Repeat after me, bad grades are not the end of the world! But it sure will feel great, if you can get through this exam season with your sanity and decent marks. The trick? A good balance of strategy and a sense of humour. Just follow the steps below and you should be good to go!
CREATE YOUR MASTER PLAN
1: To Succeed You Gotta Start Really Really Small
First up, recognize that days will feel like they are moving fast, like really fast. So, any small actions you take now, will have a huge impact in the long run.
Small things you can start with:
- What days are your exams on?
- What is the material you are going to need to study?
- How many hours do you think you many need to dedicate?
- What outfit will you be wearing on the day?
- What kind of food will you be having after?
These are all incredibly useful to know and especially the last one.
2: Block Out Your Time
Scheduling is key to a happy study approach.
After estimating the number of hours necessary to get a good grade (ahem, pass), block out the time in your calendar to work on specific projects.
2: Work In Time Slots
Don’t let this be YOU!
Yes, it’s going to be tough to pick studying over Netflix binge-watching, but guess who won’t need to do extra work over the summer break or find an extra $800 to resit the paper you may fail.
The best way to do this is to work in time slots – Study for 1 hour, eat, rest for 15 minutes, study for 2 hours, eat, rest for 15 minutes.
Repeat as necessary.
If you are using spaced repetition flashcards to remember exam material, you should already be familiar with the idea that good things take time. Don’t try to cram it all in.
3: Assemble ALL Necessary Equipment
Like a surgeon that has set out their instruments, you too will need to create your own little operating theater on which you will perform the greatest miracle of all, studying!
Pens, pencils, textbooks, notes, highlighters, those black-out things nobody uses anymore, study snacks, your grandmas pie, water cause hydration is important..
Anything you think you’ll need around you so you don’t get up and leave that desk until you finish that 1 hour of studying or as long as is necessary.
4: Use Incentives TO GET THROUGH THE HARD BITS
Studying at best, is tolerable, but some subjects are going to be harder than others. Personally, there are always one or two chapters per paper that are just booooring.
To get through that material you are going to need to bribe yourself like you’re bribing your sibling who you just hit too hard. Bribe yourself with chocolate, movie nights, social outings or anything that will work.
5. Divide and Conquer then Divide Some More
What does Trump, your mother and your exam strategy have in common? They all had to be strategic in their approach to defeat the enemy. Trump had an election campaign, your mother had you to deal with and you, well, you have your exams. So, let’s stay focused!
Divide doesn’t just mean breaking everything into small parts that are easily achievable. Instead of listing everything that needs to be done you can try estimating the time that is needed to complete them.
For a final assignment paper, that means:
1h – research and brainstorming
1h – first draft of introduction and 1/2 body
1h – 1/2 body and conclusion
1h – first edit
For exams you can try a similar approach:
1h – key topics of Week 2
1h – practice answering old exam questions
1h – practice essay writing
6. Step Away From The Coffee (or anything else!)
I don’t want to sound like your mother, by for the love of all you hold dear, stop abusing the caffeine and the alcohol!
Overdoing it on coffee or stimulants will only prove distracting. Relatively stressful situations like an upcoming exam or job interview, trigger an increase of adrenaline in the body, which means you are extra jittery, extra energetic and actually less likely to focus on one task for a long period of time.
Instead, sip your normal dose of caffeine and lots of extra water.
You could also try treating your body better, by planning ahead and preparing a couple of easy and cheap meals! 
7. Follow the Wise Words of Uncle Dumbledore
If you were able to guess where I am going with this, then you deserve the biggest Harry Potter fan award.
“You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.”
If something does not make sense, reach out to your lecturers, the academic advice team, your friends or anyone that can offer constructive and helpful feedback.
University is not a place you have to go through alone, so if you are finding it overwhelmingly difficult and unbearable, know that you can speak to someone about it. We are all going through this together, in our time, doing the best we can!
Are there any tips or tricks you rely on to get through exam season? Share with me below!
Want to keep talking to me? You can find more of what I do on Definitely Greece and Bachelor of Travel. Come for the GIFS, stay for the writing!
]]>If you are one of the cool kids at uni, that took a Psychology class (yes, completely biased), you might have come across a guy by the name of Hermann Ebbinghaus.
Using himself as the subject, Hermann would memorise lists of nonsense syllables, wait for a specific amount of time and then re-test his knowledge. Every time this process was repeated, his knowledge built on the previous learning and he was able to retain the information for a bit longer.
What does this all mean and how is it connected to your exam performance at university?
Well, what Hermann discovered was what we now call “the forgetting curve”.
Case Example for the ‘Forgetting Curve’
Let’s say you are writing notes during a History lesson (just roll with it, guys) and it is very important you remember that the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed on 1840.
Due to the nature of the “forgetting curve” we are only able to retain that information for a little while before it leaves our memory. On average you will probably remember the date for 24 hours.
How You Can Traditionally Improve Your Memory
- Now if I remind you of this information 23h and 59 minutes later, that initial knowledge will be reinforced and you will gain another 24 hours.
- Repeat this process and you can start to increase the waiting period. From 24 hrs you can move to 48h then 5 days, then a week and so on.
Now this probably sounds like a bit too much work. Who has time to calculate how long it has been since they were last exposed to certain information? No one…
Below I have the modern and free solution for you, and its name is Anki.
What is Anki?
With a deceptively simple interface, Anki is open sourced, meaning FREE, and you can download and sync it across your laptop and phone.
All you need to do is start adding flashcards and Anki’s fancy algorithm will determine how often it needs to keep showing you this information.
On my homepage we can see how I have categorised the first 6 decks of cards under “School Subjects” and then added extra categories that I find interesting, like Geography and Photography Trivia.
Soon, going through your flashcards will become similar to a game.
As you can see on the photo above, if I decide that I do not remember the card at all, it will go back to the beginning of the pile and be shown to me in 10 minutes. However, if I know it extremely well I don’t have to see it for another 8 MONTHS!
You can add photos, diagrams, close deletion sentences or be prompted to type in the answer.
Before going full nerd and boring you with all the ways you can utilise this incredible tool, I am going to focus on some of the fun things you can go ahead and add now. No need to type anything!
Someone has already created and shared these decks of cards for free!
FREE Decks
The easiest way to learn the capitals of the world, countries flags and how to find them on a map.
Are you annoyingly smart and studying biochemistry for some reason? Here is the easiest way to memorise the amino acid structures.
(3) 4000 Essential English Words
Are you trying to learn more English vocabulary so you can amaze your lecturers and score an A? Someone has already done all the hard work for you and combined all the words you need to know into one easy to use list.
Did you take 3 years of French at school only to have forgotten how to introduce yourself? Refresh your memory with one of the thousands of foreign languages deck available.
Other Fun Decks To Create
- Birthdays and Important Family Dates (anniversaries, religious holidays etc)
- Learn How To Code
- Human Body/Anatomy Parts
- Works of Art
Did you know about Anki before today? Are you intrigued enough to start using it?
Let me know in the comments below or find me where I share more of my writings on Bachelor of Travel and Definitely Greece.
]]>1: You are uncertain of what to expect
Unfamiliar situations are always tricky. You don’t know exactly where you are going, who is going to be there and whether or not you are going to make a fool of yourself. Your internal monologue probably sounds like a scared 6-year-old kid on their first day of school. “But mummy what if none of the kids want to talk to me?”.
I am not saying all of this to stress or embarrass you, I am saying it because I get it. There is probably not a single person in the room that hasn’t at one point or another had to face the fear of the uncertain. Whether it is going in for an interview or joining a new school, meeting your boss for the first time or going into a room full of people to give a presentation, we are all familiar with what it feels like.
What to do:
- Scout alert! If you know the venue, pop in a few days before and have a look around. You will feel more confident on the day, knowing where to go without looking like you’re lost.
- Ask around! Maybe someone that already invited you has some tips and tricks on what to expect. Is the dress code business casual? Will there be food served on the day?
2: You are trying to avoid uncomfortable situations
Oh, the dreaded uncomfortable situation. Maybe you accidentally went for a hug instead of a handshake, dropped a glass of red wine on top of someone’s white suit, or had cilantro stuck on your teeth while talking to a recruitment guy about internships. It is all possible. Heck, it probably has all happened at some stage.
What to do:
- Bring a friend! Your plus 1 will come in handy at the beginning when you are introducing yourself to others plus you can always use each other as an excuse if you need to make a hasty exit.
- Trick your mind! To get out of this mindset use some reverse psychology. Uncomfortable situations are the best! You want more of them in your life. They make for the best stories and the best laughs later on when you are telling your friends.
3: You are nervous approaching others
The first thing that you should keep repeating to yourself like a mantra is “it’s normal”. It’s normal to be afraid, it’s normal to feel awkward and uncomfortable and it’s normal to be slightly stressed about it. That means that every single person in that room is probably experiencing the same thing.
What to do:
- Find the MC. Most networking events have one or multiple MC’s who are there to facilitate conversation and make sure people like you do not linger on the outside for too long. If you already know the MC ask them to introduce you to a new person.
- Follow a step-by-step approach.
- Make your way towards the group.
- Make eye contact with the person and hover on the side.
- Listen to what they are discussing and wait for an opening.
- Wait for acknowledgment they have seen you and ask if you could join their conversation.
- Have an opening line. Offer your name and a firm handshake.
- Ask a question, show you are interested! If a discussion is already underway you can continue on from that topic.
Classic examples of conversation starters you can try
- What brings you here today?
- What is your story?
- What are you most passionate about?
- What do you want people to know about you that is not on your business card?
- (Bond over food) These little sandwiches are so incredible!
- (Bond over the venue) Have you been here before? This is such a stunning venue!
- (Bond over your introvert qualities – If you notice someone far away at the corner by themselves) Gosh, these networking events can get a bit loud right?
4: You think your age defines the value you bring
If you think that a student has nothing to offer at a networking event then you are simply wrong. If you think that scary grown-ups will not want to talk to you and they see you as just another kid that wants a job, you are half right. Some people will do that and those people will have missed an opportunity. They could be your future boss or you could be their future boss. In general, however, most of the “real grown-ups” will be open and inviting towards everyone, including students.
What to do:
- Impostor Syndrome no more! You are NOT unworthy of being there just because you don’t have a grown-up job yet.
- Focus on your strengths! If you find you tend to lead conversations with all the things you are not yet able to do, stop! The person talking to you does not want to sit through a session of you belittling yourself.
- Come prepared! Whether it is having a few conversation starters, or being up to date with politics, business and other news from the world, having a go-to topic to discuss will appease your nerves.