Introduction
Your big exam is coming up, and you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work that’s required to prepare. It’s hard to stay motivated when you feel like your brain can’t take in any more information! However, with these strategies for staying motivated during exam preparation, you’ll be able to keep yourself on track and ace your test.
1. Start early
Studying for an exam is like preparing for a marathon. You need to be able to pace yourself, and if you don’t start early, there’s a good chance that you’ll run out of steam before the finish line.
If you begin studying early enough, it will give you more time to prepare as well as allow for any last minute cramming or revisions before the exam date arrives. Additionally, because exams tend to be on Fridays (or in some cases during the weekend), starting early gives students an opportunity to study other courses while they wait for their own test scores–which means less pressure when it comes down time!
2. Create a study plan
- Create a study plan that is realistic and flexible.
- Set a schedule and stick to it. It’s important to make sure that you are not overworking yourself, but also don’t underwork either. You should give yourself enough time each day to rest and recuperate from the stress of studying, which means that if you have too many hours in one day, then something needs to change (e.g., cut back on how many hours).
- Include breaks throughout the day so as not to burn out on exam prep work before even getting started!
3. Reward yourself with small treats along the way
When you’re studying for exams, it can be easy to get discouraged. You may feel like you’re not making progress or that your learning isn’t sticking with you. It’s important to remember that even though small rewards aren’t going to make or break your grade in an exam, they will help keep your spirits up!
Rewards can be anything from spending time with friends or family, watching a movie, buying yourself something nice (like ice cream), reading a book – anything that makes you happy! They should also be given after achieving a small goal such as finishing one chapter of the textbook or memorizing 10 key terms in the subject area being tested on the exam.
The rewards should then be given at the end of each week or month so that they are more meaningful than just handing them out randomly throughout these times when studying might seem like more work than playtime!
4. Find ways to make studying more enjoyable and fun
- Find a study buddy. The more people you can get on board to help you prepare for your exams, the better! Having someone else to bounce ideas off of and discuss what you’ve learned will make studying much more enjoyable.
- Find a study group. If there are other students who are also preparing for their exams at around the same time as yourself, consider forming an ad-hoc group where everyone meets up once or twice per week and goes over each others’ work together in order to get feedback on how they’re doing and whether or not they need any extra help understanding certain concepts/topics (i.e., “what exactly does this mean?”). This way everyone benefits from having multiple perspectives on things instead of just one person’s opinion which could potentially lead them down the wrong path if left unchecked by other sources–which may have different opinions based upon previous experiences with similar material in school settings like yours!
5. Get enough sleep each night
One of the most important things you can do for your brain is get enough sleep each night. Sleep has been shown to have a huge impact on memory and learning, so it’s no surprise that students who get more rest are often better prepared for exams than those who don’t.
For example, researchers from Harvard Medical School found that people who slept just four hours per night felt as if they had only gotten 2-3 hours of sleep when asked to perform cognitive tasks after being awake for 24 hours–even though they were actually well rested! In addition, one study found that college students who slept less than six hours per night performed worse on tests than those who slept eight hours per night or more (1).
So how should you go about getting better quality shuteye? First off: stop using your phone before bedtime! A recent study revealed that using electronic devices such as smartphones within an hour of going to sleep can make it harder for us fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer than usual (2). This means if you’re reading this article right now on your laptop or smartphone instead of reading it tomorrow morning at home on paper like I’m doing right now…well then maybe consider switching over!
6. Think positively
One of the most important things you can do to stay motivated is to think positively. It’s easy to get down on yourself when you’re studying for an exam, especially if you’re having trouble with one or more of the topics covered in your course. But this isn’t just a good idea because it will boost your mood–it’s also essential for helping your brain retain information and make connections between concepts that need to be linked together.
Think about it: when we’re feeling down, our brains tend not only fail us but also betray us by sabotaging our efforts at studying by making everything feel too hard or impossible. In contrast, when we keep ourselves positive (and realistic), our brains are able to focus on what needs doing without becoming overwhelmed by negative thoughts and feelings which could otherwise distract them from their task at hand.
With these strategies, you can be sure that your exam preparation goes well!
To prepare for an exam, you should:
- Take time to prepare.
- Plan ahead.
- Stay motivated throughout your preparation period by focusing on the benefits of learning and absorbing information, rather than being afraid of failure or being negative about your abilities in relation to other people’s abilities (e.g., “I have no idea what this is all about! Everyone else must know more than me.”).
To stay motivated during exam preparation, you could also think about what would happen if you didn’t do well on the test–if that happens, then what will be my next step?
Conclusion
If you follow these strategies, you’ll be able to stay motivated throughout your exam preparation and make the most of it.
