3 things you shouldn't do to prepare for exams

We know that time is precious leading up to exams. We also know that people waste time doing inefficient study that takes too long and doesn't get the best results. Let’s fix that.

Here are some ways to make your study more efficient:

1. Don’t spread your time equally

Everyone thinks that you should be spending the same amount of time on all your subjects – we think differently.

You clearly have subjects that you’re good at and subjects that you struggle with. The same goes for different sections within the same exam. It doesn’t make sense to put in equal amounts of effort for both.

For example you may have the best MOD A essay ever, but when it comes to MOD B, you suck. It makes no sense to keep practicing both Modules at the same frequency. It is a better use of your time to practice the parts that are lacking because they will result in more marks. I’ll show you what I mean:

Spending all that time on MOD A might get you from a 17/20 to an 18/20, which is awesome. BUT spending that same amount of time on MOD B could take you from a 14/20 to a 17/20. That’s a much better result.

Our advice: devote more of your study time to your weaknesses, not to your strengths. Not all subjects/sections need to be studied equally so make sure you’re prioritising the areas that give you more trouble, they will end up getting you more marks.

2. Don’t bother memorising this far out

For us, ‘this far out’ means approximately 2+ weeks from the exams.

Don’t waste your time trying to memorise your notes this far out! You're not Rain Man, there is no way it’s going to stay in your head for another 3 weeks. Plus you probably have 2-3 exams in-between what you’re memorising and when you actually have to recall it.

Memorising can take a while and in most cases you’re going to have to go back over everything again the day before your exam. It makes more sense to only go through the process once, the closer the better.

I know it might concern you that you don’t know any content yet, but don’t freak out; if you’re practicing it will come.

The trick is that by doing hundreds of past papers the material becomes so familiar that it becomes second nature to recall it. Once you’ve done 1,249 MOD A essays, you’re going to get to the night before the exam, look at your essay for 30 mins and know it.

Our advice: Don’t waste time actually memorising now. Memorise through practice and you will be surprised how much you will know in a couple of weeks. It will make the process of memorising before the exam 1000x easier.

3. Don’t bother perfecting your notes

We get it, having a perfectly formatted and completed set of notes is awesome. It’s beyond awesome. The feeling of accomplishment when you print your notes out and they are perfect is priceless.

But I’m sorry, it doesn't actually mean anything.

So don’t waste your time sitting there fixing the formatting and headings on your giant pile of notes. I know it ‘feels’ like your doing work, but it's not helping you learn the content.

Don’t let your notes dictate what you know and what you don’t know. You should be doing past papers to figure out your strengths and weaknesses.

Our advice: Completed notes are not learnt notes. There can be so much time saved if you focus on practice not only preparation. Often you just need to start doing papers (even if you don’t know the content 100%) as this will highlight areas of improvement much faster than going over your notes.

Conclusion

Make sure you’re not only studying hard, but that you’re studying smart.

Making the most effective and efficient use of your time everyday is what’s going to differentiate people this close to exams. So don’t do things that are slowing you down!