The Final Push – Don’t Give Up Now!
Perseverance is a Life Skill
We are almost at the end of a long year – everyone is tired. We are certainly all looking forward to a well deserved break!
If you’re at school or university, you’re most likely writing exams now. You can’t wait to finish your exams. You are feeling fatigued and drained. The thought of your final exam for the year followed by a few weeks off to just sleep in and do whatever you like doing is the most appealing thing right now!
The danger is to get into that “holiday mode” too soon. If you do this, you will lose focus on your upcoming exams and not be able to do your best. It’s not over till it’s over – sorry for bursting your bubble!
Now is not the time to lose focus! These exams comprise a major percentage of your year mark and may determine whether you pass or fail, or even get a higher symbol on your results. A final push is so worth it.
How to Finish Strong
- Play for the full game! Don’t let up the effort until the final whistle is blown and your final exam is written. Perseverance is a valuable life skill to learn. You can still win just before, or even after, the final whistle.
- Shake off the bad! If you have written one or two really tough papers which have thrown your confidence a little, remember that you can recoup some of the “damage” by crushing the next papers! Keep a positive mental attitude.
- Rework your strategy. If what you’ve been doing has not been working well for you, change what you’re doing. Do a Study Skills Crash Course if your study method is not working or get a tutor to help you finish your last exams strong!
- Prepare. Ensure that you have all the supplies you need for the forthcoming exams. There is nothing worse than arriving for a paper and realizing that your calculator batteries are flat when you need to use it, or your pen is out of ink!
- Keep up your strength. Eat healthy food to increase your focus and concentration. Cut the junk food which weighs you down and makes your brain sluggish. Foods which increase your focus include, for example, fatty fish, dark chocolate, leafy green vegetables, blueberries and nuts. Keep hydrated with lots of water and not fizzy drinks.
- Get some oxygen to your brain. Exercise daily in whatever style you like. If you don’t normally exercise, try to go for a daily walk. Breathe in plenty of fresh air.
- When it’s done it’s done. Avoid negative exam postmortems! It’s unproductive to beat yourself up about what you should’ve, could’ve and would’ve done better. If you know that you did your absolute best, there is nothing else you could’ve, should’ve or would’ve done to change that. Put it behind you.
- Strategize for next year. You will start next year on a positive note if you have a plan in place. This may include hiring a tutor for next year (tip: the sooner you book a tutor the more likely you are to get an excellent tutor), booking for a Study Skills Crash Course, organizing a dedicated study area at home to use and, above all, setting academic goals. You might neglect goal setting and planning at the start of a hectic new year.
Once the academic year is over, ensure that you spend some time relaxing. The end-of year holidays are often a mad rush around, without a chance to rest before the mad rush begins again in the new year!
The effort you put into your final push makes your year-end break all the better when you can relax with peace of mind knowing that you have finished strong.
Written by Natalie Wilke, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Author
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!