Finals Stress

Today I wanted to talk about something I have been and pretty much still am suffering with, stress for exams. 
Tomorrow my final exams start and in the Netherlands they count as 50% of your final grade for a subject, so pretty important I'd say. 
And, being my very stressful self, to say I'm stressed is an understatement. 
Obviously being stressed is not really healthy, so I discovered a few things that, either make studying a bit easier or help you calm down. 

1. If you have to take an exam for a subject you find very hard, it is really important that you rest enough between taking test exams or repetition. If you are stuck one a certain topic, just take a quick break for some food. When you come back you will have a clearer mind. But also, if you are in the right flow and things are going good, try not to get distracted by your phone or laptop, that way you will gt more done and feel good when you stop. And very important, celebrate when you give a right answer to a hard question. That way you'll stay motivated.
2. It is very important to eat and drink enough during studying or your exam. We are allowed to bring some food and a drink to our exam and that gives you the opportunity to take a short break to drink a bit or eat something small. It also gives you the energy to continue and will help to clear your head. 
3. When I start a test I always look at the number of questions I have to answer before I start, so I won't miss any of them. That way you also know how many questions you should have answered when you're half way.
4. QUALITY BEFORE QUANTITY! This one is very important. It is better to answer the question completely right and then maybe skip a few, instead of answering all the question in a rush and making mistakes. 
5. In addition to number 4, if you don't know the answer right away or in a few minutes, just skip the question and continue with the next one and you can come back to it in the end. 
6. If you get really stressed before your test, I wrote some tips for calming down at the end of my post about anxiety and panic attacks ( you can find that one here).
7. And last but not least, it doesn't matter if you fail once or twice. You are allowed to find a subject difficult and you are allowed to fail a test. It isn't the end of the world. I wish someone had told me that a few years ago, because it would have calmed me down a lot. 

Please tell me if you have any more tips or tricks for taking an exam or stress in general and leave them in the comments below. 

I hope it helped some of you coping with stress.

And for the people who are taking them right now: Good luck, you can do it!

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