10 Simple Productive activities to follow while preparing for professional exams

Does the word ‘Exam’ create pressure and panic for you? Have heaps of things to do ahead of your exams? Not sure where to begin your preparation from? Preparing for professional exams is always a stressful time for every aspirant, for some it is an exhaustive and challenging journey while for others it’s a walk in the park. However, most of us lack the motivation to put effort continuously and bring out the best in us. If you are one who often loses focus within a short span of studying, this blog is for you. Firstly, let’s get into some of the reasons that diminish motivation during exam preparation.

• Inadequate teaching
• Inconsiderate teaching
• Not-so-good information processing
• Anxiety
• Course level getting over the heads
• Time constraint

Here are some hacks to keep you motivated.

10 Tips To Stay Motivated During Professional Exam Preparation

1. Find your reason

   Believe it or not, you have got many reasons to attempt and succeed in the exam. Find your internal motivation and the ‘why’ behind the exam. It may be achieving top grades, getting praise and admiration, outdoing peers, self-development, career prospects, meeting parents’ expectations, or anything else that could help you live a life without regrets. Take a deep breath and remind yourself about the reason every time you feel demotivated.

2. Make a strategy

   Success doesn’t necessarily come from working hard but from flawless strategy. Strategize your time by dividing it into different activities apart from studies like media, social obligations, family, etc, this gives you an idea of the time you spent on various activities and helps you strategize the time to achieve the grades you aim for in your professional exam preparation.

3. Set realistic goals

   Setting realistic goals is the secret of self-motivation; however, there’s a knack for setting them, but the good news is one can master this by just remembering SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely). Moreover, your reasons ‘why’ will be your cornerstone and mark the goals. When you reach these goals, the sense of achievement you will experience is itself a self-driving force.

4. Acknowledge your progress

   Evaluate your progress at regular intervals through practice and mock tests. Acknowledge your progress and celebrate it, this can be a motivational boost. Every time you achieve the set target, give yourself a treat and appreciate your efforts, this will get into your subconscious mind and motivate you to achieve more. Moreover, this will act as a feedback mechanism and help in rectifying the mistakes.

5. Inspire interest in the subjects

   Find the unanswered and crazy facts about the subject, meet people in the same field, read about innovations in the field, and explore some clips to spark your enthusiasm. These tricks will let you fall in love with your subjects and help you stay engaged. While you can do little to change the subjects, breaking them into manageable sections and eventually bites can help you digest the information effectively and create interest in the subject.

6. Try Pomodoro technique

   We human beings have an attention span of approximately 20 minutes, so try a Pomodoro technique to manage efficiency and avoid distractions. You must be wondering what Pomodoro technique is and how I try it. A burst of work for intense 20-25 minutes is “Pomodoros”, separate such Pomodoros by 5-10 minutes break. Why do we need to do this? To completely focus and stay attentive while studying and avoid getting bored during the studies.

7. Assess the difficulty level

   If you start with difficult topics, you’re pretty likely to get demotivated from the beginning itself. Instead, assess the difficulty level, start with the easy one to set the flow, and eventually increase the pace and difficulty level to utilize the time wisely and stay motivated throughout your preparation.

8. Leverage flashcards

   Flashcards are an incredibly versatile tool that teaches your brain to recall a term, concept, or process. Leveraging flashcards is a fun way to memorize the concepts until you are an expert and retain the information more effectively. Flashcards are a study style that works for many aspirants and are key to staying motivated and successful while preparing for professional exams.

9. Avoid tech disruptions

   In the world of technology, distraction is just a click away. Social media, TV, and Games are pretty hard to resist but did you know they take away a huge chunk of your valuable time and the results are often unproductive? Avoid tech disruptions to manage your time effectively and avoid regrets later. This will help you stay focused and motivated.

10. Study with Buddy

    If you’re one who struggles to feel motivated while studying alone, try studying with your friends, classmates, or other aspirants. This will create a competitive environment and motivate you to study the areas where you lag behind. Hopefully, these tricks will help you stay motivated and crack exams with flying colors. We identified a few reasons that diminish your motivation during exam preparation. A crucial one was inconsiderate teaching methods and inadequate teaching, make sure you do not experience this. At Gentoo Labs we offer exam apps that are comprehensive and highly interactive to match each learner’s pace and style. Try them out now!