Remember to socialise during exam season

April 16, 2019

• Effective Revision

It is important to socialise during exam term – you will be better at revising if you are happy, have rest, and are in a healthy mental state. Furthermore, you should not work for more than eight hours per day anyway (any longer than eight hours can be counter-productive), so you have plenty of time to take a break and have some fun. In many ways, socialising during exam season is quite similar to socialising at any other time; however, it is important to think about the ways that it can be different too.

For example, while you can take a break from revision, you still need to ensure that you are balancing socialising and work. Always try to work for at least six hours each day. To ensure that you do work for this amount of time, socialise on your own terms by building socialising around your revision schedule, rather than vice versa.

It is also important to think about the kinds of social activities which you chose to engage in during exam season. First, if possible, try to spend some of your social time exercising. This does not need to be anything too intense; it could just be playing some football or tennis at the park. Any exercise you do will be helpful; it will improve your overall wellbeing and help to improve your revision and work rate. Second, for those taking A-Levels and university exams, socialising outside of exam season may often revolve around drinking alcohol. You should try to drink less alcohol than usual during exam season. Drinking excessively has a number of negative effects upon revision, such as sleeping problems, a lack of productivity while recovering from drinking, and amnesia.  

When socialising during exam season, you should also remember that most of the people around you are also experiencing the stress of revision. On one hand, it is important to use social time to talk to your friends about this and to make sure that they are coping with exams and that they are not experiencing any mental health problems. However, on the other hand, try to prevent talk of exams from becoming all-encompassing – socialising should provide you with a welcome break from revision. To prevent too much overlap between revision and socialising, try to keep them in separate spaces and at separate times. For example, do not socialise in the library, which should be kept as an area of work. But, likewise, do not work in spaces which should be used for socialising. You can also co-ordinate the times of your revision breaks and socialising times with your friends.