One week before your first exam:
1. Check that you are on schedule for your revision. Have all the subjects being examined been allocated time ?
2. Remember to revise actively, by asking yourself questions, making notes and using visual imagery to strengthen your recall. Use past papers to test your knowledge. Practice creating networks from memory and then using them as a blue print for writing practice answers within the time allowed. With only two days of revision left, start concentrating on the first couple of exams. Go through all your study cards at least once.
3. Safeguard your health by taking plenty of exercise in the fresh air. Eat well, a variety of fresh food including fruit and vegetables. Don’t try and exist on junk food. Avoid drinking too much tea or coffee while revising since this can impair your memory during the exam.
4. Get between 7 and 8 hours sleep each night. Don’t revise within an hour of going to bed. Don’t surf the internet or use your mobile phone in bed. Research suggests that the light from computers, tablets and phones stimulates the brain and makes it harder to drop off to sleep. A relaxation session (See my FREE Relaxation Response download) should help you enjoy a good night’s rest. Sound sleep, sensible diet and exercise are all as essential to exam success as disciplined studying.
The Day Before Your First Exam:
5. Prepare a check list of all the things you will need to bring with you to the examination room. Do you have a spare pen, are the batteries in your pocket calculator fresh?
6. With only one day to go there is no reason, if you have done your revision methodically, why you shouldn’t take the day off entirely. Forget your studies and enjoy yourself. Relax, unwind don’t even think about the examination
7. Before going to bed the night before, prepare everything you will need the following day.
8. If you are a heavy sleeper, then set the alarm to allow yourself ample time to get ready.
On the Day Itself:
9. Leave home with plenty of time to spare, so that if anything should go wrong, such as a train running late or a bus failing to arrive, you won’t be delayed and get into a panic. 10. Try eating a proper breakfast, even if you don’t feel much like food, since the act of eating helps reduce anxiety. Include an egg, fish or meat as well as bread or cereals, since protein helps your body digest the food more efficiently and helps ensure your energy levels remain high throughout the day.
You will find further details and visual demonstrations of all the information provided in these articles on my DVD Pass That Exam.