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One of the biggest mistakes I see students make in their revision is throwing themselves into a revision program that they don’t really understand or want to follow because they feel like it’s what they’re supposed to do. It’s usually a result of pressure from parents or teachers, or a reaction to friends and classmates knuckling down and the fear of being left behind.
If this is the situation you’re in now, then stop!
Revision is like so many things in life, in that you won’t do it to the best of your ability if you’re doing it because you feel like you have to. For your revision to be truly effective, you have to want to do it. Starting a revision program is a huge undertaking. If you do it properly, you’re going to be spending at least an hour or two revising every day between now and your exams.
Whether or not you think you’re ready, I recommend you answer a few questions:
- Why are you revising?
- How much do you want to pass your exams?
- Why do you want to pass them?
It might seem like a silly step, but I recommend you take two minutes, right now, to answer those questions. Write the answers on a piece of paper and pin them over your desk, or make your answers the wallpaper on your phone or laptop. There are going to be times during this process when you’d much rather be doing anything but revising and being able to quickly and easily remind yourself why you’re doing it could be the difference between doing that day’s work and slacking off by spending the evening watching YouTube or going out.
Have I scared you enough yet with all that talk of spending an hour or two revising every day?
If you think about it, it’s not really that scary. We’ve all seen the TV shows and movies with students pulling all night study sessions the night before a big test, pouring coffee down their throats to get them to the end of whatever textbook they’re reading. Those scenes usually end with the same students falling asleep with their pens in their hands, either in their rooms at about 4 am, or, worse yet, in the exam room.
The last thing you want going into a busy exam period is stress through constant studying. You need time to relax, recharge your batteries and clear your mind.
One of the most important things to learn at the outset of your revision plan is how to maintain a healthy work-life balance. There’s no reason why you should give up spending time with your friends, watching your favorite TV show or even playing video games every now and then.
I firmly believe that sprinkling activities you enjoy throughout your revision plan is the only way you’ll ever stick to it – it’s much better for you to maintain a consistent one or two hours every day between now and your exams than to aim for five or six hours of revision only to give up after half a week because you’re exhausted.
So give your revision a much better chance of succeeding by starting to understand why you’re doing it and by making sure you don’t let it take over your life.
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