AT this time of year, thousands of students all over the country are preparing for the Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations.
This can be a stressful time for students themselves as well as for their parents and families. As psychologists, we are often asked for tips about how to manage the stress so that it does not become overwhelming.
So in this article, we will summarise some psychological tips to help students and parents survive exam time and keep their sanity intact!
By this stage of the year, most students will have worked out some kind of study timetable and hopefully are already in a fairly good pattern of study. However, given that much useful studying takes place in the last week or two before exams, it is worth mentioning a few basic guidelines to improve the quality of study time, which we like to call ‘Smart Studying’.
TIPS FOR STUDENTS
Take breaks: Try to study in ‘bite-sized’ chunks, taking a short break around every 40 minutes (our natural concentration span does not allow us to study productively for lengthy unbroken periods).
A lark or an owl? Use your best time of day most, so ask yourself whether you are an ‘owl’ or a ‘lark’. If you are more alert and productive early in the day, then focus most of your studying earlier in the day, rather than forcing yourself to study late in the evening. And of course the reverse applies, if you tend to be groggy in the mornings but come to life in the afternoon and evening, then play to your strengths by studying more later in the day.
Lone worker or team player? Especially as the exams get close, figure out how you work best, for example alone or with others. Some students really like the support of studying with one or more friends, sharing materials and so forth. However, for others, being around other students can lend itself to making unhelpful comparisons and scaremongering, so don’t feel that you have to be in constant contact with others if you feel calmer studying quietly at home.
Overdoing the coffee: Resist the temptation to use caffeine or other substances to keep you alert for longer. Caffeine is …….