How to Stay Motivated During Exam Season

There’s truly no time more stressful than the end of university. The workload is huge, the pressure is at its peak, and it’s too easy to fall into a last-minute slump. Here are six tips for keeping your motivation up right until the very end of exam season.

Don’t start celebrating too early

One of the trickiest things about exam season is the fact you and your friends will likely finish at different times, which can mean friends start spending late nights celebrating while you still have an exam or two to prepare for.

As unfair as it seems (and is), don’t start your celebrations until your exams are over. Trying to keep a distance from your post-exam friends and stay focused on your work. If you’ve managed to go this long without partying, a few more days can’t be so difficult.

Allow yourself small victories

If you have a cluster of exams, you should plan small and manageable rewards after each one. It’ll help keep your spirits high and your motivation up if you acknowledge and treat yourself after demanding work. It can also help you get back to studying, knowing you’ve taken a well-deserved (but short) break.

Use what works

The beneficial part of the latter end of exam season is you’ll have tried and true revision techniques down. Go over what you’ve done so far and assess what worked best. That way, you can work smarter, not harder.

Keep on top by staying organized

Breaking the work you need to do down into manageable chunks will help stop you becoming overwhelmed. Looking at the bigger picture can make things seem insurmountable. Make lists, plans or charts to help organize your remaining work. After all, there’s nothing more rewarding than crossing out an item on your to-do list.

Study with the right friends

Making studying into a social activity can help make it seem like less of a drag. Getting people together to work can therefore be hugely motivational – plus, they can keep you in line and on schedule.

What can be tricky is finding the right friends to study with. Be honest with yourself about how well you work with someone, and politely explain that there are certain people who really only serve to distract. A true friend will understand.

Take care of yourself

Exam season can become an excuse to let everything else go, but keeping up with exercise, eating healthily, getting enough sleep and maintaining self-care are all essential to staying motivated. Make sure you make time to take care of yourself, or you risk having problems down the line.

Annie Walton Doyle writes for Inspiring Interns, which specializes in sourcing candidates for internships and graduate jobs.