It has happened to everyone: you wait until a few days before your finals to actually take a look at your notes from the semester. You’re stressed about the tests and waiting until the last minute to prepare. It may seem that this a exam will mean the end of your life if you fail, but it’s really not. If you take the time to approach it piece by piece and early on, you can be in total control of your own grade, and you always have.
Right now is the perfect time to execute your plan of personal success. Let this be a reminder to take out that book or those notes today and begin the dreaded studying. It doesn’t have to be so daunting if you go at it with the mindset that you are going to work hard so you can earn a good grade. Being angry or frustrated with yourself will only bring you, and possibly your grade, down.
When you are actually studying your material, use all of your senses. Being fully immersed in your work when you are studying will only have a positive outcome. Shut off the phone or television when you’re studying, but make sure to have plenty of breaks. Distractions do their job and will keep you from getting your studying done. An environment free from things that could get you off track is ideal to help you study.
Even with all of these tips and tricks to help with the process, stress is a major issue that gets to high school students too often. Overcoming this is going to take a lot of preparation and as little procrastination as possible. Getting started early will prevent the night-before-cramming and stress on the test day. Exam day jitters are completely normal, and will most likely occur. You just have to go into that test with the mindset that you are completely in control and always have been.
Most importantly, you need to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. No grade you get is more important than your health. Focusing too much on the score you receive on a test could be disastrous for you, so the perfect balance of the two is what you need to find. Staying up late to study doesn’t do anything but worsen your test performance. A well rested mind is ideal for exam taking and will benefit you greatly. Spreading out your studying benefits you much more than trying to ambush your brain with the semester’s information the night before.
In the long run, these are just a few high school tests that will not matter much to you later in your life. Getting all worked up about them now will make you think you were just being silly when you look back on them. There is no reason to fret about finals if you take the right measures with the mindset that you are in total control.
