Life Lately: Preparing for final exam

Good day, hivers! Are you busy right now? This previous week? Especially those students like me? Finally, the school year will come to an end! But of course, we won't leave it with chills, we all have to go through hard times, tremendous activities, never-ending study, and sleepless nights, all of those. Today, I will be sharing those moments with you, stay stunned!

Periodical exam is every student's nightmare. As it approaches, life has been a mix of stress and sleeplessness because of studying. The last quarter is that time of the semester when everything feels like a race, trying to remember all those lessons we tackled and study them all in one session. Honestly, this cycle turned out to be boring and ineffective if I did it alone. Sometimes, to make it work, we need changes, and to do so, I joined group study with my friends.

THE PRESSURE IS ON

Saturday came, 2 days away from taking our final exam, we decided to meet up and do our study session. In just one day, notebooks, reviewers, pens, and scratch papers are everywhere. We have to study 8 subjects for 2 days, 4 subjects for each day. The first subject made us exhausted so quickly, tired of memorizing terms and understanding them word for word. Until the last subject, everything is so draining. The first day literally took our energy out to a greater level.

In one snap, it was Sunday. We were nervous and at the same time motivated. Nervous because we realized that we were procrastinating everything at the last minute and motivated because we thought of the unproblematic days ahead, waiting for us. So, we've been trying our best to stick with our study routine even if our brain feels like it's running out of storage. Fighting with 2 major subjects and 2 other heavy subjects tested our patience and consistency.

HOW WE MADE IT EFFECTIVE

Although exams require studying the truth is not just all about studying, it's about management. Here are some things we've been doing to stay sane:

Make a to-do-list

Before diving into studying, it was very important to know your aim and stay organized so everything would be clear. First step is to make a to-do list, creating a list of topics we want to cover for each day. Through this, it helps us ensure we don't forget any important things. Aside from that, it also felt satisfying to check off our topics one by one because it gave us the vibe of studying with management.

Listening to music

One thing that me and my friend liked about each other is that we love music. While studying, complete silence sometimes makes us feel bored and out of focus, so we listen to music while studying to add spice. Vibing with Lo-fi beats, classical music, and even music with soft instrumentals helps us build concentration, it makes studying less stressful.

Take a break

As time went by, we noticed that studying non-stop isn't effective at all and instead, it gives us more burden. Taking short breaks, whether it's stretching, grabbing some snacks, or simply talking to each other, will contribute a lot! If you want stress-less studying but effective, don't forget to take a break! The importance of balance says it all!

Test questions

To make it more effective, it's best to know if we really understand what we've been studying. The best way to do this is by answering test questions we prepared individually. Instead of just reading those notes and reviewers, questioning and practicing taught us to be prepared. Aside from that, this technique allows us to spot our weak areas and improve our confidence for the upcoming examination.

We all know that studying for an exam isn't really easy. Despite the stress, we always reminded each other that this is just one step of the journey and that a well-deserved break, vacation, and celebration come after. There's always a solution to any difficulties, whether being organized, finding ways to be motivated, allowing ourselves to take a moment to rest, or fusing it together could solve this hard moment. With this enjoyable technique, I know we're all ready to face the test papers!

To everyone in the same situation, best of luck! We got this!