Description: Tutor shares three tips on beating exam anxiety and gaining control during the exam period.
With internal assessments in full swing for many pupils across the UK which will help determine their final grade, it’s important to reflect on reducing exam anxiety and stress. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed and exhausted by the process but here are three tips that will help you to gain control.
1. Effective Revision and Organisation
You may feel like time is running away but instead of panicking, make the most of the precious days, hours, and minutes you have left. Start by planning out your revision, vary your subjects, and prioritise the areas you feel you need to work on most.
Once you have spread your workload over the time period now you have to use your revision time effectively. Instead of reading over your notes multiple times or hoping for osmosis, apply your knowledge. Make use of any practice or past papers, this will not only test how much you know but get you used to the different questions and similar ones may actually come up in the exam!
Remember to have breaks. If you feel yourself losing focus, it’s better to have a 5 or 10-minute break and come back refreshed. Don’t cram it all in. A handy revision method is the Pomodoro technique, where you work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break and repeat. Perfect for short bursts of focus and relaxation.
2. Hobbies
While we’ve discussed the organisation of revision, it’s important to set aside time for yourself and it will help keep you sane. If it’s not raining, go outside, go for a walk and take in nature, taking yourself away from a screen will reduce a feeling of stress and give a burst of energy for later. You could also release that pent-up energy baking cookies or cake, a sweet reward for you and to share with friends and family.
Even though listening to catchy tunes while revising might distract you from your focus, have a go at singing or playing an instrument when you have a break. It’s been proven that listening to music has a positive effect on your mood, it’s essential to happiness. If you sing along too, it releases endorphins into the body, the feel-good chemical related to a feeling of happiness and reduction in stress.
3. Support from Family and Friends
Never feel like you’re on your own, your friends are going or have been through the same experience, and family members too. Bottling emotions up is only going to make them stronger and could cause an overreaction.
Talking through your worries with family or friends can help break down the issue, they could even provide a solution. Either way, they are there to support you, and sometimes a kind word and a hug is all you need to calm the nerves.
4. Put it All into Perspective
Finally, while it may feel like it, exams aren’t the be-all and end-all. If you do worse than you expect, there are always alternative routes to get to where you want to be. Many students retake exams to achieve their goals and there is no shame in that. Everyone reaches milestones at different paces and it can take time, the important thing is to not give up.
Additionally, consider what you’ve already achieved, you’ve already come so far. You might have completed coursework that contributes to your grade, have mind maps and revision cards raring to go, don’t give up at the last hurdle. Once these exams are over it’s time to relax and onto new exciting things.