Overcoming exam stress

come may- nov

everybody gets worked up, especially parents, and students. Who amongst them are most affected is hard to say, because it differs, based on the mental make-up of each of them. This is the season of advice, which students get unsolicited from all corners. Caught in the vortex of the collective frenzy, any student will be at the end of his tether. How can a student overcome this exam-phobia and face it calmly, and confidently, and come out not just unscathed, but really victorious?

To begin with, we must all know that hypersensitivity to anything is not desirable, and that includes exams. Being too anxious, concerned or worried is not a state of mind suitable for exams. The best state of mind is a quiet confidence that is borne out by adequate preparation to face the exam. Undue anxiety is counter-productive. Fear, more imaginary than real will sap the energy that is to be used for intelligent learning. Stress, up to a certain level acts as a motivation to study. But undue stress can bog you down. There are cases of students who become too nervous during exams. They cut down on their sleep and food, and get into a desperate mode of study. These are likely to be dangerous. The human brain functions best when the mind is calm and the body is healthy. Giving up sleep and food in the run up to the exam is a recipe for disaster.

A well-planned schedule and a steady routine, aided by a calm mind, provide the best backdrop for effective preparation for exams. Start studying. No work will be done, unless it is started. Extending the same logic, we can say that any work will be done if it is started. So the important first step is to start studying. Once you start, you get interested, and you become more confident and more interested. Do not ever look back.

Now, the question is, what should be done. Concentrate on what remains to be done, and how best you can do it. Thus the crucial question that makes the whole difference is `getting started'. Performing well in exams does not necessarily mean that the student is more intelligent than the others. More often than not, it is because they have a better sense of planning and organisation about their study. In other words they are better organised. Such people take into account the time available, consider the relative difficulty level of each subject, and allot a time frame for each subject.

During `study holidays' as they are popularly known, a timetable has to be drawn up by every student. This self-drawn timetable should be religiously observed. A student's earnestness is best tested in the observance of this timetable. A student who is truthful to his/her own timetable will be successful.

You need a frame of mind to study well. Effective study calls for absolute concentration. This requires a thorough cleaning up of your mind. Do steer clear of all those unwanted, unhelpful thoughts, which take away your attention while trying to study. While TV viewing is a good pastime, it is the most dangerous distracter for a student preparing for an exam. Students can make a list of distracters and vow to keep them at bay. One example would be long telephone conversations with friends. Study holidays are meant for serious individual effort.

In most of the cases, combined studies end up as combined chat sessions. However, there is no harm in seeking clarifications from friends or teachers, when a real need arises. Sharing of information and discussion of topics are certainly good academic exercises, but not on the eve of the exams when time is at a premium. Those who own computers with an Internet connection ought to be on their guard. Internet, though a veritable source of valuable information, has chances to distract youth. Avoid Internet like a plague during the exam season.

The time, duration and place of study are also matters of personal choice. What is very important, however, is choosing a calm and quiet place, conducive to serious study, and absolute concentration, away from all possible distractions. Some students want to study behind closed doors. This is not a good idea, because chances are that one sleeps off, or goes on to some other distracters. In any case, even if you are in your own study room, do not lock the door. One must study for a few hours and then take a short break and relax. It is very important that one relaxes now and then, especially when one grows weary and tired.

Reading and writing should go hand-in-hand while preparing for exams. A subject like maths particularly is not to be read like other subjects. Problems in maths will have to be worked out, again and again to learn them thoroughly. Note making for other subjects has several advantages. The notes will be of great help on the eve of the exam, when one will not have time to read the entire portion. Note making also helps keep one's mind on tract. Writing practice helps acquire speed when appearing for the exams. The human mind is very capricious. It can just refuse to toe the line, and has the tendency to wander off. One of the methods to hold the mind's attention on a given task is to read aloud. It is the best mnemonic (memory skill) device. Loud reading, however, should not become a habit, to the total exclusion of silent reading. When there are other children also studying at home, reading aloud can pose problems, and in that case reading may have to be regulated by restricting the time or changing the location of reading. Repetition can obviously be wearisome, but necessary. Preparing for exams is basically an exercise in repetition. The more we read, the more we absorb. The more we write, the stronger our memory. Reading, writing, and memorising over and over again are the only means to perform better in exams.

Whether we like it or not, exams are here to stay, and memory has tremendous value in exams. The only sensible option is to face them head-on, by studying well, and repeatedly, with a self-imposed punishing schedule, till every part of the syllabus is at our fingertips. When we reach that stage, or near about it, we will become confident. Let us not forget that exams are a test of our confidence, as much as it is that of our knowledge.

"Nothing succeeds like success." For this, the very first condition is the will to succeed. We need to have the determination to succeed against all odds, a desire to perform the best in the exams. An unshakable determination followed up with unflinching perseverance is the secret behind the success of every individual. There is no shortcut to success, except hard work.

Every serious student must be prepared to put in real hard work for the exams. It is a fact that the human brain can be most receptive during pressing circumstances, like exams. It can receive vast amounts of knowledge and retain them. The brain co-operates very well. Why don't you co-operate too? It is never too late, if only you started. So start now.