Morning and afternoon exams are obviously very different, and I know that everyone has one they prefer. Personally, I like morning exams much better because I feel fresher and more energised in the morning and so I'm able to concentrate for longer - most of the time anyway!!
So here is what I do on the day of the exam to help me feel prepared and calm.
1) Confidence
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most self-confident person in the world. My motto for confidence is "fake it till you make it" and that works pretty well most of the time!
For both my exams so far, I've woken up early before college so I can wash my hair and plan an outfit so I feel like I look half-decent anyway!! Another advantage of washing my hair in the morning is that it helps me feel less tired and groggy and so I don't feel like I'll fall asleep before I even get in the exam hall!
2) No cramming!!
The morning of an exam I try really hard not to cram. I know its really tempting, but I don't find cramming helpful to me at all. The only revision I do is to read through past answers that I've scored high marks on so I can remember the style I've written in and also the exam technique.
3) Relax!
I feel that I do much better in an exam if I'm not stressing my head off before! Before my lit resit this morning, I played my favourite music playlist and had a laugh with my youngest sister before she went to school. Before my afternoon exam on Wednesday, I had a really nice dinner and spent the morning reading over a past answer I'd done and chilled with my Mum before I went to college.
4) Positivity
My college shared a post this week on social media this week which was advice on how to prepare for your exams and I found it really informative (if you're interested, this is the article. One of the things it suggested is to surround yourself with people who make you feel good/calm before your exam. So I've spent a lot of time this week with my parents and closest friends because I know they'll stop me from going crazy!! I also took a break from social media from the night of my exam until I'd sat it. Other people's nerves really affect me and so taking a little break helped me to stay calm.
5) Believe in yourself
Before an exam, I always tell myself that I'll be fine. Again and again and again and again until I start to believe it. This helps me to stop panicking because I know that I know the knowledge, but I also know I'll forget it all if I stress and worry that I'll fail!
So that's my top 5 tips for how to be calm before an exam; obviously everyone has different things that work for them but I hope this inspires you before your exams.
I know I forgot this last week, but this week's Song of the Week is: This Is What You Came For by Rihanna and Calvin Harris. Such a fab song - another song for this summer I reckon!
Next week is my official final week in college so hopefully I'll have lots of leavers' photos to share with you. I can't believe I'm leaving Newman next week, these past two years seem to have flown by! Scary but also one more step towards uni!
If you'd like to vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month for May, you can do that here. Thanks so much for all your votes, I appreciate it so much!!
Good luck with any upcoming exams, just believe in yourself and you'll smash them!
Anna x
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