Dealing With Exam Stress

So that time of the year is slowly creeping in where the pressure of exams is looming. Whether you are in secondary school, or University, exam stress is something every student has in common and something we all have to go through. Now ordinarily in the past I've dealt with exams very maturely and tactically, avoiding all those last minute panics and worries. However, over the years and as I've gotten older I've come realise I certainly haven't gotten any wiser and gotten worse and worse with preparing and stressing over exams.

So once again this is one of those posts that is probably more useful to me as a kick in the butt rather than anyone else, but if you happen to stumble across this please let me know if it was useful to you.

1. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR EXAMS ARE INEVITABLE AND PREPARE EARLY

Now this may sound stupid but if you're anything like me then you're very, very last minute with everything, especially important things and convince yourself you have plenty of time. Let's be realistic, you are NEVER going to be able to revise and learn a whole year worth of work in a week or less, unless you're a bionic humanoid or something, it just ain't happening. So just start early and accept revising and re-learning stuff you probably already know sucks. You will thank yourself later and eliminate at least 70% of that stress you normally have.

2. ASK QUESTION

Okay, this again might sound stupid, but you'd be surprised how many people don't simply ask their teacher or lecturer questions. Never be afraid to ask someone to explain something to you again, for you to pass and stop stressing you need to know you understand every part of your course. The teacher won't judge you and will be more than pleased to help, that's what they're there for! And always ask them as soon as you can, such at the end of a class, email or go up to the lecturer after the class and make sure you walk away understanding what they've said.

3. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

So you've gotten to the point where you are beyond f*cked and the exam or deadline is looming and you feel you have no hope in hell of passing, well do not fret, something can always be done! First of all shame of you for allowing your self to get into this state, it cannot be good for you and secondly we've all been there. If its a deadline, try and get an extension. If it's not possible, top up on your coffee and red bull, get your ass to the library and suck it up! You got yourself in this situation, its time to make something out of nothing. The same goes for an exam, except the extension part, just suck it up and focus on what you know the least and refresh what you know the best.

4. ABOVE ALL, DO NOT PANIC

 As easy as it is to say it's really important to not work yourself into a state and overthink about your situation. If you aren't prepared and feel like you might fail do not panic, it'll only make things worse. Remember, exams are only pieces of paper. You CAN retake them and they DO NOT represent your worth or value. 

So if any of you find this useful I'd love to know but mostly I have to admit this is more for my mental state when it comes to exams and deadlines as I've seriously lost the plot recently - but remember starting early is the key, and never, ever panic!