Exam and revision periods can be a very demanding and stressful time in a student’s life, especially when it comes to groundschool. Juggling study workload, everyday activities and self expectations can be daunting, however, with effective management and the correct approach, you can successfully mitigate these effects and turn the situation into your advantage to ensure ultimate success and gratification. Below is an outline of habits which you can easily adopt to make sure you are on the right path when it comes to your studies.
Setting in place an organised structure will ensure that you have a foundation to work from and a guideline to work off of. Having a structure will also serve as a support to fall back on if you ever find yourself stuck on what to do next. Study structures can be constructed as charts, diagrams and lists etc. A typical way of doing it is by writing up a timetable with the subject/subjects you are studying, cross-referenced with a timescale, such as days, weeks, months. This way you can clearly and easily assign a subject topic to a time period and then tick each one off as you go along. This way also ensures that you have something to visually work off of and can ensure that you have an equal spread of all of the topics you need to revise and don’t end up playing guesswork and accidentally neglecting something.
By arranging your study objectives and tasks list in order of necessity and importance, it will allow you to manage your workload much more efficiently. Effective workload management will drastically reduce decision fatigue, which is caused by having too many decisions to make and not having a sequenced structure in place. This causes deterioration of decision making abilities and cognitive capabilities. Prioritising tasks means you can assign more time and focus to the more demanding subject areas, or ones where you find yourself needed more effort and concentration in. This contributes to effective workload management, which will serve you well.
Time is a governing factor in most, if not all, of the things we do in life. Managing your time productively when it comes to your studies alleviates many stresses and allows you to approach each challenge or task in a calm, concise and methodical manner. Setting aside the required amount of time to dedicate to specific subject topics will ensure that you’re not leaving everything until the last minute and thus increasing your workload and reducing your capacity. Adopt study techniques that encompass effective time management, such as starting your revision well in advance of your exams, tactical allocation of breaks in between active study periods to ensure optimum focus and concentration, dividing time proportionately across subjects and also balancing your studies with rest, nutrition and leisure. If you have practice papers or question banks, get into good practice by timing yourself with mock exams under exam conditions. Making sure that time is on your side and not working against you will allow you to put your best foot forward when it comes to revision.
Just like correctly fuelling and maintaining an aircraft is integral to its safe and optimal performance, what you feed your mind and body is vital for your own. Wholesome foods and sufficient hydration will ensure that your physical and cognitive functions are running smoothly and as needed so that it is favourable to high productivity, especially when under exam conditions. Swapping a diet rich in junk foods and ready meals for a well balanced diet that is rich in macro and micronutrients, along with plenty of water throughout the day will aid performance. It will ensure that you possess the required energy, building blocks, nutrients and water to function as needed. For example, choosing complex carbohydrates over simple carbohydrates will allow a steady release of sugars into your bloodstream that is crucial for mental and physical performance, instead of having sugar spikes and dips in energy and concentration. This will assist you in being alert and to retain, comprehend and apply information that you have studied, as well as maintaining good health. Adequate amounts of sleep and sensible sleep patterns will enable you to acquire the much needed rest and recovery your body and mind needs to function properly and just like with the proper nutrition and hydration, will keep you alert and focused. You may find this article on the importance of nutrition for a student pilot, useful.
P.s. You don’t have to COMPLETELY omit junk food, just find a healthy balance 😉
Making time for undertaking adequate exercise is a frequently overlooked practice when it comes to dealing with study induced stresses. Numerous studies have shown the part that exercise plays in serving as an alleviation of stress on both the body and the mind. It also acts as a useful distraction from the common monotony and self-isolation of revision and helps you in keeping a routine. Exercise promotes the circulation of blood and oxygen around the body, as well as the secretion of Endorphins – the Neuro-Transmitters known as the “feel good/happy hormones”. All of this contributes to increased mental focus and mood, cognitive function and lower fatigue levels. Even if it’s just a nice brisk walk each day in the great outdoors, or a moderate to intense session at the gym, it all counts as exercise and you will notice the benefits.
I’m sure you’ve heard this saying many times throughout your life, especially from parents and teachers and quite rightly so. It is fact that the act of repetition and recall makes information remain in your memory so that it can be readily accessed when you need it. The human brain has an unfathomable storage capacity and recall ability. Think of it as exercise for the brain, so the more you practice or exercise an action, the more proficient you will become at it. Simple methods such as flash cards, sticky notes on your wall, doing practice questions over and over again, verbally repeating information, and watching tutorial videos will all help a vast amount in retaining information. Find the best method/methods that suit you and stick with it. Repetition also ties in with effective time management because starting your exam preparation in good time means you have longer to revise your material and not resort to “cramming” everything. It will take so much stress and worry off you and you’ll be thankful for it.
“Hocus Pocus” stuff right? Certainly not. Practicing useful breathing and relaxation techniques helps to calm nerves and increases focus at the task in hand. Firstly, many tend to succumb to shallow breathing (chest breathing) and not deep breathing (belly breathing). The difference between the two is Oxygen intake and gaseous exchange between the blood and lungs. Shallow breathing limits the amount of air you breathe into your lungs leading to reduced efficiency and rate of Oxygen and CO2 diffusion, meaning that the levels of Oxygen that enter your blood and transfer to your vital organs and for vital processes is not optimal. This increases anxiety and stress which certainly doesn’t provide favourable conditions suited to studying, for which you need efficient mental and physiological performance and calm. Trying a variety of breathing techniques, such as ‘Pyramid Breathing’ can ease your nerves and improve concentration. Combined with this, Meditation has been found to promote good mental and physical health, even when practiced for just 20 minutes a day. There is a whole range of various meditation resources available for free online, via Google, many of which are guided and simple to do. Go ahead and try it for yourself, you may just realise that you have stumbled upon a valuable weapon in your armoury.
A simple yet highly underestimated point. If you’re finding a certain topic difficult or there’s something that you just can’t seem to grasp, seek advice from your instructors or peers. It may be as easy as someone else explaining it to you or explaining it in a different way, that suddenly makes it ‘click’. Never be afraid or reluctant to ask for help if you’re finding something tricky, chances are that you’re most definitely not the only one who doesn’t quite understand it. Also, be willing to help others in areas they’re finding difficult that you are stronger in. Group study sessions can be very beneficial as well to discuss what you have learnt and further engrain it into your memory.
If at any point during your studies you feel overwhelmed or mentally drained, it is important that you talk to someone to seek advice and support. Your student welfare team is there to help you and so are friends & family. If you prefer to remain anonymous and get advice from people you don’t know, then there are various helplines available to you to seek support. Some of them are listed below:
MIND: 0300 123 3393 , Samaritans: 116 123 , CALM: 0800 585858
We hope that the points outlined here help you with managing your studies and we would like to wish you all the best for your exams!
Thank you for reading,
