Time Management for Board Exams

Board exams is when it all gets serious. You are anxious to score good marks and try your level best – after all, your future depends on it. However, contrary to popular belief, the most important skill when it comes to scoring well in the board exams is not the amount of learning material you refer to—although that too has its special place—it’s the art of managing your time well.

So how can you go about managing your time effectively? Here are some suggestions we offer:

• Stick to a time table: It might sounds like an age old advice, but preparing a time table is a very good idea. Even very organized people find it difficult to maintain a balance in life unless some external agency is regulating them. This is neither good nor bad but just part of human nature. That means having a planned schedule for your day in advance helps you start your day with a focus on doing the important things right away. This takes away the nervousness associated with time spent thinking and worrying about studies.
• Theory vs. solving problems: Some students are weak in grasping theory, and so end up spending all their time reading up a lot of material and holding long discussions. That can be a big mistake, as your exam results are not going to depend on any single concept. At the same time, getting stuck with solving problems without fully understanding the theory also harms the performance. Try to strike a balance between study and practice, and get help from your teachers or tutors if you are really stuck for long.
• Take a break: Your mind works better when it takes frequent breaks from routine. Therefore, long sessions of study is not a very good idea if you want to assimilate the study material and do well in the exams. You should take a break every now and then and go for a walk, do some cycling, etc. Getting involved with your hobbies is also a good idea to divert your mind and refresh it.

The closer your exams are, the stricter you should be with your time management, but don’t forget to start unwinding when it is only 3-4 days to go. The reason is that any preparation done in the crunch time does nothing but makes a person more nervous and that can result in silly mistakes.