7 Essential Steps to Cram for an Exam without Losing Your Mind

1. Gather All Your Materials before you cram for an exam · 2. Turn off social media · 3. Turn on a timer · 4. Focus only on the Big Ideas and Key Details · 5. SkiplinksSkiptoprimarynavigationSkiptocontentSkiptoprimarysidebar 7EssentialStepstoCramforaTestWithoutLosingYourMind It’sDecember.Thatmeansapplecider,family,Christmaslights,and(that’sright;youguessedit)finals.I’minacoffeeshopsurroundedbycollegestudentscrammingforfinals.Thegirlacrosstheroomisabouttorub abaldspotinherhairtryingtofigureoutcalculus.Theguy inthecorner juststartedlaughing. Healsohasamathbook open.Nothing’s funnyaboutmath; therearenohumorousstory problems. Hemightbelosinghismind. Everysuccessfulstudenthasto cramforanexam everyonceandawhile.We’veincludedsevenstepstohelpyoudosowithout becomingthatguyinthecornerofthecoffeeshoplaughingatmathproblems: 1. GatherAllYourMaterialsbeforeyoucramforanexam Makesureyouhaveallyournotesandbookswithyou.Bynowyoushouldn’tneedyourbooksbecauseyou’vetakengoodnotes.Butitcouldn’thurt.Alsomakesureyou’vegotapencilorpen,a notebookorlegal pad,andyou shouldn’tneedmuchelse. Paperandpenareplentytocramforanexam. 2.Turnoffsocialmedia SocialmediaiselectronicADHD.It willsinkacramsessionlikeanelephantinarowboat.Furthermore,KimKardashianwon’ttweetanythinginthenext50minutestoimproveyourgeometrygrade.Ipromise. Texting,Facebook,Twitter,Gmail,Pinterest,etc.,aregreat,buttakeabreaktocramforexams. 3.Turnonatimer Crammingisaboutfindingagoodrhythm.Ifyoustudyfor6hoursstraight,you’remorelikelytodroolonyourtestthanpassit.Werecommenda50/10split:50minutesstudying,10minutesofanythingelse.Onyourbreak,exercise,orsing,ordance,orsitstill,orplaysoccerwiththeneighbor’shousecat.Youpick.Thengetbacktowork.Settingatimerwillhelpyoufindarhythm. 4.FocusonlyontheBigIdeasandKeyDetails Remember,youarecrammingatthispoint.Anylearningherehasalimitedshelf-life,sosticktothebasics.Youarelearningjustthemainideasandthekeydetails.Thosearethethingsthataremostlikelytobeonthetest,sofocusyourenergythere.Lookforheadings,keypeople,dates,equations,vocabwords,andexplanationsofmajorideas.Filtertherest. 5.Involveallyoursensestocramforanexam Warning:onlytrythisathome. Practicingthisinpublicmaybrandyouasacrazyperson.Weknowyouaren’t–youarejustagreatstudent.Sotalktoyourself.Everybigidea youread,talkitout.Explainthingstoyourself.Makelotsofhandmotions.Paceifithelps.Emphasizewordswithafunnyaccent.Thecrazieryoulook,thebetter.No,crazypeopledon’tremembermore.Butthemoresensesandemotionsinvolvedthemoreyou’llremember. 6.Makeyourownstudyguide Whetherornotyourteacher/prof.gaveyouastudyguide,youneedtomakeyourowntocramforanexam.Thisisfarandawaythebest methodto studyforanexam.Afterjustmaking theguideyourself,80%ofyourworkwillbedone.You’recramming,soitdoesn’thavetobeneat.Onlyyouhavetobeabletoreadit. Writingitout,readingasyougo,involvingallyoursenses –it’slike aninformationshoehorn. 7.Set goalsandrewardsasyoucramforanexam Whowants icecream? Youdo,butonlyifyoufinishyourstudyguidebefore10pm.Youcan’teattoolatebecauseitgivesyouweirddreams,butyoucan’thavetheRockyRoad untilyourstudyguideisdone. Deadlinesandrewardswillhelpyoustayon track.Useacarrotifyou’drather,butIfind mintchocolatechipmore motivating.Sinceyouareasuccessfulstudent,yourecognizethatsettingapersonalgoalforyourselfwillhelpyoukeepmovingwithoutgettingboggeddown. Howaboutyou?Doyouhaveanyotherhelpfultipstoaddtothislist?I’mgoingtogetsomeicecream. ShareTweetPin19Shares SkylarAndersonSkylarpassionateaboutequippingstudentstosucceed&fulfilltheirpersonalmissions.HelivesinDenver,Colorado,andyou'llfindhimmakingchiliorenjoyingthemountainswithhisfamilyontheweekends.Twitter:@skylaranderson PrimarySidebar Whatwouldyouliketolearn? SearchStudyRight Searchthiswebsite PopularPosts