So, the reason why you're stressed is probably this: you procrastinate and therefore you have not done enough work. Actually, right now, I have two essays to write that have to be done by tomorrow evening and instead of working on them, I am writing this. Even if you do a lot of work...do more.
I know this is boring, but revising (or studying) every single day will help reduce your stress...by quite a lot. Not for long, just one or two hours and try to focus on the things that you don't actually know. The mistake I did an awful lot for my maths exams back in Year Nine/Year Ten (ages 13-16) was revising stuff I knew but didn't know that well and stuff I knew from the back of my hand and that's it. I didn't even bother trying to learn the 3D shape with the X and Y on it and...yeah, I hope you know that one, because I still don't have a clue.
This one is preached an awful lot, but drinking water and snacking on healthy food often will increase your brain's ability to do a better job, put simply. What's the point in revising a lot if you're not going to remember it, or you'll be so tired on the day of your exam that you just want to fall asleep on the desk rather then spend the little hour you have on that essay? Which is another thing, go to bed early and get at least eight hours rest everyday. Finding a place where you feel like you have the most sleep is best, but it's usually about eight. I think, don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure *nervous giggle*.
I have also developed revision sheets (I may or may not show in a future post) that I find quite helpful. I, for background information, am re-sitting my A Level exams and coursework, and one of them is "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. The other thing we are doing is poetry by W.B.Yeats, which is...quite a lot of poems, at least ten I think. For poetry, I have created summary sheets quickly explaining what the poem is about, any context that goes with it, important quotes/verse form/words etc that would be useful in the exam, and a quote from another Yeats poem for a quick comparison between them, with the full poem attached to it just in case I want to look over it quickly. For "The Picture of Dorian Gray", I have created very similar profile sheets for each major character in the book, the same goes for themes, and also a couple of sheets each dedicated to critical opinion and context.
Something I found really useful in my high school exams, too, was printing off past paper questions from online websites and just doing at least three or four per week and continuously improving them and improving them, because not only does this help you practice actual writing but as you do it, all the useful information you need will start to sink into your head. Do it in exam style conditions, which would only take an hour per essay for example if you're doing English Literature like me, or however long you'll think will be given per question if you're doing something like science or geography.
I never had any friends in school, so if you're like me on that front, don't worry about having someone there to ask questions to and have them tell you if you're right or wrong, you can do that yourself with study cards! You can get them in a variety of colours so they're pretty useful. Which reminds me, making things eye catching for you (it doesn't matter if they are to anyone else), that will help you take the information in, especially if you're a visual learner.
Remember, the more work you do, the less stressed you get, I promise. It'll all be worth it in the end.
With that said, I wish you good luck on your upcoming exams and will see you for my next post!
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