Top tips to ace your exams

Whether you need to increase your study quality or quantity, there’s always room for improvement. With the right game plan, you can stay motivated, focused and confident in your abilities. 

Listen to music

Let's talk about the power of a good playlist. They're more than just background noise and can be a game-changer in helping you study. The right vibe can help you stay focused and relaxed, so you can stay on task and study for longer. 

But what makes the best playlist? For us, we think it's songs that have limited lyrics and a slow beat, such as lo-fi music (our favourites are this Spotify playlist or this one on YouTube music). Keep the volume down low, or it'll be easier to get distracted. But don’t take our word for it – feel free to experiment and see what works best for you. 

Break down tasks

Setting yourself realistic goals is the key to success. It's great to aim high, but if your goals are too unrealistic, you’ll inevitably feel terrible if you don’t achieve them which will mess with your productivity and lead to even less study! 

Instead, break those big goals into smaller tasks. Ask yourself what you need to do to start it and complete it, and then break it down into week-by-week steps. Each time you finish a smaller task, you'll build momentum towards your bigger goal. And, if a rewards system incentives you, like buying yourself a Chatime once you finish studying that hard exam topic - do that too! It's all about creating a system that works for you. 

Limit your distractions

In news shocking to no-one, social media’s constant temptation makes it difficult to concentrate on studying. Luckily, there are ways to get around the trap of endlessly scrolling on TikTok and taking regular breaks from social media can do wonders for boosting your productivity levels. 

But because that’s easier said than done, there are many apps and extensions that can help you. For instance, StayFocusd is a Chrome extension that restricts the amount of time you spend on certain sites like Facebook and YouTube, and Flora is an app that helps you stay off your phone for a set period of time.

Get enough sleep

No matter what you’re studying, you’ll need to be able to retain and recall content. This proves difficult without enough sleep! If you’re not getting at least seven hours of sleep, it might be time to adjust your sleeping habits. 

Sleep can play a big role in your concentration levels during exams and thinking creatively when problem-solving. And other important stuff, like doing regular exercise and eating properly are also essential parts of your routine that can’t be overlooked if you want to succeed.  

Just start 

One of the hardest things about studying is getting started. But here's the thing, once you actually dive in, you'll usually find that the ball starts rolling pretty quickly. 

Again, there are some great apps that help with discipline and taking the first step. They include Habitica and Forest, which gamify learning and make study more manageable. And don't forget, UTS has your back, too! There are loads of resources available to help you stay on top of your studies and get the support you need.

Know your purpose 

When you’re feeling really reluctant, it helps to think about why you’re doing this in the first place. Whether you just like the challenge or you enjoy learning as much as you can, everyone is motivated by different things, so it’s up to you to find your drive and passion. You need to decide for yourself why making studying a priority is important to you.