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8 2023 EXAM STRESS GUIDE CHAPTER 4: BEFORE THE EXAM Organise your space and time Most people preparing for exams know that it is important to organise their time, but few of them know the importance of also organising their space. Here are some pointers: 1. Think about where you work. Try and separate your work or study area from where you sit when relaxing. Even if this all happens within one small room, create a 'working place' which contains papers, books, etc., and everything you need for your work. 2. Move all distractions out of your work area - pictures, music, TV - and put these into your 'relaxation areas'. Similarly, keep work out of the latter, so that when you are relaxing or sleeping, your work is not intruding into this space. 3. Get used to working when you are in your work area, and 'switching off' when you get up from this place. Creating a physical separation of this kind will help you to do the same mentally. Organise your time in 11 easy-to- follow steps 1. SPEND TIME PLANNING AND ORGANISING Using time to think and plan is time well spent. In fact, if you fail to take time for planning, you are, in effect, planning to fail. Organise your things in a way that makes sense to you. If you need colour or pictures, use a lot on your calendar or planning book. Some people need to have papers filed away; others get their creative energy from their piles. So forget the "should" and organise your way. 2. SET GOALS Goals give your life, and the way you spend your time, direction. Set goals that are specific, measurable, realistic and achievable. Your optimum goals are those which cause you to "stretch" but not "break" as you strive for achievement. 3. PRIORITISE Use the 80 - 20 rule originally stated by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who noted that 80 percent of reward comes from 20 percent of the effort. The trick to prioritising is to isolate and identify that valuable 20 percent. Once identified, prioritise time to concentrate your work on those items with the greatest reward. Prioritise by colour, number or letter - whichever method makes the most sense to you. Flagging items with a deadline is another idea for helping you stick to your priorities. 4. USE A TO DO LIST Some people thrive using a daily To Do List which they construct either as the last thing the previous day, or the first thing in the morning. You can construct this using a calendar, or any other way that works for you. Don't be afraid to try a new system - you just might find one that works even better than the present one.