EXAM SURVIVAL 101

HELLOOOO EVERYONE AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

Now before we get all get fully immersed into the holiday cheer and stuff our bodies full of chocolates and cookies, many of you may be having to suffer through finals before hand..

IM IN THE SAME BOAT SISTA (OR BROTHA)

I mean in a way its great because by the time we all get to go home for the holidays we get tons of presents and food and have events to go to almost every day!! But, having to suffer through weeks of revising, exams and stress eating before you can actually get there can kind of put a damper on your holiday spirit.

WELL LOOK NO FURTHER I AM HERE TO OFFER YOU A PLETHORA (five) SURVIVAL AND STUDY TIPS SO YOU CAN MAKE IT HOME TO BE WITH YOUR FAMILIES WITHOUT MELTING INTO A FRUSTRATED PUDDLE ON THE FLOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m going to make this post short and sweet so you can get back to your studies quickly!! These tips are some I’ve used over the years and some I’m going to be trying out!!

Now without further a due..

1.     TEA TEA TEA!!!!!

 I’ve recently invested in David’s Tea’s “Twelve Teas of Christmas” and lET ME TELL YOU it has actually added some life into my boring studies. Unsurprisingly there are twelve teas, all of some sort of holiday flavour! Some are cinnamon flavoured, cookie flavoured, peppermint and I could go on! There’s even a variety of tea types good for any time of your study day. Black tea especially does the trick to keep you awake with a small amount of caffeine, without giving you the jittery feeling coffee does (which has way more caffeine)  If you’re a tea drinker you know sometimes a cup can just lift your low spirits, with the twelve teas of Christmas you get that AND the added bonus of the holiday spirit!

2.     Take frequent breaks!! (PUPPY THERAPY?)

We all do need a break once in awhile to recharge our brain and our will power to keep studying.  It is actually proven that longer, frequent breaks are better than extensive study periods with 5 minute breaks every half hour or so. Try to give yourself a half hour to an hour break every 2 hours. It keeps your brain charged and ready to obtain new information. ANNNDDDDD you can fill those breaks with puppies if you so choose! Some schools offer programs where students can interact with puppies during stressful periods of the year. In my experience, seeing a happy, innocent puppy during your peak stress just makes you wanna force yourself to be happy and pull through! If your school doesn’t offer this program I have recently heard Uber is teaming up with local animal shleters to create a puppy deliver service. THIS COULD BE A RUMOR.. but I’ve seen it a few places… fingers crossed!!! I've attached a few pics of my puppy so even if you can't see a puppy you can at least LOOK at a puppy!! ISNT HE CUTE!!!

3.     Get an Early start!!

So part of my inspiration to even write this blog post was from a motivational seminar called quantum leap my mom recommended I go to yesterday. I would highly recommend attending one if you get the opportunity to! Mainly the day was about changing your mindset and using that change in mindset to make good decisions about your feelings and actions, to ultimately be successful. A portion of the seminar talked about working with your will power to do you best work always instead of meh work. One tip I actually tried out today was doing most of my work before noon. It is proven your will power drains as the day goes on so this is the peak time to actually WANT to do work. I got an early sleep the night before, woke up at 6 am and began doing revision by 7 am, giving myself an hour to wake up. I was not stressed because I knew I could take my time understanding the material knowing I had the whole day ahead of me. The quite house was very calming as well. I was also more focused and awake than usual. This could be because a) I had just woken up from 8 hours sleep and b) because I usually don’t get sleepy until mid-afternoon, this was the peak of my alertness.

4Music makes you smarter!

I was reading earlier this week that certain song’s beats can actually put your brain in the right mindset to for an exam. I was absolutely astounded when I found this out! The article I was reading said students who listen to classical music that is 60-70 beats per minute tended to score 12 percent higher on a math exam. The article recommended Fur Elise by Beethoven. Additionally, the article also recommended We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus and Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. Apparently these songs actually have a calming affect on the mind that can help learn and recall facts! For essay or long answer exams it also recommended Firework by Katy Perry. This type song stimulates excitement in the brain and can help think of creative answers! When I was in middle school I remember my music teacher used to tell us the entire brain becomes active when playing music, so simply, it just makes your brain work harder!

      However, in my experience sometimes when studying you just need certain songs to give you a temporary “high” that make you pumped up and give you the will to go on.  When I need a studying pick me up my personal favourites include: Survivor by Desinty’s Child, Touch the Sky by Kanye West and and I’m Just a Kid by Simple Plan! These really get me pumped up to kick butt!!!!

5. Success if made of failures & Fake it till' you make it!

6       At the seminar I mentioned earlier one of the first things the speaker said that stuck out to me was "success is made of failures". This last semester had probably been the hardest one I've had. I'll be honest I've been down on myself for not having top grades like I used too. University is supposed to make your marks drop but I always thought I would be the exception, that was unrealistic of me. But  back to the quote, it makes sense. Anyone who is successful probably failed at some point on their way to that success and by failing, they learned lessons that in the end helped teach them to become successful. The problem is usually people don't advertise their failures. This quote made me realize me thinking of myself as a failure for not getting sky high marks (but still passing by far) is just a lesson and a stepping stone in my university career. Still, if you're having trouble believing it, fake it till to make it. Fake confidence until you believe it yourself. Stand up straight, hold your head high and pretend youre destined for greatness BECAUSE YOU ARE!

I GUESS THIS POST WAS A LITTLE LONGER THAN ORIGINALLY INTENDED BUT I HOPE

IT WAS HELPFUL REGARDLESS!!!!!

Good luck with your exams everyone! 

We can do it!

Till' next time!

Jade