Christmas Revision: Tips and Tricks Part 2

There is now just over a week of term left – which I think is a little ridiculous how fast it’s gone. Not just the term the whole year has flown by in my opinion. With it being the end of term I am sure a lot of you are currently bogged down with deadlines that are fast approaching, so here is the second part of tips on how to revise/work over the Christmas break, whilst still having a social life.

5. Take regular breaks throughout your study sessions. You can only focus on something for a certain amount of time, so instead of staring hopelessly at textbooks for hours on end, take a break. Go for a wonder around the house, grab a drink, get some fresh air, just anything that isn’t work related and gives you half hour away from the horror that is revision. You can then come back refreshed and ready to work and you’ll probably find your productivity has increased to.
6. Mix up your revision activities, don’t just sit there writing endless notes on one module, because chances are you will just go into autopilot and simply copy rather than learn. This will just waste your time and increase the amount of time that you are stuck revising. Challenge yourself and try out questions without any assistance from the text book, or play a memory game with equations to see which ones you know and which need a bit more work.
7. Set yourself goals of what you want to achieve and when you do achieve them, reward yourself. Having an incentive like that might help you focus and work better. The reward could be something simple like a mice pie (or a few…) or something like an evening of to spend with family or friends.
8. Be realistic, you are never going to be able to cover a whole terms content in the space of 12 hours (at least I can’t) so don’t set that as a target. Break it down into different areas and cover it over a few days and don’t forget to refresh your memory on it all. It’s a four week holiday and, if like me you have five exams to cram into your head that’s a lot of information. You will forget things, especially things you revised over the first few days.

Ultimately the key having a good balance between social life and revision is to just be sensible with your work. Plan your time don’t waste it, be organised, don’t over work yourself and remember its Christmas!