New Year, New Exam
Words Dr Alexis Nelson
Dr. Alexis takes you through her top tips to remaining focused on your studies during the new year.
The countdown has stopped and now you are faced with the next round of summative exams. The feeling of guilt surrounding enjoyment during exams is often more crippling than people believe. In my 2nd year of medical school I found myself in the middle of my room, notes scattered across the floor to cover every inch of my carpet.
I made a small nest in the middle and then proceeded to wail in despair about the amount of facts I had to remember before this exam. So this is a list of tips I wish I had sent to myself all those years ago that probably could've saved me a few tears and a few hours of sleep!
Fine tune who you listen to: Sometimes we have to question where our stressor originates from. There can be so many people to listen to in university. From your course mates, to your professors to Family. It's important that during the lead up to exams you identify who you can work with who can not only help you. There is a saying that you are a mosaic and you are a reflection of the people around you. Find a person like a mentor, study group or community that can help you study for exams. Maybe it's just someone to be accountable to. When I started listening to the right people. My grades improved!
There are even inner voices stemming from childhood and past failures that will come back to tell you you're not able to complete these tasks! So this even means taking care of your music playlists right down to the shows we watch.
Plan a strategy: My biggest struggle is organising myself! My mind is a sieve and its retention power keeps getting less! So how do I plan a strategy? Simple. I don't do it alone. I make sure that someone else outside of my study circle knows my exam dates. So I can be held accountable for my hours studying. I also take time (sometimes half a day!) Just writing out realistic plans. This may include days where you only study one subject
Be real with yourself: Humans can be a storehouse of emotions. We have memories both short term and long term that hinder us. We have good habits and bad habits. Some people function on 8 hours of sleep. Some functions on 4. If you know yourself and your patterns you can make the most of them and target studying to your peak hours and use your downtime to rest!
Keep a simple diary or a planner: This is to take note of short reflections in the day. You can also do this list to do lists for your studies. I start off my days now with making short goals for the day and goals for the week! Not only does it keep me focused on what needs to be looked at, every small win motivates me to complete my other tasks!
When your mind is right, your studies will be as well. Tests do not define us! Your score doesn't define you. The real examination is can you master YOU! When you start your journey on this, there's no exam, paper, test, assessment you can't fail!