Instagram: expert stress management tips for exam season

Chloe Burroughs is a study skills expert and Instagram creator who teaches students how to study more effectively so they can achieve their educational goals more easily. Over the past seven years, Chloe has worked with thousands of students from all over the world to provide them with the techniques and encouragement they need to thrive in higher education – and this exam season, Instagram has partnered with Chloe to curate her top tips on how to manage your stress and time effectively:

 

Exam revision is meant to be uncomfortable

 

Preparing for exams consists of a lot of tricky processes. You’re asking your brain to unearth existing knowledge, make new connections, commit key points to long-term memory and practice recalling them. And you’re doing all this while trying to stay calm and confident.

Therefore, the next time you feel uncomfortable and stressed during your exam revision, rather than slip into negative thinking about your abilities, remind yourself that learning is not meant to be easy. It is meant to challenge you so that you can grow from it. Understanding that this discomfort is normal (and inevitable) will help you to manage your exam stress.

 

 Prioritise active learning 

 

A common reason that students feel stressed during their exam season is that they’re not sure how they should be revising and whether they’re revising in the right way. While the best exam revision techniques will depend on your specific subject and exam format, there is one key strategy that every student should use to prepare successfully for exams – your revision should consist mainly of active learning techniques, rather than passive ones.

Passive learning involves rereading books and notes, condensing notes onto index cards, and skimming over your past work – a great first step but less effective if you want to deepen your understanding or improve your ability to recall key points in your exam. To do this you need to focus on active learning techniques such as creating two-sided flashcards to test vocabulary, definitions and short-answer questions or discussing ideas with other students.

When you’re feeling stressed about your exams it’s easy to slip into passive learning because it feels more comfortable. But switch to active learning with its focus on testing your knowledge and you’ll be shocked at how much smoother your exam preparation goes…and how much better you’ll perform in your exams!

Check your tense

 

It’s understandable that at times during the exam season your attention will shift to your looming exams, which can leave you feeling panicked and stressed. However, worrying about the future isn’t going to do anything but steal happiness and progress from the present. And there’s no point worrying about the past either and whether you should have started revising earlier.

The only outcome you can impact is what is happening right now – your current or very next study session. You could divide your head space in half – 50% focused on revising for your exam and 50% panicking about the exam itself…but that’s just inefficient, right? Instead, aim for as close to 100% as possible of your focus, energy and motivation on the study task in front of you.

So, if during a revision session you find your attention racing ahead to your future exams, bring your attention back to the present tense where you can actually affect change. Ask yourself, ‘What is the next productive step in my exam preparation? What small task can I complete that will edge me closer to my goal?’

Shift your state 

 

We have helpful and unhelpful states of being. Unhelpful states include anxious, unmotivated, overwhelmed and fearful. Helpful states include motivated, positive, calm, confident and focused.

You’ll do your best exam preparation when you’re in a helpful state…and you’ll feel less stressed in the process. So, it’s important to recognise when you’re in an unhelpful state so you can take action to pull yourself out of it. You’re not going to be able to shift it sitting at your desk feeling sorry for yourself or lying on your bed, you must physically move so that you can change your mental state.

When you notice you’re in a studying funk, rather than trying to force yourself to immediately get back to the books, take just a few minutes to change your physical state. You could dance to your favourite song, take a shower, drink a glass of cold water or walk around your block or garden.

 

Remember to take revision breaks 

 

You may feel like you can’t take possibly proper breaks because you have so much to revise and so little time. But taking short, regular breaks is vital to help you refresh and maintain your brain power over long study sessions. You can use something called the Pomodoro technique which involves setting a timer for 25 minutes, studying with as much focus as possible, then taking a five-minute break. After completing three or four Pomodoros you then take a longer 30/60-minute break.

When it’s time for a break, think about what your mind and body need right now – whether it’s a snack, connection to friends or other students through platforms such as Instagram, or a boost of motivation by checking out some inspiring social content. Be sure to set a timer for the break and get back into your revision quickly so that you can end each day feeling a lot less stressed and a lot more proud of your progress.

Instagram has tools to help you with this, too – Take a Break allows you to set alerts to pop up when you’ve been scrolling your feed for your selected time period, helping you to effectively manage your time spent on the app.

 

Identify the emotion you are looking for before you open your Instagram 

 

Instagram can be a super effective way to shift your mood and lift your spirits in your day-to-day life, even more so during times of uncertainty and stress such as exam season. One way to get the most out of your social media experience is to be intentional about what you want to get out of it.

Before you open Instagram, take a second to check in and ask yourself, ‘what feeling am I searching for? What do I need right now?’ Are you looking to relax? Are you looking to feel connected? Are you looking to laugh? Experience joy? Are you looking to feel motivated? Empowered?

Set this intention before to prompt you to search for the creators and accounts publishing that type of content so you can consume what you need in that moment. This way you’ll spend time on the platform mindfully, destress your system and come away with a fuller cup than when you started.

 

 5 Instagram accounts to check out during exam season

 

The New Happy – @newhappyco

Inspiring posts that give guidance on how to live happier lives. Their posts consist of original diagrams that shift my mood, normalise my experience and help me to see a new way of thinking about things that are troubling me. Their posts help me breathe a little easier.

@mytherapistsays

Funny posts and memes about mindset and mental health. When I’m feeling stressed, their posts help to bring a much-needed, positive sense of levity and help me to feel less alone in the challenges I’m facing.

 

 Jules Von Hep – @julesvonhep

A wonderful business owner who shares uplifting, hilarious posts around confidence. He interacts a lot with his audience which always leads to content that gives me a good laugh when I need it.

 @ducks_in_space

A recent, slightly chaotic find. This account shares other people’s photos and videos of ducks, and a study break scrolling through cute duck content is a pretty effective stress antidote!

 Sophie Tea – @sophieteaart

This woman is a powerhouse. Not only do I love seeing her art, I find her open sharing of the highs and lows of her career development and learning very inspiring. I always come away from consuming her content feeling more motivated and energised to make progress on my own, much less creative, projects.

 

When Chloe’s not helping learners to uplevel their study skills, you can find her daydreaming about good food, rowing on her local river, or geeking out over Brandon Sanderson novels. You can check out her studying advice by visiting her at @chloe.burroughs and by listening to the Chloe Made Me Study podcast. 

For more exam study advice and support, visit https://www.themix.org.uk/

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