High School Wellness Talk with LLB

TIME MANAGEMENT BEFORE AND DURING EXAMS

Time management is essential in the growth of your career. And it begins now

It is exactly two months before the matriculants’ year-end examinations, and time management is essential to effective exam preparation.

This is important because it helps learners to use the weeks before their exams wisely and reduces unnecessary stress and last-minute studying. Learners should begin preparing early by creating a realistic study timetable that allocates their available time among subjects and prioritizes areas where they need the most improvement.

A well-planned routine should include dedicated study periods, short breaks, adequate sleep, meals, exercise, relaxation, and time for family and social activities.

By setting clear daily and weekly goals and consistently following their study plan, learners can cover their work gradually, strengthen their understanding and memory, and approach the exam period with greater confidence and a sense of control. This article is recommended to help the learner prepare mentally and physically for the upcoming exam period.

To achieve this, you need to organize a dedicated study plan and make a habit of following it to the core. It is during this time that you can start exercising with old exam papers to test your readiness and identify which areas you need to put more emphasis on. It will also help to test your speed and, where necessary, scribble on your flash cards, make your notes, and make corrections.

If there is a need to make amendments to your study plan, this is the time to effect changes.

When you finish your study plan in the first week of the eight-week preparation period, it means that you have the rest of the time to study in a relaxed manner, and by the end of the period you won’t experience anxiety or exam pressure. 

Time management strategies

Pomodoro technique: Set a timer for 25 minutes of deep studying, then 5 minutes of rest, to maintain focus and prevent burnout. Repeat 4 times, then take a longer break (15 – 30 minutes).

Time blocking: Divide the day into distinct blocks. Assign each block to a specific subject/ chapter. Short chapters can be paired together. Assign each block a specific time.

Eisenhower Matrix: Sort your subjects by order of importance and urgency. Some tasks you can do immediately, some you can schedule for later; other tasks can be delegated to siblings or colleagues. You can delete tasks that aren’t important. This gives you a chance to do the high-priority tasks first, and it helps you to prevent an open to-do list.

Eat that frog: Eating the frog means doing the most difficult or unpleasant task first thing in the morning, then you know the rest of the day is easy. This means that when you finish your major task first, the rest of the duties are completed without stress and in less time.

Task Batching: In this strategy, you save time by grouping similar tasks together and doing them in the same time block. In this way you avoid jumping around to do unrelated tasks, and losing focus in the end. It also helps to lower your stress.

Just a quick recap on the effective study habits you can adopt in the coming weeks of the plan:

• Spaced repetitions will help to keep information fresh in your mind.
• Active recall methods, saying the information aloud to yourself or writing a summary of what you have learned in your own words.
• Organizing notes, flashcards, coloring your  text books to mark all the important points will make you remember them easily.
• Breaking difficult projects into smaller chunks and paying more attention to high priority subjects.
• Balancing study routine to accommodate study time, sleep and relaxation and personal life.
• Prioritizing tasks that need more focus and allocating time appropriately.
• Stop procrastinating; it will only cause you more stress in the end.
• Ensure that you cover all the subjects you put on your plan before the last day arrives. On the last day before the exam, focus on high yield review, rather than learning something new.
• Focus on weak areas, especially topics that you often get wrong, rather than what you know well.
• Collect all your exam necessities (pens, pencil, calculator, student ID, admission letter) and put them in the bag to avoid running around in the morning.
• Make sure to get a good night’s sleep so that you are nice and relaxed in the morning. Avoid late-night studying.
•  

In the morning, wake up on time, set an alarm if necessary, freshen up, and enjoy a good breakfast. Leave early for school so that you don’t have time pressure.

During the exam timing

Read through all the questions quickly and select the difficult ones from the easy. Divide your total time by the marks and leave 5-10 minutes at the end for review. Answer what you know immediately. This builds confidence and collects easy points faster than the difficult ones. If stuck on a difficult question, make a mark or leave a space and move on to the next. Do not let one question steal time from others.

After answering all questions, use the remaining time to check for blank spots or calculation and spelling errors.

Cheers. Stay healthy, clean and of sound mind.

---