What does this mean? Probably panic for some of us. Actually, probably panic for all of us…
It’s totally normal to feel that way. Don’t suppress it cause it’s like trying to tell a sad person not to cry. That’s just mean….
But knowing this, what do we do?
So, the first step is to acknowledge that there is a bit of panic in you and most likely because you might be behind in the work and you probably have a ton on your plate. I know this because I was in the same boat a month before exams too. I also know this because you’re not the only one. There are others as well that are in the same boat, where they are behind on their work. But it doesn’t mean that it’s a place that we going to stay in. We will move forward.
Once you have acknowledged the above. the second step is to work on this.
So how do we work on reducing this panic? Well, you know how when you get something done, it feels good. We are going to get bit by bit done in phases and build up our confidence.
How do we approach these phases?
Think of these phases as planning a road trip. You need to know your destination and which route you are going to take. Does it make sense to get panicked at this stage? No, we haven’t even got into the car as yet. But if we know the road we need to travel and the distance, we can plan a safe, comfortable and exciting journey.
Phase 1:
We need to do a stock take of where we are and what we need to do. This means making a list of the chapters to cover and the questions that go with.
Phase 2:
We need to complete the outstanding work. I know you have tons of material to work through but focus on one piece at a time.
So how are we going to tackle the outstanding work?
First thing first, we are not going back and redoing any chapters now if there are still new chapters to be done. Please do those new chapters so that you start developing a simple basis of understanding.
Once we have a basic understanding of the work, it’s time to test it out on the questions.
It’s human nature to feel like you don’t want to tackle the questions because you are not ready enough but if you keep deferring the questions then we will never get to it on time.
Don’t be afraid to do a question and fail at it. When you fail at it, you learned twice as much as the person who got it right the first time. This is because you learned what is the wrong way AND you learn what is the right way afterwards. So, understanding this means that if you don’t catch the full understanding of the theory or concept, work through a question (without looking at the solution) and then check your answer. This way you align what you know and update it to what should have been done in a question.
Chances are when you do the questions later on, you will still make the mistakes. Make the mistake now and learn from it now.
This entails practicing questions as though you are sitting in the exam. Practice for an exam as though you are sitting already in one which means:
Working within the time limit of the question
No peeking at the answers
Avoid distractions such as your cellphone as you don’t have that out in the exam
Work through the question without your notes
Other tips.
We are in a time of change in season. Floods, heat waves, tornadoes, flying pigs, etc. All this affects our health. The last on earth that we need is to get sick now. So, you need to eat right, exercise/ keep fit and take your multivitamins.
There might be quite a bit to learn in this short amount of time left. The reality is that you might not be able to remember all of this. Information overload is a real thing. So, we are going to use a tool to help. I need you to get a big hardcover book.
For all the concepts that you really struggle with and need a reminder of what it is about, this is written at the back of the hardcover book. This way you have a nice short summary before the exam on the stuff that you struggle with and can act as a nice refresher.
At the front of the same book, you need to make a note of all the silly mistakes that you constantly make from questions. Make a note of this in the front of the book. This way you can revise over the typical mistakes you make before doing a question so that you know not to make them again.
The reason why I want you to physically write it down, apart from having a lot to remember, our memory retention of information is 10x better when we write something instead of just reading it.
Guys, you have already invested a lot of time into this. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, you really have.
The most important thing of all to have faith in yourself. You work hard every day and might not realise it. This is just another challenge. But this challenge is more important than you think. Remember when you started school 12 years ago, you had a dream to conquer this as you know it’s going to give you that edge in your life, in your career. You might not see it as clearly as I do from this seat but you are a lot closer to your dream than you think. All I want is for you not to give up but reach deep down and give it that last big push. I believe strongly that you have it in you!
Best of luck!
