Time Management Tips for Students Preparing for a Competitive Exam
We all know how crucial ‘time management’ is during any exam preparation, especially when it comes to competitive exams. There are simple ways to navigate through this ‘all-important’ aspect of exam prep. Here are some tips.
Craft a plan, adhere to it
Before you start preparing, get a thorough hold of the syllabus, the exam pattern, and learn all about the important topics. This way, you will easily be able to allot to subjects/topics, and daily revision. Also, be very sincere about following this plan while keeping room for other activities.
Next step is to review the plan to check its effectiveness. Once you’ve started implementing it, you can evaluate the way you’ve spent your time all week. You can maintain a record of everything that you’ve done throughout the week, which will help you alter and update the plan when needed.
Now, focus on optimum productivity, which is also a very effective preparation strategy. So, choose a peaceful study corner and avoid distractions like social media, TV, and other people. This way, you can stay away from procrastination and stay focussed on the task at hand.
Accelerate your pace of learning
Being through with the entire syllabus is tough, but avoid mugging it. Many students do it, which hampers their overall prep. For, rote learning never helps in understanding what you’re learning and you will forget it in a jiffy. So, understand the topic, make notes, and revise these to hasten your learning.
Learn all the shortcut techniques you can apply, as they really help. Why? Because, competitive exams do have complex questions and shortcut methods are very effective in tackling these. So, practise them while studying till they become a habit, which will eventually help in answering challenging questions.
Online tests, mocks & sample papers
Taking online tests, mocks, practising with sample papers and previous years’ papers, are a great way to revise and fortify whatever you’ve learnt. This also familiarises you with the actual paper pattern, gives you a sense of the real exam environment, and gives a peek into your weak areas.
Peer pressure, keep it at bay
Learn to say ‘no’ to your peers. All those outings, events, projects, study groups, etc., are quite tempting and give a high, but keep all these at bay. Learn to turn down invites and avoid taking on more than needed. This will reduce your stress and anxiety, helping you to stay focused on your goal.
Time management skills are perhaps one of the most important aspects of any competitive exam, and well-prepared students certainly have an edge over others. Besides the tips we gave, joining an online coaching programme to aid your preparation also helps. TG Campus has some excellent online courses for engineering, medicine and law aspirants, among others, with the best faculty that offers excellent guidance.
