- Are you nervous or anxious before exams?
- Are you
- Are you looking for new ways study to make your studying more engaging and enjoyable?
- Do you want to know how top student get ready day before the exam?
You have come to right the right place! Here is few tips on how to best prepare for you exam day before.
1. Plan you trip
Make sure you know how to reach your exam location without any issues.
You are not going to write exams everyday so take steps to know how to get to the exam location without any issues.
Plan to be at the exam location at least 30 minutes before the exam.
If you are driving, make sure your car is gassed up (has enough fuel), and that you know how to get to the exam location without delays.
I recommend using Google Maps to plan it out!
If you are taking the public transit, make sure you have enough time to get to your location with connecting busses.
2. Check what is allowed to bring
Check what you are allowed to bring for each exam. Most exams do not let you keep your cell phones with you. Make sure it is turned off and kept in your bag.
If you are taking math-based courses, check if you have the right type of calculator for your exam. Ideally, you should be doing this much earlier when you first start to prepare for the exam.
Check if you can bring a watch. Some proctors may not allow certain types of watches to be worn in the exam.
3. Pack what you need: prepare backpack, supplies and clothes for tomorrow, today!
Don’t wait until the day of the exam to pack your stuff. Gather everything you need for tomorrow.
I remember I used to always bug my sister on the day of the exam to find things I need for the exam.
Here are some items you should gather for your exam:
- Pencils + pens + erasers
- Calculators (2x if possible)
- Watch
- Water bottle
- Earplugs
4. If anxious, write down what you worried about
I understand that many students suffer from exam anxiety and stress. Understand that you are not alone. There are many things we can do to help you ace your exams without anxiety interfering with your performance.
I’ll share with you my favourite method to reduce anxiety: Take a piece of paper, and write down what you are worried about the exam. Write everything that worries you. Don’t hold anything in. You will feel much better after you are able to articulate what you are worried about.
When I did this practice it helped me get rid of unnecessary fears and anxiety rattling in my mind. That practice gave me peace, so that I can concentrate on what I need to do for the exam day without worrying.
Writing my worries down also made it easier to find solutions and take actions to solve them from occurring again.
Sometimes when you are worried, you need to give space between your problems and you, so you can perceive it from different angles to come up with a solution.
Research has found writing how you feel has shown to reduce anxiety and increase performance in students.
The study found out that the greatest effects of this practice can be seen If you write about your thoughts and feelings regarding the exam you are about to take.
Take a piece of paper, set a timer to 10 minutes and just write what your feelings and thoughts are about the exam. Use bullet points if you have to.
5. Create a plan of attack for the exam
Create a plan to attack your exam. If you have multiple choice exams, make sure you dedicate time to do a couple of reviews to check for any answering errors.
If you do essay-based exams, plan how long you are going to spend on each question. For example, if you have two hours to do 10 questions, you have 12 minutes to spend on each question. Spend your time accordingly.
Same applies, if you have math-based exams. You need to plan your time in order to make sure you have enough time to answer all the questions. For example, if you have 3 hours and 50 questions to answer, you need to know that you only have 6 minutes to answer each math question.
Also, plan to write down any key details or formulas as rough notes as soon as you get the exam. This practice will warm up your brain for the exam and help you remember things better.
6. Go to Sleep Early the day before the exam.
I understand that it can be sometimes challenging to sleep the day before the exam. Make an agreement with yourself to go to sleep early and wake up early for the exam.
At least get some sleep before your exam. If you can sleep for 7+ hours that would be ideal.
Also, just because you didn’t get enough sleep you are not going to get a low grade or fail the exam. You can still perform at a very high level with little sleep. You cannot, however, do this every day or every exam.
Many professional athletes have a difficult time sleeping on certain days, but they can still perform at a very high level. Understand that it is not effective practice to maintain your high performance. NBA Players like Lebron James are known to sleep for upwards of 10 hours. Tennis Champion Roger Federer is known to sleep for upward of 12 hours on certain days.
Remember that getting enough sleep is a massive performance boost for you to ace your exam. But, not the only contribution for your performance.
7. Use two alarms to wake up the next day
This is a must do for the exam day. You don’t understand how many times I wake up in the middle of the night to check my phone to make sure I am not late for my exams on exam days.
I realized that this could have been easily avoided if I knew to use two alarm clocks to wake up.
Therefore, I highly recommend you set up two alarm clocks for the exam day to help you wake up. Understand that exam days are not like other days. Bit more time, extra care and prep is needed for yourself to improve performance.
8. The “Day Before Exam” Prep checklist:
- Plan you trip. Arrive at least 30 minutes before the exam.
- Check what you are allowed to bring.
- Pack what you need: prepare backpack, supplies and clothes for tomorrow
- Write down what you are worried about. Take a piece of paper, and write down what you are worried about the exam – It will help you get better control.
- Create a plan of attack for the exam
- Go to Sleep Early the day before the exam
- Use two alarms to wake up the next day