Studying for Finals.

Oh so the final season is creeping up on us, isn't it? It doesn't have to be a lame season, to be honest, whoever you are; whether you're a hard worker, a successful procrastinator or a just-pass student. I think the reason we fret and stress is that we never organise our time PLUS never put genuine effort into what we do. So here are some tips to help you prepare and hopefully do your best in your final examinations.



1. Planning:
Most of us just rush into studying one day before our exam, or feel like a fish out of water one month before. And that, explains that you've got no plan at all. So here's how you plan for studying.
- Be aware of your time frame, in terms of days; that means, check how many days you've got to cover all the material you need to run through for your exam.
- Open up the index of your books: check the chapters that you need to cover during that time period and list them down in your to-do list.
- Now, check if there are any activities or questions you can answer for these specific chapters. If it's something like Math or Physics, you can allocate a number of mixed problems for each chapter. For literature and essay-type courses, choose a couple of essay questions in your book or from other sources that you can do to allow your studying to simply sink in.
- Divide the course material (as in the number of chapters and assigned questions) on the number of days you've got. NOTE: never attempt to over-detail your plan by assigning chapters to specific days and hours, because it's simply unrealistic. Keep in mind that some days, you won't feel like studying. Other days, you'll go for a family visit or whatever. Plan your daily studying plan on the same morning, but beforehand, just make sure you can cover the whole course, and even leave free two days or more just in case. Also, keep in mind that the day before your exam, you won't be studying specific chapters but overview the whole course.
- Design your plan in a suitable, cheerful format and hang it on your wall or bulletin board. Make checkboxes or any type of indication that you've finished one item from the to-do list.

2. Action:
Plans were never meant to be left on a shelf or hung on the wall without being implemented. Many students spend a lot of time coming up with a idealistic plan but never translate it into action. And that's a problem that stresses us out.
- Whether you've already studied the material or still starting from scratch, the best indicator of whether you've got things inside your brain or not is by making flow charts and diagrams. Organise the chapter into a series of circles that have arrows pointing out of them. Like for example, managerial functions are four, so you draw four arrows and write them down and explain them in your mind the way you understand them. The whole key to the success of this step is to do it without looking in the book. Well, just scan the main points but do the rest on your own. This will allow the information to get clustered and tightly-wound so that you hold on to the material longer. This method is effective unlike reading the whole syllabus while you're on your bed because that just leaves your mind overflowing with information, and to minimize the overload, you brain will probably compromise some stuff that can accidentally come up in your exam. Whether you're studying biology or psychology or astronomy, it will work and I can guarantee you that.
- Next step is to exercise. Manipulate your information. Allow it to evolve and prove its functionality. And that's by solving the questions you assigned for yourself in the plan. But the best tip is to solve the questions the same day you studied the accompanying material to just get it to sink in. For subjects like English and philosophy where you need to write papers and essays, it's not quite easy to study and right away, write something down. Writing comes with inspiration. So my best advice is to pick a day, stay out in the sunlight, read a really good book and just bring it on. Reading kind of stimulates your talent to rise up and allows the words to flow. And that's what you need, right?
- If it's possible, it would be so much better to check your answers so that you don't proceed in doing things wrong and wasting all your efforts. Sometimes, it's not that possible. But usually, you get that intuitive feeling regarding those matters. Don't ignore it. And if you find yourself doing too many mistakes. Don't panic. Sometimes it's just lack of concentration and a signal to make you stop. That's a chance to go outside or read, or do any of the activities you want to do to free your mind a little bit.

3. Evaluation and revision:
This step is the most critical step of all because it shifts you from being a mere student, to a learner. And that's a great difference. Once you're done, and have reached the end of your to-do list (you don't really have to do every single thing in it, that's okay), the best way to conclude is to write up what you learned from your course. Usually, I just list out the most interesting and mysterious points in each chapter that piqued my passion. Like in my management course, I learned who leaders are, and the traits accompanied by most leaders. I always wondered whether I could ever be a leader or not, and it turned out that I wouldn't be an effective one just yet. So make your list relatable, including things that you can apply in real life. Even if it is physics or chemistry, you've learned a lot. You don't have to list out equations or whatever, but it's all about the essence of the science. How amazing electrons are, or how mysterious space is. Just write it down.
The day before your exam, it would come in handy to just revise the flow charts you've made quickly, explaining it to yourself briefly, just to make sure you don't forget anything. And that's it. Spend the rest of the day doing something you like, but not an activity that would shift you out of the examination mood like partying or something. Go for a walk, watch a movie with your siblings, read, listen to music.. whatever you want. :)

I know that the list seems endless and demanding but I assure you, once you've organized your time efficiently, you'll find most of your days free. All you need is effective bouts of concentration while you study and just make sure you process the information. You can empower your mind, communicate with it and just allow it do its thing. It will surprise you.

One piece of advice is not to stay at home studying all day, it won't do anything but alienate you. Develop a routine of a morning walk, or have breakfast with your friends or in a cafe, watch a movie in the evening with your parents.. Just don't over do it.

Avoid coffee unless you're like extremely addicted to it. If you usually don't drink coffee and tea, and think that trying it out will keep you more alert or whatever, you're totally wrong. It will only make your heart beat faster the whole day, make you anxious and disrupt your sleeping pattern. Eat fruits and vegetables instead of dense snacks like crisps which make you lethargic and increase inflammation. Listen to music or play a musical instrument if you can, practice your hobbies like writing poetry or stories or drawing and painting. Don't deprive yourself of your favorite activities just because you have exams.

On the day of your exam, make sure you empower your mind, instil positive energy and concentration within you. Read the questions well before answering and organise your answer before writing it down. If you find a question you do not know, skip it and head for the next. They always say that but it actually really works, as your mind subconsciously processes it and looks for answers. When you're done, revise your answers the other way round, which means start with the last question. It kind of refreshes the way your brain reads things and classifies it as something partially new because of the changed order, so you might be able to find more mistakes and so forth.

The best thing I ever learned to do with my studying is that I trusted my mind, and handled information properly. If you want more tips, take the course Learning How To Learn on coursera. Just follow the link here, it's free!

In the end, it's not even about the grades more than it's about what gets into your head, and what shapes your identity. Focus on growing and developing your intellect instead of memorising everything, and it will make a huge difference.