Taking a test can be one of the most stressful periods of someone’s life. Staying up and studying, making sure that you know everything that’s going to be on the test… It’s no wonder that so many people lose sleep the night before an exam. Doing a quick search online and look for a website where you can find prep materials for whatever exam you have coming up is also one way that will help you save time. ExamGenius provides unbiased reviews of the best exam prep materials on the market to help you find ways of studying that works best for you.
For instance, you’re about to take the NCLEX for the first time and, hopefully, become a registered nurse. You start to worry and stress, is the NCLEX hard at all?
There are plenty of study tips to get you through before and during the exam, but those can be quite repetitive. Instead, here are four unique ways to prepare for an exam so that studying doesn’t feel like a chore.
- Make a Game Out of It
Flashcards are one thing, but you can really boost your motivation levels and memory by turning your studies into a game. Children have grown up learning through games, so it would make sense to continue the process. By utilizing a different method of learning and making it fun, your brain becomes more flexible, making it more receptive to the information you’re taking in. Even taking CPA exam preparation classes can become the fun part of your evening if you turn them into a game.
Turning studying into a game with other people, such as those in your study group, can help too. Not only will you be able to sort out those trickier problems by bouncing ideas off each other, but it won’t feel like you’ve wasted any time while you’re supposedly “having fun.”
- Write your Notes on Nice Stationery
Some people are just fascinated by fancy notebooks to the point that they start to hoard them. If you’re one of those people with a closet full of pretty blank books, it’s time to put them to good use. Get out that fountain pen and make your notes as beautiful as possible. Not only will you have a neater book to study from, but you’ll also slow down your writing so that your brain will digest the material more thoroughly.
- Test Your Limits
Taking it slow and easy may seem like the right way to go when you’re studying, but your brain isn’t going to work the same way under pressure. So why not place your brain in a stressful situation to simulate what it would be like? By giving yourself a challenge to do while you’re studying – like writing a 2-page paper in a set time limit – your brain will become more accustomed to dealing with such rigorous and stressful situations. Seeing that you can accomplish something difficult on your own time will also give you the self-confidence you need to do better on the exam.
- Giving Yourself Breaks
This is more than just taking five minutes to let your brain relax. This is giving yourself time to do something else entirely so that your brain is distracted from studying for a few minutes. Watch some television, play a few notes on the piano, or do a little knitting. Figure out how much time you want to dedicate to your break before you get back to work and stick to it because studies show that even brief diversions can vastly improve your ability to focus on a task for extended periods of time.
Studying for an exam is never fun but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it be fun. By making the long hours more enjoyable, your brain will be more receptive to the information you’re trying to remember. The exam itself is not going to be fun, so it doesn’t hurt to at least have some fun beforehand.
