20 smart tips to Reduce Exam Anxiety

Exam Anxiety also known as Examination fear and stress. It is the most common problem, students and their parents face during examinations.

Great scientist Thomas Edison once said – “There is no substitute for hard work.”

What we can do to fight against this evil called Examination fear and stress?

Before we start, let us wish all students out there preparing for their exams, All the best. May Lord Ganesh fulfill all your wishes and bless you with all the wellness.

Examination fear and stress is a global issue. In today’s competitive world, students have to give their best to get good grades and to be in top position.

Stories about stress among the students of class X & XII are common nowadays in newspapers. This count is increasing day by day.

Say it or not, almost every student, as well as parents, go through this stress. One can face Exam Anxiety by removing uncertainties.

Cope up with it with a positive attitude during the examination time.

Tedious days and restless nights during examinations are ruining their adolescence and innocence. Excess of this stress is an invitation to depression and hypertension at a tender age.

Do not forget, every kid has own cognizance and at the same time their limitations. As we all know “Practice makes a man perfect”. So push your kids to keep practicing in their week areas and master them.

Spread positivism and maintain wellness in kids and in their parents during examinations. Follow these 20 smart tips to Reduce Exam Anxiety in students and parents. Practice them in your day to day schedule to get rid of the Examination fear and stress forever.

1. Make Study Timetable and manage it
2. Eating a healthy diet
3. Adequate sleep during exams
4. Include physical activity in daily routine
5. Avoid comparison with others
6. Know where you study best
7. Prepare notes
8. Regular revisions
9. Avoid addictions
10. Stay hydrated
11. Stop multitasking
12. Meditation is a good stress-buster
13. Group Studies
14. Do not think about marks
15. Breaks are even important
16. Motivation from friends and family
17. Take help from parents and elders
18. Take a shower
19. Watch or listen to something that makes you laugh
20. Set Targets and Reward your Achievements, no matter how small they are

1. Make Study Timetable and manage it

Be smart, make a good study time table and manage it. You will start feeling the change in a few days. Believe it or not, you will come out of the Examination Anxiety.

Elder students can prepare it on their own. For kids, parents can take this initiative. They can help them understand the value of preparing and managing a daily timetable.

A good study timetable consists of pauses and leisure time for students. So avoid continuous studying hours in it. Breaks and relaxation are necessary to reduce the pressure and to increase productivity. Try to include half an hour's break after a one-hour study in which they can do any activity, they like to do.

2. Eating a healthy diet

Your brain needs the energy to work. Eat brain-boosting food such as protein-rich foods. Avoid eating junk foods. Eggs, nuts [especially walnuts], yogurt, low-fat milk are good options for breakfast.

Banana is also an easy available protein-rich food.

You can also try porridge, whole-grain cereal, muesli, figs, sunflower seeds, prunes, flax-seed, or cottage cheese, etc...

Fish, raw carrots, bell peppers, spinach, and broccoli are a good sources of protein. You should also include them in your daily diet. It will make your brain stronger than ever.

Avoid brain blocking foods. Such as cookies, cakes, and muffins, chocolates, desserts, and candies, etc…

Always remember a healthy mind is always a source of healthy thoughts and a healthy body.

3. Adequate sleep

For a healthy brain and body, it is necessary to have a peaceful sleep of 7-8 hours. If you think, you can score more by ditching your sleep and doing late night studies, you are wrong.

Experts suggest stopping study in the evening. Especially during exams, take your dinner timely, and have a peaceful sleep of 7-8 hours. Relax your brain, before going to the examination hall. 

The relaxed brain will definitely help you better in the examination center to score.

Do not forget to keep your smartphones and gadgets away before going to bed. It helps to have a great sleep for everyone.

4. Include physical activity in daily routine

30 minutes exercise is necessary to increase the concentration. You can also beat the stress with Yoga. Outdoor games can also refresh, entertain and energize you. Do this to release your stress and increase your focus and concentration.

This will also help you to have good sleep.

5. Avoid comparison with others

Healthy comparison is good, but don’t make it a habit. Judging your achievements against toppers in your class often leads to low self-esteem. Believe in yourself, try hard to achieve your goals.

Think about your goods, enhance them more and bad, to get rid of it. You are unique. You can polish yourself by learning from mistakes and make yourself more successful. Remember, “Dreams don’t work unless you do.”

6. Know where you study best

Find the best place to study.

It is not that, you need to have specific surroundings while you study. It is about the place where environmental factors least affect your concentration. So, give yourself a minute to think and find your ideal place to study where you can study uninterrupted.

7. Prepare notes

We all know, read and write method is one of the best methods to prepare your notes. There is no second thought about that. But, do not forget, we are living in the digital world. Technology is always helpful in making our day to day life easier and more handier. Use technology with traditional read and write methods of learning.

Kinaesthetic learning is always a better option to understand things and to remember. Do try kinaesthetic learning, it is helpful.

There are also so many audio-visual study material available online free of cost. You can also try them to sort out your queries and for exploratory study. Make good use of information technology instead of surfing gibberish.

Also, do not forget to organize your notes in proper structure. They will be a real help when they are actually required. Highlighting the important part of your notes is also helpful while revision.

Draw diagrams and make tables. Diagrams are the easiest method of visualizing the complex and lengthy study material. 

Last but not least, use online tools to save your study material. If you can access them online, you can have a look at them and can update them anytime, anywhere. No need to tell, where you can find one of these tools..

8. Regular revisions

Now, you have simplified things by writing complex problems in your language. It is time to revise those notes. The revision will not only help you in correcting them and adding new information. 

It will also help you out in making your notes more useful. Also when you revise your notes, it is definite that you will make its impression darker in your mind. It will help you to remind things as and when you need them actually. 

“Robert Collier” an American author once said, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

9. Avoid Addictions

Avoid Addictions and we mean completely avoid any kind of Addiction. Addictions always distract you from your goals. Either they are time guzzlers or life-threatening ones. For example, excess use of mobile or social media or substance use both are harmful to some or other reasons. 

Instead of that involve some healthy brainstorming activities or some outdoor sports. Addictions always distract you from your goals.

Keep in mind that “You don’t always get what you wish for; you get what you work for.”

10. Stay hydrated

Drinking plenty of water improves your memory and focused attention. Different studies carried out in different years and scientists proved it several times. 

Water is also a good stress-buster. 

Taking a sip during regular studies helps in breaking the chain of thoughts. It helps you to free your mind to focus the chore, leading to better performance.

11. Stop Multitasking

Think about texting while studying. Do you think you are doing multitasking? NO, you are actually extending your study time for nothing. So affecting your grades.

Do not do multitasking while you are studying. If it’s important to you, you’ll find away. If not, you’ll find an excuse.

12. Meditation is a good stress-buster

Meditation energizes you and helps you restore your calm and inner peace.

It is not rocket science. If practiced, it can aid you to control stress or Examination Anxiety. It helps you to achieve a greater capacity for relaxation. It is also helpful in decreasing anxiety and improving your cardiovascular health.

You will feel that all your negative thoughts are moving away. You will feel lively. Once your brain is full of positivity, you will do more in less time with fewer efforts.

13. Group Studies

Group study and discussions always boost the learning process.

While studying by yourself, you always see your material from your perspective. Doing group study you get a new perspective towards the same topic. It helps you understand the learning style and skills of others. It also allows you to make fruitful changes in your skillset by learning from your friends.

Group studies also help you in developing your soft skills. Such as communication skills, which will help you throughout your life and career. So go for it and spend some time with your friends discussing a few topics and groom yourself.

14. Do not think about marks

This is hard to explain. Scoring marks is important, but it is not the only thing you should count on. Marks neither measure one’s ability nor do they measure one as a person.

So, if you scored fewer marks in a particular test, do not disappoint or stressed out. Do not think about what happened. If you got stuck in “what happened”, you will get surrounded by negative thoughts. Instead, have some time to explore why this happened. Once you got the reason, you can fix it and move ahead with a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm to do better next time.

Remember “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

15. Breaks are even important

In simplest words, it refreshes your mind. It also removes stress, relaxes your eyes, and so improve your productivity. You can focus on things better where you were stuck earlier, after taking a good small break.

16. Take on the role of teacher

To teach someone, you have to arrange the information in a proper way. It is so that you have all the answers asked by the people you are teaching.

While doing this activity, you will learn about memory management. You will also understand how to arrange your knowledge. It will help you to recollect the required information as and when you need it the most. 

17. Take help from parents and elders

No need to tell that, it is your parents and family that is always there to help you out in any situation and at any time. Do not hesitate to ask for their help in your studies. Remember, your elders had already faced the situations that you are facing right now. They are already have gone through it, they have some solution better than you have one. 

Never feel shy or embarrass while asking for help from your parents and siblings. They will always happy to help you.

18. Set Targets and Reward your Achievements, no matter how small they are

Learn to celebrate small wins to achieve big targets. Let say, you memorize an essay. You can break it down in chunks or paragraphs, and then learn them one by one. Reward yourself with something every time you memorize one paragraph of it.

A reward is always a motivating factor that will encourage you to give your best to get more out of it.

19. Take a shower

We all know it very well, having a shower is a good stress buster and also it helps you in maintaining good hygiene. If you could add up good fragrance to it, that is even better.

20. Watch or listen to something that makes you laugh

Listing to good music and laughing is a good relaxant. After tiresome hours of study, go and watch something that makes you laugh. Listen to your favorite music for some time. Get relaxed. 

A relaxed brain is always more productive.

Conclusion

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. Follow these small tips and you will feel the change in yourself as well as in your surroundings.

Examination fear and stress will never touch you at all. Making a new habit or changing your existing schedule is always cumbersome.

it always seems impossible until it’s done.

Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you.