Exams are very important for students, job seekers or someone who wants to get a promotion. Your capabilities are judged on the basis of your performance in the exam. So, it might just seem that your entire future just depends on those few hours, however, it is much more than that. Your personality – how confident, determined, and hard-working of a person you seem, also plays a major role in the job selection process. Though despite all that, exams undeniably remain to be a huge criterion in decision making. Now, your performance in exams depends on many factors, like how you have been preparing for years, your mental state on the day, before the day, your energy levels and much more. In this blog, we are going to highlight 10 things that you should keep in mind to spend one day before exam peacefully.
Understanding the Importance of One Day Before Exam
It is not a hidden fact that what you do today affects your tomorrow. You tire yourself out today, most probably you will take time to recover, so you will likely feel tired and exhausted tomorrow too. You don’t get proper sleep today, most probably you will feel restless and lethargic tomorrow. Something bad happened today, you will need time to forget that and move on. What all these situations imply is that the previous day affects the next day very much. Thus, you must spend your last day in such a manner, that on exam day, you can avoid all the troubles and give your best. If you still have a few days to go before your exam, then browse through last week exam preparation tips to weave your way to exam success.
Let us now go through how we must spend the last day so as to bring out our best on the exam day.
1. Start your day with friends or family
Whatever happens in life, however successful you become or however bad your status is, friends and family will always be there for you. So, we would recommend you to start your day with friends and family. Wake up on time, freshen up, go for a walk, and maybe workout a little bit. Subsequently, have breakfast with your family. If you are living alone, talk to them over call. Share your thoughts and feelings with them, ask how everything is going on in their lives. Talking with family and friends gives you a sense of calmness and contentment, which is one of the most important things before and during the exam.
2. Plan and check on everything for tomorrow
The next most important thing is to keep things ready for tomorrow. You don’t want to miss out on anything for your D-day. Check your admit card and exam instructions, write and set reminders for the time for the exam. Plan out your transport for tomorrow, if you have booked some mode of conveyance, call and confirm again to be reassured. Make a list of everything required for the exam, and keep everything in one place or pack them in a bag and strike out all things as you pack them. Go to the market, and buy other things which are not there. Keep clean clothes for tomorrow, and check out the instructions for the dress code for your exam. Ensure that you have everything, from pencils, pens, to geometry box and calculator, as per your exam requirements. After everything is complete, you will automatically feel relaxed and ready for tomorrow.
3. Don’t do anything that would make you tired
If there is something that might end up with you being tired, like attending a dinner party, travelling long distance, or running some other miscellaneous errands, you should consider postponing it to after the exam, if possible. Being tired one day before exam is not recommended as your next couple of days are affected including the exam day. And you definitely don’t want to give your exam when you are not at your full energy level. Feeling sleepy and lethargic will render you unable to perform your best during the exam.
4. Try to stay as relaxed as you can
It is not uncommon to feel anxious and overthink one day before exam. You might feel as if you don’t remember anything even if you have studied and revised the course content over and over again. Even during the exam, you may feel stressed and panicked at the thought of answering so many questions in such less time. At this point, close your eyes for two minutes and take deep breaths. Calm yourself down before beginning with the paper again. On the last day, try to avoid thinking about things that may stress you, like making last-minute unconventional plans or trying to study or revise lengthy and information-intensive topics.
5. Exercise and do yoga to keep your body active and healthy
It is very important to feel active and refreshed before and during the exam. You might not even want to solve simple questions if you don’t feel energised. Your brain might not be able to work at its best if your body is feeling restless and lethargic. We recommend you to do yoga or exercise regularly. Exercise keeps your mind sharp and body in shape. Yoga keeps you calm and increases your concentration in everything, which is very important to ace an exam.
6. Eat healthy and light food
The last thing that you want is to get food poisoning before the exam. This is very common as many students go out on the last day to take a breather after continous studying and eat unhealthy food. You must try to avoid this. Take the exam and then eat whatever you like. It is important to include fruits, dry fruits, and milk in your daily diet. Also, it is recommended to eat light food before the exam so that you don’t feel restless or sleepy during the examination. Read on 5 foods you should eat during exam season to ensure that you intake a nutritious diet.
7. Don’t play intensive outdoor games
While it is a good idea to play games with friends and family, do not play intensive games like football or basketball. You don’t want yourself to get injured before the exam. So, avoid these games on the last day. Instead, play indoor games like carrom, ludo, or card games. You can play table tennis and badminton if you want to shed some sweat, but try to avoid playing games in which you might get injured. It is not uncommon to hear about cases of many students who prepared very well for the exam but couldn’t even appear for it due to some last-minute injury.
8. Watch your favourite films/ shows and listen to some music
The last day before the exam might sometimes feel a little too long and you don’t want to overthink due to this. So, we recommend you to watch some movies or shows to pass the time. You can also try doing things which you have planned to continue after the exam like playing a guitar, writing a story or journaling. Listen and jam along to your favourite music. Do anything that can help you pass the day with a sense of enjoyment.
9. Don’t study too much on the last day
Last day is definitely not the day to study and we are sure many students will agree with this fact. While last-minute study might give you some satisfaction, it eventually really stresses and tires you out. So, we recommend you to only study on the last day if it’s really required. At the most, revise your short notes or check out some of the questions that you have marked for review. Have confidence in yourself, you have worked hard for the exam and your results will definitely reflect all the time and efforts.
10. Sleep and rise early
You definitely don’t want to start the exam day late and tired, so finish up with your exam prep and sleep as early as possible. Try to resolve whatever is on your mind, because you must not sleep with a stressed mind. This might result in you suffering from headache in the morning. So, clear out everything from your mind and then go to sleep. If you live with your family, request them to not make any noise so that you are advantaged with a full night’s sleep.
These were some of the tips we would recommend you to follow one day before exam. Overall, it is important for you to stay relaxed and plan out everything to avoid last-minute rush. Take someone with you to the exam hall for moral support if you need it. Don’t stress out and overthink. Believe in yourself, have confidence and good things will follow along.
Best of luck for your exams!