- This is a horrible time of the year.
There is so much stuff being heaped on you all the time.
So, here are a few different ways that you can cope
with the exam stress.
The first thing that is vitally important for you
to remember is that if this all goes horribly wrong,
you will be okay, you will, I promise.
It may not seem like it at the time, it may seem horrible,
it may seem stressful, but you will be okay.
If you don't get your grades, you have lots and lots
of options, and these letters, these numbers,
that you're going to be getting, do not define who you are.
They do not define your wealth as a person.
They do not define how important your contribution is.
They do not make you a good person,
they do not make you a bad person.
They're important, but, they are not the most
important thing about you.
You are so much more than these letters.
You are so much more than the results
that you're going to get.
If your results aren't what you wanted,
don't forget that you have lots of options
and they do not define your worth as a person.
So, how can you reduce this stress?
Because stress is something that's
going to make your exams harder.
Number one, is get organized.
Now I know this is going to sound counterintuitive,
because getting organized is gonna take time,
time that you can't be studying.
But it's so, so important that
you know what you need to study, when you can study it,
and when you need to study it by.
If you're not good at making timetables, or you don't wanna
spend the time making the timetable,
use your school timetable, they made a timetable for you.
So, if on a Friday afternoon, you're supposed to
be doing Maths, on a Friday afternoon, do Maths.
It may not be fun, but studying rarely is.
Look after your brain, study in small chunks.
Your brain doesn't like sitting in one place doing
the same thing over and over again, for hours and hours
and hour, it will get tired.
Things won't go in as well.
Studying in small chunks and give yourself breaks.
So, 25 minutes of studying,
five minutes of running up and down stairs.
Or something like that.
Or, go make a cup of coffee,
or go and put a load of washing on.
But study in small chunks, break it up.
If you're doing two hours of Maths, it's better to do
four half hour blocks spread over four days
than it is to do two hours in one big chunk.
Having the overnight in there would give you a break time
to absorb the information and it will go in better,
it will stay in better.
Three, make sure you take time to relax.
I know, again, you feel you should be spending all
of this time studying, but it is really, really important
that you take some time out from studying to relax.
So, go and get some exercise, go to the cinema,
spend some time with some friends doing exercise.
Team America is one of my favorite films ever because
I went to see it with a really, really large group
of friends while we were studying for our finals
at university, can't remember what night of the week it was.
But we all studied up to this point, went out,
watched the film, went back home studied some more.
But that two, three hour break that I had was so valuable
that even after all these years, it's still my favorite
films because of circumstances in which I saw it.
Four, do not dwell on things that have passed.
If your last exam was a disaster, then that's a shame.
But there's nothing we can do about it now.
It is in the past, it is over.
What we can do something about is
the next exam, or the one after that.
But if your head is so caught up in how badly
the last exam went, then you're not gonna
be able to focus on doing well in the next exam.
So, things that have passed, have passed.
There is nothing we can do to change them now.
But use what you've learned from those exams.
Was it exam technique, was it timing?
And apply those to do well in your next exams.
Do not compare yourselves with other people.
Just because your friends stayed up
to two o'clock in the morning
doing five solid hours of Maths
does not mean that you need to as well.
Do not think about how much study
you've done and compare it with how much study someone else
has done, because the way your mind works is that
you're gonna put yourself in a negative light, which
isn't gonna be a good attitude for going into the exams.
What you do is great, what other people do is great.
They may be the same, they may be different.
But do not compare yourselves.
There are loads and loads of small things
that you can do to look after yourself.
Getting a little bit of exercise, making sure you have
a good breakfast if you're not fasting, having some snacks
around with you, eating healthy breakfast.
So, Weetbix as opposed to a Mars bar.
Drinking enough water, getting enough exercise,
getting enough sleep, prioritizing time to looking after
yourself, prioritizing time to relax.
And then, lastly, remember that you are not alone.
You are not doing this in isolation.
Your friends are going through
the same thing so talk to them.
Your teachers have been doing this
for years so talk to them.
And there are people, trained people, who know
what to expect at this time of the year,
waiting on the other end of a phone call.
So, if you do feel yourself getting overwhelmed,
so if you do feel yourself feeling
really, really stressed, talk to somebody, please.
There is no situation that we can't help you through.
There is no situation that is so bad
that there is no solution to it.
I know this time of the year is really, really horrible.
I know this time of the year is really, really stressful.
It's not just you that feels the stress.
All of us are feeling the stress as well.
So, good luck guys, I'm gonna be there
every single step of the way with you.
Ouch!
This is why in some videos, I have unexplained scratches.