Depending on your work load as well as the type of individual you are, the below tips can help you dedicate some of your time in keeping your mental health in check in order to ace your exams and come out of finals happy and healthy!

1) Manage your time.

We have all heard it before, “just plan your day accordingly, don’t be lazy, and prioritise… blah blah blah” it is always the same thing! However, people do not realise that this is not always easy for everyone; myself included.

What I found that works is, as soon as I get up and have my morning coffee I create a short and realistic to-do list, the key word being: REALISTIC! Know how much you can do in a day, if you add too much you will be overwhelmed, so keep it simple. You can create a to-do list for the hour, the day, the week etc.…

Time management is an excellent tool in minimising anxiety and stress, it’s also a great reward system, as you see yourself removing things from your to-do list or plan and you’ll feel accomplished and motivated!

In your list make sure to include activities that help relieve stress, some examples include:

– a 5 minute stretch

– a sip of water

– dancing to your favourite song

This may seem silly, but, by including small activities, your stress level lowers, and it’s a small break from your work.

2) Surround yourself with positivity.

I know this may sound confusing, what kind of positivity? Friends? Good food? Cat videos?! The great thing about this tip is that you can choose what suits your needs. Not everyone is an extrovert, so saying things like “join a study group” or “hang out with friends during break time!” isn’t always helpful.

Find what makes you smile, is it calling your family you miss back home? Or is it sitting in bed with a bag of chips watching your favourite TV show? The important thing is not punish yourself for wanting to do these things during finals! Remind yourself it’s healthy to take a break and do things which increase your serotonin — a neurotransmitter responsible for your emotions.

I used to penalise and hate myself for doing things that made me happy during exam season, I thought I was being unproductive and lazy, what I didn’t see is that without incorporating a moderate amount of the things that relax me into my day, my work wasn’t getting finished as fast!

3) Take control of what goes into your body!

Personally, the hardest thing for me to do was cook healthy and not buy ready-made or delivered meals during exams. It was easier to not stress about what I’m going to make.

When I decided to change that though, my mental health skyrocketed. I never realised how different foods I put into my body changed my mood until I decided to eat better.

Cooking at home doesn’t have to be time-consuming or difficult! I’m a terrible cook and hate cooking, what worked for me was meal planning.

I found some simple & healthy meal planning recipes online, cooked them, placed into containers and popped them in the fridge, every three days I’d repeat the process. Easy meals whenever I needed!

Of course, mishaps happen and this is not always realistic, buying a sandwich from the university’s cafe or skipping breakfast isn’t something to hate yourself for, just make sure you recognise these patterns and correct them. At the end of the week reward yourself with any meal you want!

4) Keep busy, don’t overthink!

Overthinking is a big cause of failure; during finals, it’s important to keep your mind busy with positive thoughts and productivity.

Intrusive thoughts can creep in and cause you to panic and fall off track, by keeping yourself occupied with for example; your work, exercise and social life can push these bad thoughts away.

Stress to a certain degree is normal and sometimes necessary to do well, don’t completely push these thoughts aside, instead — when you feel panicked tell yourself “okay, I’ve fallen behind on my work, what can I do to ensure I get back on track?”

Talk to yourself! Find a solution, once you know what you have to do, do it! Keeping busy and not letting your mind wonder to “what ifs” and “oh no’s!” really will stop your brain from self-sabotaging itself.

5) Ask for help.

Out of all the tips this is by far the one I mostly recommend. Ask for help! Talk to your student advisor, a friend or family member you trust, or a professor.

There’s nothing wrong with feeling helpless, everyone does at some point. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure or incapable of being independent, it just means you need some advice from someone that might have more experience, or it just means you need to vent and cry to someone about how much uni life sucks!

I love to watch motivational videos on YouTube and read articles online about people going through the same things as me; I feel less alone when I know I’m not the only one struggling.

When I was feeling lost, I emailed one of my favourite professors and she gave me plenty of tips on how to tackle my stress, she really helped me get out of the slump of depression and anxiety I was facing.

Additionally, I’m always open to students that might want to talk to someone regarding the stress they’re facing during finals, we must stick together and not exclude people that might be struggling.

Finding the courage to talk to someone and ask for help can be the hardest thing to do, but the reward is definitely worth it.

Final thoughts…

I really hope these tips will help you succeeding your exams. Mental health should be prioritised, as it really could make the biggest difference.

Good luck everyone!

The post How to look after your mental health during exams appeared first on European University Cyprus.

1. No phones. I have noticed that when I have a phone near me, I usually tend to check it every 10 mins or so – and as soon as I check it, I end up spending around 20 mins. That’s not good since you lose your focus from the subject, therefore making it difficult to come back to the place that you paused from in your studies. Therefore, hide your phone away from the studying area. I usually hide it in my bag, turn off the WiFi and have a timer set on my watch so that I can only check it again at a certain time.

2. Do not write down the whole chapter in your notes. Instead, select the key- words that explain the theory. It will not only save you time in terms of memorizing the information, but it will also help you remember the information for a long time. I still remember theories that I studied during my bachelor only because the keywords sort of stuck in my head.

3. Use different colours when making notes. We have different types of memories – some people are good at listening to something and remember it better than they do when reading from notes. Some people have a strong visual memory, therefore, using pencils of different colors can increase your chances of not forgetting the information during the exam as you can simply picture it in your mind.

4. Take breaks! I cannot stress this enough – our brain needs time to rest in order to process new information. Although, there are people who strongly believe that our brain is a machine and it can work non-stop – remind yourself of the last time you felt so exhausted that at some point your brain was rejecting any new information it was receiving. Breaks are good – remember it.

5. Change your locations of studying if you have a chance. Somehow, I noticed that by changing places of studying, it sort of encourages me to study more and for longer periods of time. Plus, you also discover new places and might actually get a chance to meet someone new.

6. Try to listen to music while studying. It usually depends on people of course, however, I found it useful to listen to music while studying. There are millions of playlists that you can find on YouTube – I always say, you’ll never know until you try. You are probably the person who cannot imagine studying with music on – but imagine if studying with music could, actually, benefit you?

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Charging backpack.

At some point during your campus life, your laptop, your phone or any other tech you are carrying with you has ran out of battery. And for some reason, it always happens when you need it the most! Needless to worry about that though, when you have a back pack that works for you, with you, whilst you are switching classes or just taking notes! A charging backpack is a real solution provider! Choose yours, here: https://bit.ly/2BDGDGP

WiFi coffee maker

Putting in an all-nighter? Are you on your way back to your room and you are in desperate need of coffee right then and there? WiFi coffee makers let you control your pot from your smartphone and, on top of that, you can decide the ideal quantity and temperature of you drink, with just a voice command!  Check it out, here: http://behmor.com/new/

Noise cancelling headphones.

A useful, valuable and easy solution to concentrate on your studies and avoid all distractions possible! We’re fully on board with Amazon’s choice here: https://amzn.to/2ChpDGG

External hard drive disc

We cannot stress this point enough. Backup, backup, backup! It’s just sensible student policy to ensure that everything you create, write, think is duplicated so that’s there if you need it. You never know, but you can save yourself the added stress. “Tech Radar” always provides useful insight on the best options available: https://bit.ly/2txXk1e

A pocket photo printer

Sometimes, having your pictures on your phone is just not enough. You need them at a place where you can see them, right there in front of you early in the morning, to brighten up your mood! And that’s why photo printers will never feel out of place-out of time! Polaroid is the option to go with: https://amzn.to/2VNASOd

Evernote Moleskine smart notebook

When digital meets printing, wonders can be made! And when you put together a fancy Moleskine notebook and the best digital notebook app out there, Evernote, you get a must-have solution! With Evernote Moleskine smart notebook, all you have to do is just write down your notes as you would normally do and Evernote’s page camera will do all the ‘digital translation’, by changing handwriting to digital! You can them organize them according to preference (there is a vast amount of grouping options when downloading the Evernote app). Get it, here: https://amzn.to/2EPMERw

What’s your favorite gadget you can’t do without?

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