How can you stay motivated during final exams?
- Be organized.
- Manage your expectations.
- Take breaks.
- Avoid stress bragging.
- Take care of yourself.
- Reward yourself.
- Ask for help.
Final exams are a natural part of any student’s school year. Unfortunately, studying for them can be quite troublesome, and it can cause a lot of stress for students. This stress can cause them to lose focus. Thus, it’s important to know how to stay motivated during exams.
In this article, we take a look at what students like you can do while studying for exams to keep stress at bay and stay motivated.
Be Organized
Not only is organizing your desk or workspace conducive to better studying, but you’ll also be more motivated to work if you don’t see mess and clutter.
Being organized keeps you are on top of deadlines and requirements, and it keeps distractions out of the way. Best of all, it helps you feel more positive about studying—which is a crucial element in feeling motivated to keep going.
Manage Your Expectations
Sometimes, when students put their minds to something, they may want it so much that they have unfair expectations of themselves. They may push themselves too hard, get disappointed when they don’t achieve what we set out to do, or simply want too much too quickly.
When it comes to studying for final exams, you need to keep your expectations in check. Be honest with yourself about what you can and cannot do, implement deadlines or timelines that take breaks into consideration, and keep your goals small and achievable. That way, you’ll still eventually be reaching for that big goal without creating undue stress on yourself in the process.
Take Breaks
Speaking of taking breaks, it should be normalized for students to take breaks during exam week. Unfortunately, many students still choose to rush through studying without pause. This could lead to fatigue, unnecessary stress, and lowered mental health.
Understand the importance of taking even small breaks. For example, a five-minute break every 25 to 30 minutes will do wonders for your concentration, which would help you to study better.
Take that time to stand up from your chair, stay hydrated, or chat with a friend. Keep the breaks short so as not to serve as distractions, and simply allow yourself to make the most of them.
Avoid Stress Bragging
Unfortunately, some students have a habit of treating their “sacrifices” made in the name of studying as a trophy.
For example, how often have you heard a student boast about how little sleep they’ve had, or how many cups of coffee they’ve drunk, to be able to study for a difficult subject? That’s called stress bragging, and the only thing it does is make others feel bad about “not studying enough.”
Don’t fall victim to stress bragging. Remember that everyone studies in their own way, so not everyone will benefit from those “sacrifices.” Most of all, it’s never a good idea to lose all your sleep or stock up on caffeine just to prove a point to someone else. Be the bigger person, and don’t compare your stress to others—it simply won’t work.
Take Care of Yourself
When you’re stressed, it’s too easy to forget to take care of yourself. But neglecting your health and well-being can only end badly, leading to even more stress in the future.
Break this cycle by taking the time to practice self-care. Use the breaks we mentioned above to take care of your health by staying hydrated, eating properly, and sleeping well. You can even use those breaks for restorative purposes by chatting with a friend, treating yourself to something you like, or resting your eyes and brain for a moment.
Most of all, don’t neglect the basic necessities—hygiene, sleep, and diet. Remember, exams are no excuse!
Reward Yourself
We’ve stressed the importance of setting smaller goals above, but just because those goals are smaller doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be celebrated. Rewarding yourself for the smaller goals (with appropriate prizes or rewards) will keep you geared up for more.
Staying motivated involves looking forward to the next challenge because you can foresee yourself achieving it. If you aren’t rewarding yourself for the little successes, you’ll lose steam very quickly.
On the other hand, if you’re rewarding yourself too much, you might lose track of the overarching goal, which is acing your exams. So make sure the reward you’re giving yourself matches the size of the goal you set out to do.
Ask for Help
Finally, don’t underestimate the motivational power of asking for help. Whether it’s getting a few tutoring sessions for hard-to-understand topics or simply setting up a study group with the right people, having help is a great motivator because it allows you to share the goal with others and celebrate achieving it as a group.
Just keep in mind that when you work with others, you might have to reach a compromise on your method. For example, not everyone can stay up past midnight for a study session. So keep in mind that you need to find people who are willing to adjust, and you need to be willing to adjust to their study plan as well.
Key Takeaway
In this article on how to stay motivated during exams, you can find a number of ways to remain focused and goal-oriented during exam season without sacrificing your mental health. Make sure to use these tips next time your exams come around, and you’ll find it’s even easier to study!
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