The National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams officially begin on Monday 30th of October and ends in the first week of December 2023.
It is a time filled with mixed emotions and concern about whether you did enough to secure your spot at a tertiary institution.
While these are good reasons to feel anxious, what is equally important is how you utilize the anxiety positively in order to prepare for your NSC exams.
According to BetterUp, a website that focuses on building and strengthening the mindsets, skills, and behaviors of people – the presence of anxiety can pose several health risks including sleep deprivation, fatigue, and lack of concentration. All of these are crucial when starting exams. The only way of overcoming this is by preparing well and living a balanced life.
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To overcome the risk that stress can pose, The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has made available a list of things that you can do to ensure that your exams go as smoothly as possible.
- Prepare – The first thing to do is to gather all your study material before you start, these include pens, pencils, and highlighters as there will be certain sections that might attract your attention. Adding colour and pictures to your study notes will help you remember what you have written.
- Be positive – Everything you do comes from your brain. It is therefore important to condition your mind towards having a positive attitude, this will help you to think differently about your work.
- To prevent yourself from tiring your brain it is important to study in sections to reduce the amount of strain your mind will experience.
- In any learning environment repetition will be key. So, keep on repeating the concepts in your mind until you memorize them. Additionally, it will also help when you try and explain the concepts to someone else.
- Lastly make sure you receive enough rest, receive enough nutrients, and drink enough water. Preparing for an exam can be extremely draining, which means that your physical well-being is important.
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Also see: 6 Easy steps to overcome end of year fatigue
