some islamic, some psychological, and some general academic tips to acing your classes:
begin the day with fajr and read surah yaseen every morning so your day goes smoothly.
for important quizzes, presentations, assignments, exams, etc, keep reciting this duaa: Rabbi yassir, wala tu’assir, watammim bil-khayr. o Allah, make this easy for me, and do not make it difficult, and allow me to complete it well.
sit towards the front of the class so you can hear the teacher clearly, be less distracted by your surroundings, and ask questions easily.
adopt an alert posture. when you’re slouching, your brain assumes you’re uninterested so your information processing is slow. just adopting the right posture goes a long way in helping you concentrate.
drink lots of water. LOTS of it. during class, in between class, during exams, after exams, you get the idea. you need to stay hydrated to stay focused and mentally alert.
keep your phone out of your visual field. contrary to popular belief, human beings are not equipped to be able to focus 100% on more than one thing a time. so decide which is more important - your grades or your social media notifications that’ll still be there by the end of the lecture?
download and use the myhomework app. it has saved my life grades more than once.
combine all of your reading material and create brief notes, mindmaps, and flowcharts for every topic at least a week before your finals, and just memorize those. you’ll retain information better, you’ll stay calm because suddenly 50 pages of readings got reduced to one page of notes, and you’ll be able to attempt your question paper better.
get 8 hours of sleep every night. yes, every night. you’re human and 8 hours of sleep will ensure that you function at your emotional and mental best throughout the day. the ideal thing to do after revising is to sleep because that allows you to retain what you’ve learned. the more sleep-deprived you are during exams season, the more likely you are to forget everything you learned in the panic of the moment. (fun psych fact: the most rapid forgetting happens during the first 9 hours after learning something, and the most effective way to retain maximum information is to SLEEP.)
avoid (or at least decrease) caffeine. i know, another impossibility. but really, getting a full night’s rest and avoiding caffeine go hand in hand. when you’re well-rested, you can focus better, and you can stay on top of things without having to drink 20 cups of coffee.
hard work and discipline > intelligence. hard work is everything. discipline is everything. intelligence means nothing if you can’t couple it with the hard work and discipline needed to keep your priorities straight and keep going despite any setback in your path because you know what you’re striving for is worth it.
and the one thing that works miracles - doesn’t matter how poor or great your revision is for your exam, do wudu, pray two nafl, and make duaa before your exam. i was on a one-month leave this past semester and still got a 4.0 gpa, alhumdulillah, and i place the credit for that solely on this practice. i’m mentioning this not to boast but to motivate y’all to trust me on this one: it really works.
and lastly, do remember that you’re human and superhuman perfection isn’t required of you. a bad grade isn’t the end of the world. nothing is worth destroying your mental, emotional, or physical health over. take care of yourself, stay healthy, try your best, and leave the rest to Allah. remember, dearest: a letter on a paper can’t even begin to encompass how special, unique, and wonderful you are as a person.
