Guidelines by Sheila Granger
Guidelines by Sheila Granger
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
•
Teenagers and students are under increasing study and exam pressure.
•
It is common for pupils to latch on to their weaknesses rather than their talents and strengths and young people can easily be discouraged by negative criticism
•
Whether the student is at School, University or perhaps studying a new skill for their profession it can be a stressful time. Many face concerns over the fear of failure, or not being able to remember what they have learned and to apply it on the day of their exams.
•
For some it isn't just the anxiety or 'nerves' at the time of the exam but very often it is weeks or months ahead. They feel that while they are quite confident in the subject they are being tested at any other time, their "nerves" will cause them to 'let themselves down on the day.
•
Many people struggle unnecessarily during the run up to exams with their focus and attention due to excessive tension and lack of self-belief.
•
Whilst a certain amount of anxiety is natural around exam time, for some students it is crippling, and very damaging. However, these students can learn to overcome their anxiety, grow in confidence, and feel comfortable in exam conditions. This isn’t magic, or trickery, but simple, concentrated, techniques which allow an individual to take control of their emotional state, and remain focussed and confident whilst being challenged.
•
My aim is to give the students simple coping strategies that they can utilise to reduce their anxiety levels and perform at their very best. All this can lead to much better academic performance and far greater emotional well being for the student.
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
Remember, we tend to stress more in life about the things that we are not doing, or things that we should be doing, and because of the little negative chatterbox in our heads that keeps telling us we won’t be able to do it, we won’t be able to answer the questions, I’m going to fail etc. etc.
1. Set yourself a study timetable and stick to it. •
Make sure you study in the same place each time i.e. set aside a specific place/desk in your home where you are going to do your studying. Reward yourself in some way after each period of study i.e. meet a friend, go to the cinema. This will make it much less of a laborious task and you will always have something to look forward to instead of endless study.
2. Tune Out Distractions. •
Put your mobile on silent or better still in another room, turn off Facebook, settle yourself down at your desk and for a few moments just stare at the front cover of the book, whilst focusing on your breathing at the same time, this will focus your attention, put you into a relaxed state so that the information can flow into your memory banks easily and will also tune out any other distractions.
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
3. Memory enhancement and Retrieval •
Think of your memory as being a little bit like a filing cabinet or even computer files. If we just threw everything into a filing cabinet wily nilly it would be difficult to find that important piece of paper when we need it most!
•
Once you’ve stared at the front cover of that book and focused your attention imagine opening up the relevant file in your mind i.e. English Literature, then start studying.....
4. Dump The Negative Chatterbox In Your Head •
You all know after Friday what your own negative thoughts are about your exams.
•
Each and every time you find yourself thinking any negatives, imagine dumping the negative (bury it, burn it, throw it out of a window, find a way, your own personal way of doing this). Then immediately replace that negative with your own positive ‘success’ image, this might be an image of you sailing through your exams, or an image of you collecting your results, again this has to be your own personal image.
5. Self Relaxation/ Self Hypnosis •
Remember that nice relaxed feeling you felt on Friday. Remember you can put yourself into that relaxed state simply by closing your eyes, counting from one to ten and with each outward breath saying to yourself the word ‘relax’.
•
Do this for a few minutes each day, or simply close your eyes and in your head run through how you want the exam to go. Imagine yourself sitting in the exam easily recovering the information from your memory banks.
Good Luck with your Exams! Focus only on success!
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
•
Teenagers and students are under increasing study and exam pressure.
•
It is common for pupils to latch on to their weaknesses rather than their talents and strengths and young people can easily be discouraged by negative criticism
•
Whether the student is at School, University or perhaps studying a new skill for their profession it can be a stressful time. Many face concerns over the fear of failure, or not being able to remember what they have learned and to apply it on the day of their exams.
•
For some it isn't just the anxiety or 'nerves' at the time of the exam but very often it is weeks or months ahead. They feel that while they are quite confident in the subject they are being tested at any other time, their "nerves" will cause them to 'let themselves down on the day.
•
Many people struggle unnecessarily during the run up to exams with their focus and attention due to excessive tension and lack of self-belief.
•
Whilst a certain amount of anxiety is natural around exam time, for some students it is crippling, and very damaging. However, these students can learn to overcome their anxiety, grow in confidence, and feel comfortable in exam conditions. This isn’t magic, or trickery, but simple, concentrated, techniques which allow an individual to take control of their emotional state, and remain focussed and confident whilst being challenged.
•
My aim is to give the students simple coping strategies that they can utilise to reduce their anxiety levels and perform at their very best. All this can lead to much better academic performance and far greater emotional well being for the student.
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
Remember, we tend to stress more in life about the things that we are not doing, or things that we should be doing, and because of the little negative chatterbox in our heads that keeps telling us we won’t be able to do it, we won’t be able to answer the questions, I’m going to fail etc. etc.
1. Set yourself a study timetable and stick to it. •
Make sure you study in the same place each time i.e. set aside a specific place/desk in your home where you are going to do your studying. Reward yourself in some way after each period of study i.e. meet a friend, go to the cinema. This will make it much less of a laborious task and you will always have something to look forward to instead of endless study.
2. Tune Out Distractions. •
Put your mobile on silent or better still in another room, turn off Facebook, settle yourself down at your desk and for a few moments just stare at the front cover of the book, whilst focusing on your breathing at the same time, this will focus your attention, put you into a relaxed state so that the information can flow into your memory banks easily and will also tune out any other distractions.
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
3. Memory enhancement and Retrieval •
Think of your memory as being a little bit like a filing cabinet or even computer files. If we just threw everything into a filing cabinet wily nilly it would be difficult to find that important piece of paper when we need it most!
•
Once you’ve stared at the front cover of that book and focused your attention imagine opening up the relevant file in your mind i.e. English Literature, then start studying.....
4. Dump The Negative Chatterbox In Your Head •
You all know after Friday what your own negative thoughts are about your exams.
•
Each and every time you find yourself thinking any negatives, imagine dumping the negative (bury it, burn it, throw it out of a window, find a way, your own personal way of doing this). Then immediately replace that negative with your own positive ‘success’ image, this might be an image of you sailing through your exams, or an image of you collecting your results, again this has to be your own personal image.
5. Self Relaxation/ Self Hypnosis •
Remember that nice relaxed feeling you felt on Friday. Remember you can put yourself into that relaxed state simply by closing your eyes, counting from one to ten and with each outward breath saying to yourself the word ‘relax’.
•
Do this for a few minutes each day, or simply close your eyes and in your head run through how you want the exam to go. Imagine yourself sitting in the exam easily recovering the information from your memory banks.
Good Luck with your Exams! Focus only on success!
© Copyright Sheila Granger 2014. All rights reserved.
