Keeping it all in perspective

Well, I know this is tricky as we rapidly approach exam season, but there is absolutely no reason to lose the plot at this point.  You need to point everything at showing up as your best self when it comes to exam day.  Your academic studies need to take priority because, well, they are your current priority, but everything else just needs to tone down rather than stop altogether. 

So let’s look at some ways to do this.

Have a solid revision programme

Hopefully a revision plan has been in place for a while, but there could be a number of reasons why this hasn’t happened yet.  IT’S NOT TOO LATE! You just need to prioritise. Have a look at this Revision Schedule blog for some tips to make the most of your time.

Exercise and fresh air

Make sure that you spend some time outside and get some exercise.  This is a sure way for everyone to feel mentally better and happier and is backed up by Science as explained by Mind in this link. It’s tempting to give everything up and just focus on your exams, but it is potentially counter-productive.  So get some fresh air!

Seeing friends / partners

Connecting with friends is vital.  Not doing this during the pandemic had terrible consequences for mental health, especially in teenagers.  Some make some time for this.  It’s all about balance at this point.  Your academic studies may need to take priority just now, but that doesn’t mean stopping everything else until the exams are over. Here’s some advice from Young Minds.

Relaxing

Make sure that you are giving your brain a chance to recharge and sort out all the things that you have been working on.  Giving yourself a brain break helps your brain to file things away and make sense of everything that you have been doing, ready to recall it when you need to in the exam. Take those breaks as an investment for the weeks to come.  You don’t want to burn out before the exams. 

Eyes on the prize

Keep remembering why you are doing these exams – not because you have to, but because of the opportunities they will give you when you do well. That will be individual for all of you, but even if you don’t know for sure what you are going to do next, passes in your Maths and English Language will keep as many doors open as possible. If you keep losing sight of why you are revising, make sure that you record it somehow, to remind yourself when you forget.  Something like “Keep going so you can get to 6th Form” or “Revise your Maths and English so that you NEVER have to do them again!”.

Thanks from your future self

Have a go at visioning your future self.  What do you see? Where are you? And what are you doing? What can you in these next few weeks that will help you realise your vision? This can help you to keep things in focus and have something to aim for rather than just blindly stabbing in the dark (hope you appreciated the Macbeth allusion…). 

Try not to compare yourself with others

Everyone is on a different journey and therefore what they need to do and how they need to do it is going to be very different.  Try really hard not to compare what you are doing with other people.  They may be exaggerating, they may have a different learning style to you or they may have different goals.  It’s tough, but comparison is not helpful at all and can really take up precious brain space that you need to be freed up for revision. 

The main thing is DO SOMETHING! You can make a difference to your grades AND keep mentally healthy 🤗

SUE

Owner of Red Bird Tutoring