my tip is to do some brain storming. Write down everything that comes to your mind about “What am I working for?!” For example – getting into a high university, having a free summer and more … I recommend hanging what you wrote on your board or anywhere where you can look at it at all times and remember why you’re doing this.
It’s also good to have a specific focused goal like – becoming a Lawyer or going to med school maybe.

2. Have a Break!

Sometimes all you need to get your drive back taking a break and doing something different. Don’t feel guilty! It is good sometimes to go out and do something else. You can hangout with friends go on a short trip or just watch a nice inspiring movie but it’s important that you do something you love and something that will show you what you’re working for .

3. Visualize it:

If you’re having a hard time figuring what you’re working for and the tips above didn’t help, sometimes it’s easier to try to visualize it.
That means trying to imagine how you want to be when you grow up. Imagine you living the dream!
Just close your eyes and try to think and imagine to yourself the future you want to have , and make that future very clear , focused and as detailed as you can. Concentrate on where you would like to study, what is your career and all those things you might need to study hard for. Of course there are no tools, apps or sites for this tip. You just have to let your imagination work.

Have any other great tips on how to stay motivated? Share them with me in the comments, I would love to hear!

Watch this lovely video to learn more about getting motivated – 

Stress Free!

Now I believe we all have this problem. Exam period can really stress you out and believe it or not it can really affect your studies!
So what can we do in order to relax and prevent from freaking OUT!

1. Positive and breathing 🙂

Now this tip is good for the exam time when you’re super stressed and getting blackouts.
You know the material but when it’s the exam time you forget everything and freak out.
Well, you’re not alone everybody goes through that. So when the exam starts before you freak out take your time and first just take deep breaths, before you even look on the paper, and close your eyes this will help you relax. After you have relaxed a little think positive thought. Stress is like a snow ball once it starts rolling it can’t stop. So don’t let those negative stressful thought come in the first place by replacing with positive thoughts. Remember that you studied well and you know the material so there is absolutely no reason that you won’t succeed. And one more thing, people usually think stress is a bad thing but actually stress is good and important because it helps you act fast and properly when you face trouble and stressful situations. So during the exam remember that the stress is there in order to help you work faster and do well.

2. Water and a Good Night Sleep! 
Sounds strange? Well not so much. A good night sleep can really make you relax and ease that stress. Moreover, during the exam or even before when you feel stressful try to drink some water, it is so simple and helps so much, not only to relax but to stay focused too.

3. Having Good Company:

Now this tip can make a big difference although it is so simple! Stress can come from the people you spend time with. Sometimes family, friends and others can stress you out by talking about their high expectations from you or just telling how stressed they are from this exam. Don’t let that come to you! Just try to avoid people like this and if it’s a problem for you try talking to them about it and they should understand. But having good company it’s not all about avoiding stressful people; it is also about having a break sometimes and going out to hangout with friends and the people you love. You wouldn’t believe what a difference it can make. It doesn’t have to be something fancy like a party it can even be a short phone call to a friend, as long it takes your mind off the exams.

And lastly a few general tips that will help you go through exams period like a pro 😉

1. Eat, Drink, Sleep: 

It is very important that you eat well, drink well and sleep well. Don’t feel guilty for going to sleep early instead of studying. A lot of people make that mistake and figure that it’s better to study late the day before instead of going to sleep early. Well IT’S NOT!

Studying late the day before is just not effective because you’re tired and not focused which means that nothing is going to get in your brain and you will only end up stressing out because you’ll think you don’t know anything and when you get to the exam you’re tired so you don’t answer well and your performances are not as good as they could be if you’d have gone to sleep early the night before.
Also, studies have shown that eating and drinking well before and during the exam can really help you study better and write a better exam. So just have a good breakfast before the exam starts and you should be ready to rock it !

2. Learning type:

Before you start cramping all that material, it is important that you find out what type of learner you are and how do you study best.

Some people like to study in groups with friends others study alone in a quiet room. So it is important that you find what works best for you. But learning type is also about how you should study. There are 3 types of learners:

1. The listening type – you study best with your ears. Try to study with other people and discuss the material, you can also watch movies and TV shows that prepare students for finals. For example in history you can watch the history channel to prepare.

2. The visual type – You study with your eyes. That is why in addition to reading you should try to study with tables, graphs and visual things. Also, when you read the material try writing notes to yourself while you’re reading. These will help you remember the material well.

3. The feeling type – you need to feel what you’re learning. Sounds weird? Well it’s actually pretty simple. Just try to incorporate actions into your studies. For example you can make memory cards and play a memory game with a friend. Also make sure you make a little break every hour or half hour.

 Now you are officially prepared for exam period!
Hopefully you’ll go through exams in no time and with great success now that you have all those tips.

Have any comments, ideas or questions? I would love to hear your feedback and answer all of your questions down in the comments.

See you on my next post and until than,

Good luck to you all and goodbye.

Shirale68 🙂