It is so important, when studying, to ensure that you make time for yourself. Particularly in the lead up to your exams.

The pressure to spend all your time revising means juggling a social life while remembering to also put some time aside for yourself and all the extracurricular activities you enjoy can be challenging, and we tend to feel guilty for having ‘fun’!

However, it is important to make sure that you do set aside time just for you, even during the revision period. As long as you remain focused and organised when you do sit down to work, there is no reason why you can

As long as you remain focused and organised when you do sit down to work, there is no reason why you cannot spare some time to relax and break away from studying as well. In fact, doing so will actually help you work more efficiently. You give yourself a break, have some time to relax and therefore remain stress-free while still feeling like you have your revision under control.

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So how do you maintain a healthy and happy study/ life balance? Here are some great  revision tips to help you achieve this:

1. Manage your time

Whether it is in the lead up to the exam period, or simply juggling your day- to-day study tasks, make sure you manage your time well.

Take time to ensure you know what you have to get done each week and schedule in the right amount of time to achieve this. Having a diary will help – be it a paper diary, or one on your tablet or phone. Here you can log assignments, as well as any other commitments you have such as sports practice or arrangements with friends. This will enable you to easily see what you have on during the week, and any deadlines that are coming up so that you can manage your time accordingly.

At the end of each week make sure your diary is up- to- date for the next one, then you can see exactly what you have on, and what free time you have, to set aside for enjoying extra-curricular activities.

2. Give yourself goals

This is particularly helpful when it comes to revision. Make sure that you carefully plan your work. Firstly figure out your end goal, and then set targets for yourself each week to ensure that you meet them.

A well-thought out revision plan that you know you can stick to will save you worry, stress and any last minute cramming. You will also feel great every time you achieve one of your goals, or complete your work for the week, meaning you are allowed to do something fun to reward yourself!

3. Go easy on yourself

It is very tempting to give yourself more work than you can realistically take on.

Remember, you are only human, and while working efficiently and productively is important, if you give yourself an impossible amount of work to get through, not only will you have no free time to enjoy yourself but you will also end up feeling disappointed and deflated in the process.

Be realistic about the amount of work you can and need to do in any given week. Remember if you give yourself too much you are more likely to rush through it to try and get it done, end up feeling stressed and frustrated, and the quality of your work or revision will be much lower too.

4. Prioritise

When you are studying and working towards your exams and deadlines you do have to make some sacrifices. Working hard to achieve your goals are important, and it may be that you cannot fit in all the extra-curricular activities that you used to be able to while still finding the time to study effectively.

If you do have to give things up, think about what is most important to you and make sure you make time for that. Making little sacrifices here and there will free you up so you can make sure you have plenty of time to get all of your work done, and still have time to do the things you love.

5. Get help

When trying to juggle your study and social life remember that there are people around you who will be happy to help and support you.

If you know you are struggling with a particular subject and feel it may take up too much of your time then you can talk to your teacher or parents to see how they can help.

Hiring a professional tutor to coach you through difficult subjects, or to assist with your revision or study in general can be a great help, and mean that you have more free time to take part in activities that you enjoy.

By following these handy revision tips there is no reason why you can’t have a healthy, active social life as well as keeping up with your studies.

Careful planning and organisation as well as remaining focused when you do work will make sure that you feel fully prepared and stress-free come exam time.

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