Put aside your concerns, focus on Board exams

After a long wait, the exam dates have been announced for Class 10 and Class 12. Given the current pandemic and the uncertainties associated with it, you will likely be feeling stressed as your complete study schedule has turned topsy-turvy. As we are all adapting to the circumstances, we must recognise that this is a difficult situation and find ways to keep ourselves motivated and on track with our goals.

You may also find it difficult to concentrate due to exam stress, the current crisis or the fear of bad results. With numerous distractions, it is common to lose focus and feel frustrated. This can lead to further stress and reduce retention power.

Even the toughest topics can be mastered with determination, better concentration, and some study techniques. Here are some tips to improve concentration:

Commit yourself to the task: Before you start any task evaluate the required time and efforts to complete it. Be determined to complete the task within a specified time. Plan and schedule your daily activities and do not let anything break your schedule.

Create a good study environment: A good study environment allows you to concentrate well and enhances your learning experience. Choose a place with proper ventilation, lighting, and minimal distractions where you can study peacefully. Try to keep your study place clean, this will help eradicate any distractions.

Set realistic goals: Set your goals according to your potential and priorities. Having realistic targets keeps you motivated and helps you focus better rather than get worked up over unrealistic goals. Stick to specific short-term goals and work towards them with a proper study plan.

Use mnemonics to help build memory: Mnemonics are clues in different forms that help us remember something by associating it to visual image, sentence, or a word.

There are many ways you can make mnemonics such as associating a concept to a visual image. You can build acronyms with the first letter of every word of a sentence or make a rhyme of all the words. This will help you retain and recollect a concept or formula with ease.

Exercise: Physical and mental exercise help keep your stress levels in check. Meditation can help control your thoughts and improve your concentration power. Physical exercise relaxes and rejuvenates your body while taking your mind off things.

Get adequate sleep: Sleep improves attention and concentration. Lack of sleep affects your mood, focus and motivation.

Keep away from social media: The internet has the power to both educate and entertain, thus use it wisely. Excessive use of phone and other electronic gadgets can make you lose focus.

Discuss what you learnt: Have a discussion with your peers on what you learnt that day. This helps you revise the day’s learning and retain it for a longer period. Peer discussions also help you check your progress and exchange knowledge while providing a chance at friendly competition.

Take regular breaks: Taking regular breaks is very critical to enhancing learning capacity and maintaining a high level of concentration. Take a short break after every hour. Use these intervals to stretch, listen to a song or relax for a few minutes. These short breaks make your study time more productive.

Always be positive and believe in yourself to achieve excellence in whatever you do. Memory retention differs from person to person, hence consider trying different methods to improve your memory and concentration and find what works the best for you.

You must keep your long-term ambitions in mind and supplement your study efforts with a healthy diet, proper hydration, exercises, and fun activities to break the monotony. Equip yourself with ministry-advised health and safety tools and confirm that the exam centre complies with all the health regulations so that you can write the exam with a clear mind.

(The author is founder, Deeksha)