Study Stress and How to Overcome it!

[Mia238]

Hi everyone! 

Very soon exam periods (or study for exams) will start and I for one struggle with staying stress-free during this time. I thought I'd start a thread so everyone can share their little tricks to keeping sane during exam time and give ideas to the people who might be struggling. 

I personally like to workout in the morning! Whether it's going to the gym or just a walk around the block. It gets me out of bed in the morning and gives my day a productive and refreshing start. 

Let me know what works for you!

[hunginc]

I have a homegym and will say that it has helped not only with dealing with exam-related stress but with stress in general, and many other aspects of my health and wellbeing

[katurian]

My tip would be to study with others if you can, it really does help to make this whole process a lot less stressful! You could set up zoom study sessions where everyone will pick a concept, then take turns explaining it to the group. This works really well for content-heavy subjects like bio, psych and chem.

[Hannah-RO]

Great thread! I totally agree with @Mia238 about doing something to feel refreshed! We've just had a video come out on motivators which you can watch here

One of their tips is going for a walk, which is something I've been super into over the last few months  

Another thing that helped me when I was studying was trying not to be too hard on myself when chores weren't getting done. Knowing that sometimes I would be really busy and I wouldn't get around to making the house perfect is ok! Because I knew it wasn't forever. I tried to manage my priorities around what needed to be done and be realistic about my capacity when things were hectic.

[wanderingwasp]

I would say taking frequent short breaks is important because it boosts my productivity for periods of time and during the break, i just stretch, get a snack or talk to a friend to rest a bit

[Abderian]

I really agree with wanderingwasp on this one!

I think nowadays we feel pressure to be super productive all the time, which sometimes results in practices that are actually less productive. For instance, studying non-stop for hours on end, in which you lose concentration and end up hating life. For me, very short breaks (5 mins) every 25 minutes keep my brain feeling fresh. 

Here is a link to the specific technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFW3Ld7JO0w

[panda_6940]

I have exams coming up too! The stress is totally relatable. One of the methods I personally use to overcome stress is to simply hang out and talk with my family members. I find that it takes my mind of school work! This is particularly effective if you have a lot of siblings, but even if you don't, talking to your parents about anything can be a great way to relieve stress!

[hunginc]

@Abderian Agreed. I've played around with 25/5 and 50/10 (study/break time). For me, I feel like 25/5 is just about right

[sunnygirl606]

The best way I study is to try and make it fun! I create acronyms or stories to help me remember the content (especially the content I struggle with!). I also make things colourful and bright so my recall when I'm in the exam is better because I associate part of the content with a colour and it helps me to remember!

[November13]

I like to look at what I'm actually afraid of and how I'll cope if it happens. For me, I don't want to fail a subject because I don't want to be seen as a bad student, and it will take a bit longer for me to complete my degree. But then failing one out of 24 subjects won't erase my previous good marks, and having to spend another 3 months as a student is nothing compared to the 30 years I'll be in the workforce. Of course I'm not aiming to fail but if I do, it's not the end of the world!