Hey Guys. I don’t know about you but it was a struggle getting out of bed this morning. After I did and finished my workout, I felt like a serious champ. *Cue Beyonce hair flip.* Surviving a Monday is good for the morale.
Now, on to today’s post. I’ve got Pt. 4 of the Crush Comps series. Since it’s the last installment, I’m going out with a bang by sharing 12 things you should and shouldn’t be doing in the final week before your exams.
The DO’s
Stick to your routines. As best you can, stick to your same routines and rituals. Major changes to your routine essentially tell your brain that something big is about to happen which can cause stress or anxiety. Maintaining daily rituals can bring a sense of normalcy to a stressful period. With routines, you feel like you’re in control because you know what comes next. So if you’ve been going for a run in the morning, keep running. If you make yourself a pot of tea in the afternoon, keep brewing. If you like to cook dinner for yourself a few nights a week, keep slicing and dicing. Don’t abandon your routines because you’re in the homestretch. Embrace them. I made a conscious effort to stick to my routines on my exam days, and it really helped keep me stable and grounded.
Focus on more passive modes of studying. You shouldn’t be doing a lot of heavy lifting in the final week before your exams. You’ve done plenty of that already. This close to your exams you want to take things a little easy. Review your outlines and notes. Listen to recordings of yourself reading your notes while you do other things. I actually listened to recordings of myself reading notes as I ran errands during the final week before my exams (while grocery shopping, exercising, cooking), and it was a nice way for me to take care of other important things while still studying.
Confirm dates, times, and locations for your exams. You’ve studied hard enough for these exams so you should get the chance to you know, actually take them. Make sure you know when and where to go.
Fill out and submit any necessary paperwork. Check your program’s handbook, and ask your grad program director or coordinator if there are any forms you need to fill out before your exams.
Make sure you have something to eat and drink for your exams days. These exams can be long so you’ll need sustenance to see you through. TIP: If you’ll be in a group setting for your exams consider food options that aren’t crunchy or smelly. Fellow test-takers will appreciate it.
Schedule a fun activity to help you de-stress and relax. Before I took my exams I got a mani-pedi and treated myself to some fro-yo. For you it could be that or a one-hour jumping session at a trampoline park. As long as it’s something that has absolutely nothing to do with your exams and that you enjoy, there aren’t any rules. Oh, but it should probably be legal.
Great. Now that we’ve covered what you should be doing in the final week before your exams, let’s get into what you shouldn’t do.
The DON’TS
Study new material. New material at this point could be confusing or it could conflict with material you studied earlier. This could negatively affect your confidence if it makes you question material you thought you already understood. You want to go into your exams feeling as confident as possible. Additionally, ask yourself whether you’ll be able to understand any new material well enough to meaningfully discuss it in an exam response. Faculty aren’t looking for memorization skills.
Skimp on sleep. I’m sure you guys know this, but it’s so important that I’m saying it anyway. Doing well on these exams require an alert mind. To be alert you need sleep. Do yourself a favor and get some – preferably about 8 hours a night. You don’t want to go into a four, six, or eight hour exam running on pure adrenaline.
Study up until bedtime. I spoke about it here in Pt. 2 of this series but to quickly recap studying until bedtime can leave you wired and unable to properly shut down. Translation: crappy sleep.
Announce when you’re taking your exams on social media. Okay, so I’ll preface this one by saying it is a matter of personal preference. I included it though because there’s the possibility that not everyone in your social network is your supporter. Some people may be lurkers (we all know the type), some people may be faux supporters (the wolf in sheep’s clothing), and some may even be openly against you (technically they should be blocked, but I digress).
If you announce on social media that you’re about to take your exams, you’ve given these people details about an important event in your life. Details that, quite frankly, they don’t need.
I’m not saying that they’re going to come up with an elaborate scheme to sabotage you, but life (and people) can be crazy. There could also be instances of more subtle forms of sabotage (e.g. microaggresions or other acts to stress/inconvenience/annoy you).
At this point you’ve invested too much time into your exam prep to let this happen. You need to be territorial about your space, and discerning about the people who and resulting energy that you allow in.
Your exam dates should be on a need-to-know basis. Unless it’s your committee members or people who you can confidently identify as supporters, they don’t need to know. However, feel free to make that grand announcement on Twitter once you’ve passed!
Obsess over every detail. Yes, details are important. In this case, however, details are important to the extent that they contribute to the larger argument you make in your responses. Faculty don’t expect you to remember the exact journal or year for every paper you cite in your response (at least they shouldn’t). So don’t spend a lot of time trying to remember minor details. Focus on the arguments you want to make and the big pieces of evidence that support those arguments.
Shut out friends and supportive family members. Notice I said supportive family members because, unfortunately, some family members may be unsupportive (I didn’t say unsupportive friends, however, because that’s an oxymoron; they shouldn’t exist).
It doesn’t have to be an all day event because they’ll likely understand you’re busy (in the Crush Comps Guide + Toolkit I actually include an email draft that you can send to family and friends when you start studying for your exams). However, spending a little time with them could be a nice way to take your mind off your exams for a while, laugh, and get some encouragement.
So that’s it folks! The 12 things you should and shouldn’t be doing in the final week before you take your comprehensive or qualifying exams.
Are there any do’s or don’ts that you think I missed? Which ones seem like they’ll be the hardest to stick to? Let me know below!
Disclaimer: Everyone’s situation is unique and you have to do what works best for you. Circumstances may require you to study new material in the final week before your exam, which may not be a problem at all. Or you may be the type of person who keeps really tight knit social networks in which case you don’t have to worry about shady intentions. This list is a guideline. Take from it what you will, but don’t feel like you have to follow every point.
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