10 things to do after exams:

Here is a list I made up of 10 things I like to do after exams.

1 ) Sleep: I usually come home from an exam and jump into bed to catch up on my lost sleep. The couple of days before my exam I find it difficult to get to sleep because of the looming exam but after my exams are finished, I need that period of rest to recuperate from the stressful exam period!

2 ) Go for a celebratory meal: This is something that gets me through many long periods of revision. The thought of going somewhere nice to eat and just having a generally pleasant meal and having a fun time with friends without that nagging feeling of having to revise at the back of my mind is a welcome end to revision and exams.

3 ) Pack/throw away notes: This is very satisfying. Its something that I almost see as a ritual. Packing away revision notes and folders full of lecture notes somewhere under my bed or in a dark cupboard somewhere is very satisfying indeed. And it is refreshing to wake up to an empty desk rather than one full of piles of paper and notes.

4 ) Catch up with my emails/Facebook: I try to restrict my social life as much as possible during exam period so I don’t get distracted whilst I am revising. This usually results in long lists of emails and Facebook posts needing to be read which I end up replying to very late!

5 ) Clean my room: I’m normally a very tidy person but during the exam period I don’t know what happens but I end up with clothes on the floor, my cupboard a tip and papers scattered around my room. However, its only when my exams finish that I see this mess and so clean it up. During exams its like I have beer goggles on and my eyes just skim over it all!

6 ) Make something yummy to eat: I love to bake cookies and cakes and the majority of the time they turn out to be quiet nice! I don’t get much time in between revision to bake something, and I’m usually so distracted that I end up adding the wrong quantities of ingredients so my final product is barely edible! After my exams are over, I enjoy baking something and then eating it whilst I relax.

7 ) Read a book: I have yet to find a book to read this time round. I love reading fiction, especially since it makes a nice break from all the textbooks and journals I have read throughout the year. Anyone have any recommendations?

8 ) Lounge about without feeling guilty: This always gives me a wonderful feeling! I can sleep in, relax in the sun and surf the internet for hours on end without that nagging thought of looming deadlines and exams.

9 ) Return my textbooks to the library and secretly feel smug about others still having exams: Ah its always great fun to watch my textbooks being carried away on the conveyor belt of the Books Returns machine in the library and knowing it will be at least a month before I need to bury my head in them again. Seeing other students furiously scribbling away and revising for their upcoming exams when I have already finished makes me feel just a bit guilty but mostly relieved that I am no longer in their situation.

10 ) Enjoy the sun: Not that the sun likes to wait around till after my exams are finished. (Just look at the weather now- all dull and wet compared to the bright sunny skies we had approximately two weeks ago)! When it does come back though, I shall thoroughly enjoy eating ice cream and soaking up the sun without a textbook or any revision notes in sight!

Do you do anything particularly interesting after finishing your exams? If so leave a comment and it may give me something to do in all this free time I now have!