Help at hand for upcoming exams
How to stay calm and keep on studying
your child an inveterate procrastinator? Are you at your wits’ end trying to get him or her to prepare for their forthcoming exams? Calm down. You are not alone.
Why do students procrastinate?
Their attitude could be wrong. Their thinking goes like this: “I don’t want to study. But if I don’t do it, I will fail. I don’t want that to happen. Therefore, I will study . . . but not because I like to. Someone is making me do it.” These students feel victimised or resentful because they are “being forced” to do something. . . “I’ll put it off for just a little longer.”
Some students underestimate how long it will take them to study the material they need to master for the examination. So they wait and wait . . . till it’s too late. Panic sets in. Everybody at home becomes miserable.
Other students wait for inspiration to fall from heaven. They seem to forget the old adage that God helps those who help themselves. They believe that they must “feel like studying” before they can get down to it. This “I’m- not-in-the-mood” attitude steers them into troubled waters. Tomorrow won’t be better. It only gets worse. Time runs out.
Remind your chronic procrastinator that successful students get down to doing what they have to do. They banish lame excuses. They take the unavoidable disappointments and frustrations in their stride. They realise that examinations can be lifechanging experiences. Grade 12 in particular can be a watershed year.
Where does one start? Consider the following:
Think. What’s really holding you back? Are you afraid of failure? Are you being irresponsible? Are you waiting to be rescued? Are you managing your time badly? Are you using poor study skills?
Revise one topic at a time rather than jumping around. Doing 15 minutes of geography, then switching to 20 minutes of maths, and then getting back to geography is uneconomical.
Begin revising what you feel confident about, then move rapidly into areas you feel you know least about. You’ll find that the task just gets better and better as you complete it.
Are you using your best learning style? Some students learn more through reading, others learn more by listening. Everyone has different ways of revising — so find out what suits you best.
Keep reminding yourself about why it is important for you to pass.