On and before the day of the exam, good preparation is essential to be able to perform at your best. Exam preparation and sufficient study are of course the be-all and end-all but beyond that there are still some things to consider to reduce stress. Below, Fabian Bacherle (coach, seminar leader and podcaster) gives you three essential tips for exam day that can help you perform at your best.
Examination day is just around the corner – with these tips nothing will go wrong!
One has always participated diligently during the semester, learned in the exam phase the scripts up and down and worked on enormous amounts of old exams. Despite good preparation and strict adherence to the study plan, however, you may not be able to perform on the day of the exam. In the end, a bad grade comes out, although it should have been much better.
So that this doesn’t happen to you and you can reward yourself for your long and persistent exam preparation with a great grade, I have 3 tips for you today that will help you to achieve your best performance on exam day!
1. On exam day, good preparation is half the battle
To perform your best on exam day, it’s especially important not to struggle with things you could have avoided. There is nothing more annoying than panicking on a closed day because you are pressed for time or don’t have your stuff together. Therefore, at least one day before, think about what you can already do now to be able to go to the exam on the big day as relaxed as possible.
When to go? The hours before…we all know them
On the one hand you should plan the time before the exam so far that you don’t get under time pressure. You can think about when you want to get up and at what time you have to leave. It is important that you arrive at the exam venue with sufficient buffer, as this is sometimes a lecture hall you have never been in before. Especially shortly before exams, subways tend to suddenly break down and traffic jams are also very common at this time. This tip may seem a bit trivial to you, but I know from my own experience that in every exam at least one student is always late. I’m going to assume that you don’t want to be this.
On the other hand, you should be clear in advance which tools and other things you need for the exam. These could include, but are not limited to, formulas, calculators, law books, scripts, drawing materials, pencils, geo triangles, and identification documents. The devil is often in the detail. Before you do this, find out exactly what is allowed. Popular items include "non-programmable" calculators, "one-sided handwritten DIN A4 sheets" as a collection of formulas, or books and scripts "without sketches and additions".
There are often candidates who ask the exam supervisor shortly before the exam whether they are allowed to use their own formulary and not the officially released one from the chair. This is rejected in 99% of the cases, because the supervisors are usually only employees of the chair and have clear instructions. These nice ladies and gentlemen have little desire to be reprimanded by their boss later on.
2. Chill out or study on exam day?
Among the students there is the widespread myth on the exam day in no case still something for the exam to learn. "It’s no use anymore, you’d better relax". On the other hand, many students learn the most on the day of the exam, because in panic mode they want to hammer as much information as possible into their short-term memory. This leads to these students not being able to access their full performance potential and concentrate optimally due to overexertion and increased stress levels. What should you do now?
The truth lies in the middle. Studying on exam day is not bad per se, as long as you don’t overdo it and don’t panic because you feel you can’t do anything. If, for example, you don’t write your exam until noon, there’s nothing to stop you going over your material again in the morning. Alternatively, you can meet with your study group beforehand to quiz each other or to discuss key topics.
Spotify and the routine
Of course, you can also do things that knowingly relax you or give you energy, like.B. Listen to music and do sports. In addition, you can also do things where you get into a productive flow state. These should not be particularly mentally challenging for you and you should see a positive end result right away. Mostly, these activities fall under things that have fallen a little under the radar in the previous days of exam preparation. You could, for example, clean your student apartment or go shopping. In addition, you should not change anything serious in your daily routine. So if you always got up at 6:30 a.m. before the exam, it is rather suboptimal to sleep in until 11 a.m. just because you have an exam at 3 p.m.
3. Your daily form makes the difference
In order to be able to perform during the exam, it is essential that you are in a positive physical condition. You should feel fit and well. So make sure you get enough sleep and also wear comfortable clothing. To be able to think clearly, it is important that your body is sufficiently supplied with liquid. So that your thinking organ is optimally supplied with nutrients until the end of the exam, you can fall back on Brainfood. As a snack you can take nuts or bananas with you.
Much more important than your physical condition is your mental resp. emotional state. Many students are unable to perform to their full potential in exams because they are too stressed and have destructive thoughts. That’s why I recommend that you focus on the positive things in your studies and life before the exam. Therefore call your greatest successes to mind. Think about all the great things you’ve already accomplished during your school years, sports career, in college, etc.. Write down these events on a piece of paper and take it with you to the exam. You can then take a look before the exam every now and then, which will give you a good feeling.
In addition, you can positively influence your mind by a self-confident posture. If you don’t believe this, you can watch the Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy on YouTube. Furthermore, you can calm your pulse with calm, conscious breathing and you become more present and reduce your stress level. On the way to the university you can still listen to your favorite song, which puts you in a good mood.
If you take these 3 tips to heart, you will be in the best possible position to perform at your best on exam day. To help you perform during the exam, be sure to check out this blog article. Then nothing will stand in your way of a great grade!
Good luck with the implementation!
Fabian Bacherle is a coach, seminar leader and podcaster. Despite initial problems, he managed to successfully pass all exams in his studies at the TU Munich one semester ahead of the standard study period. Fabian is now helping students take themselves and their studies to the next level. It shows you both in personal counseling sessions als also in itsm Podcast "Success in your studies, wie you can consistently achieve your best performance in your studies without stress and time pressure.
You can also listen to the content of this article as a podcast episode by Fabian (Episode 058).