Enia
With A-level and university exams drawing ever closer, it can be difficult to stay motivated, especially when the sun is shining, but you feel you need to be revising. So here are some of my top tips for staying motivated during this exam season:
1) Remember why you are doing this.
When you’re revising it can feel like all you are doing is revising. However, there has to have been a reason why you wanted to do well in the first place: perhaps it’s meeting the offer for your first choice uni; maybe it’s that you would like to secure a particular placement or job following your degree. Whatever the reason is, make sure to fix that in your mind whenever you’re revising, as both a motivation and a goal for you to aim for. I put a photo of my first choice uni on my wall, as a constant reminder that, if I did the revision, I could be able to go there, and a similar constant visual reminder of your goals can be really helpful.
2) Don’t work all the time.
This may seem like a strange piece of advice, but hear me out. If you’re working all the time, chances are you’re probably getting sick of your work and you’re also becoming very tired. Remember that you need to rest, as well as revise, in order for you to be able to perform your best in the exams. So make sure you do take some time off, because after that break, you’ll be able to take much more in and work better.
3) Little and often is ideal.
Although it sounds impressive to say ‘I’ve been working for six hours straight’, it may not be producing the results you would expect. This is because we can become distracted from tasks if we’ve been doing them for too long. It can be helpful to instead vary your revision topics throughout the day. If you’re doing A-levels, you can mix up your revision by revising each subject for an hour before switching to a different subject. And for uni exams, the same idea can be applied to different modules.
4) Vary your revision methods.
Just like how you may want to change up your revision topics, so you may also want to revise in different ways. There are a myriad of different revision techniques (flashcards, past papers, mindmaps), and you don’t have to always work alone in your room. Revising in different places and sometimes with friends can help you to gain a new perspective on the topic, which is particularly helpful for essay-based subjects.
5) Plan something fun.
Revising can feel like an all-consuming bubble, but there will come a time when you no longer have to learn about trigonometric equations or the pluperfect tense. If you have something fun planned after exams, it can be a really great motivation and something to keep your spirits up. Whether it’s compiling a list of tv shows you want to binge watch, or planning a holiday with the lads/gals, make sure you’ve got something to look forward to and treat yourself – you deserve it!
Enia x