Kick Chaos to the Curb This Exam Season

Follow these tips for a less stressful exam season.

By Spyra

Exam season is among us and with it deadlines, exams, and papers to get through! It’s the perfect opportunity for chaos to strike. Here are some tips, supports, and tricks to avoid being engulfed into the void. Take that, existentialism!

1. Find routines that work for you

I often find a lot of self-help guidance is targeted at a certain kind of person. An orientation for structure, incremental growth, and regimented planning works for many, but not for all. It is important to understand your work habits to best harness your full academic potential.

For instance, regimented study schedules and artificial deadlines may keep one person on track, while others may be unproductive until the deadline feels real. Figure out what works best for you and then implement strategies that will enable your success. Take the time to experiment with schedules and ways of working to figure out what achieves optimal results for you as a learner.

2. Prioritize your mental health

Although this borders on being a cliché phrase, self-care is important. Eating regularly and drinking water, along with a good sleep schedule, enable you to be the best version of yourself — and ultimately be the best learner possible.

Make an effort to incorporate destressing activities into your routine, whether that be meditation or a kick boxing class. Keep an eye out on the Athletics website and the Wellness website for programming to help you be your best self going into exams.

Don’t be afraid to reach out for help! Carleton offers a variety of wellness supports to aid you during exam season. The Wellness Services Navigator provides tailored mental health resources, cognizant of Carleton students’ diverse mental health needs.

3. Take advantage of resources at your disposal

Our friends in the Students and Enrolment division have various supports designed to aid students! These supports range from Peer Assisted Study Sessions to help students grasp course content to learning and writing support. I recommend checking out the CSAS website for further information on programs at our disposal!

While exam season is finally among us, I hope these tips provided a relevant launching off point to aid on your journey to combat the exam season chaos. Wishing you a relaxing break after this stressful time!