Five Ways to Mentally Prepare for Your Exams

Brace yourself. Exams are coming. 

I know a lot of people (who are still in education) have already started their exams - and good luck to you lovely people - but for other June examinees like myself, time is ticking and it appears to be slipping away awfully fast. Cue panic-mode, the desperate wish for some sort of Time Turner and repeatedly asking yourself why, oh why, did you not start revising much sooner, even though if you'd started any sooner you would have started long before the course even started. All of this, as you can imagine, isn't helpful thinking. 

It took me a long time to realise that no amount of exam stress will ever be productive - instead it increases the likelihood of the "what is the point, this is a lost cause" mentality settling with the more pressure and stress and worry that I pile on. It's hard to focus on remembering the facts when you're focused on the fact that you're probably going to end up forgetting them. So this time around, I am making sure that even if I'm fairly sure that I'm not academically ready to sit the exams, I am mentally prepared to go into that examination room, head held high, and simply do my best. 

Here are five ways you can mentally prepare for your exams: 

I. Put it into perspective || Yes, exams are extremely important during the course of your academic career as your success is what allows you to progress, and doing well is also desirable for many reasons (making your family proud, giving you an end over your competitors on the job market, etc.) but guess what? Exams are also not the beginning and the end of the world. In the grand scheme of things, success or failure is only relative to a tiny area of your life, an assessment of how well you did in a certain subject at a given time and under a given set of circumstances. Remind yourself of the importance of exams at this particular point in your life, but don't hinge your entire being or self-worth on their outcome. Pass or fail, you'll still be you, and still be as awesome as you were before you looked at that piece of paper with your grades on them.

II. Exercise || Whether you get your heart pumping with a decent round of cardio or take some time to stretch out your muscles through a yoga flow, it's important to try and incorporate 20-30 minutes of exercise as often as you can manage it (even a 10-minute walk will do). Not only is exercise good for your overall health, you will feel more energised and give your stress an outlet instead of letting it drive you crazy or settle somewhere in your shoulders.

III. Get enough sleep || Ah the temptation of all nighters. Whilst I can't personally pull them (the closest I get to an all-nighter is sleeping around 2 a.m. and then waking up again at 5 a.m.), I've noticed that even the loss of a couple of hours of sleep will have a negative impact on my energy, concentration and stress levels. I'm also more likely to reach for unhealthy foods, which in turn leaves me more sluggish, which in turn affects my productivity levels. Do your best to get your 7-8 hours of sleep, sacrificing something else during the day if possible, to ensure that you get a good night's sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. 

IV. Take a bath || I know, I know, sometimes it seems like there just isn't time to run a bath and sit there doing nothing other than relaxing, giving yourself time to breathe and pamper yourself, but trust me, you will feel better. Baths not only allow you to mentally relax, they offer your muscles a chance to release some of the tension you've been unknowingly building up as the stress of approaching exams mounts, and if you're struggling to sleep, a bath before bed with relaxing, soothing scents like lavender or chamomile will go a long way to helping you get a better night's sleep.

V. Stay positive || The things you say to yourself will affect your overall performance. Repeating to yourself every day "I'm screwed, I'm going to fail, I can't do this" is, at worst, going to end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, and at best, going to stop you from doing your best. After all what's the point of giving all you can when you're fairly sure that you're going to fail anyway? Instead of encouraging the rising panic in your chest when faced with the looming exam date and the realisation that there just aren't enough hours in the day to ever finish going over your notes with more negativity, confront your fears and stress with words such as "I will do my best and my best will be good enough" or even something more brazen like "I am going to ace these exams" (though obviously don't tell yourself that whilst sat in front of the tv with your unopened books beside you). The subconscious is a powerful thing - you'll be surprised at the difference a slight change in your inner dialogue will make to your overall exam performance. 

How do you mentally prepare for an exam?

(PS: If you're looking for a ways to make your revision session more productive, check out this post.) 

Lazy Make Up Removal w/ Garnier

Currently in the middle of preparing for upcoming exams, attending the last of my classes and sorting out student finance related admin, as well as trying to stay on top of blog, exercise regularly, see my family, participate more in my local community and find some time to actually - you know - breathe, at the end of the day, things like make up removal go right out of the window. 

I'm a massive fan of cleansing balms and oils such as the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish and The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil, but when I'm stood in the bathroom at the end of a long day, staring at my cleansers, all I want to do is go straight to bed, make up removal be damned. That's where these two Garnier products have saved the day. Two products and two cotton pads later, I'm make up free enough to slap on some moisturiser and go to bed. 

First I use is the Garnier Express 2-in-1 Eye Make Up Remover, which I initially picked up because it claimed to be suitable for contact lens wearers, so I assumed that it would be less likely to irritate my eyes all the while doing a decent job since it claims to be 'ultra-efficient'. So far, my assumption has been correct. Unless I'm really tired and get a little too product heavy on the cotton pad (there is such a thing as too much eye make up remover), this removes all of my eye make up for the day in a couple of gentle swipes without irritating them or leaving an uncomfortable oily residue. I've yet to wake up with panda eyes from this which is always a good sign.

I then go in with the Garnier Micellar Water Combination & Sensitive Skin (400ml) to remove makeup from the rest of my face. I'd heard so much about the Garnier Micellar waters and intended to pick up the one with the pink top, but when I saw that this was aimed in particular at those with sensitive combination-to-oily skin, I had to have it. It doesn't completely cleanse my face as a face wash or cleansing oil would, but for my lazy post-revision "it's been a long day" make up removal it works just fine, meaning that at least I don't go to bed with an full face of make up. 

Do you have any go-to make up removal products for those days when you just can't be bothered? 

The Perks of Being A(n Extreme) Morning Person

There's being a morning person, and then there's being a morning person. For the past couple of weeks, I've been making an effort to wake up at 5 a.m. every morning. Not because I have to (when I have to, it's so much less enjoyable), but because I want to. And I wouldn't have stuck to it as long (and be planning to stick to it permanently) if there weren't some perks to being such an early riser, and today - on what is ironically my lie-in day, for Sunday is a day of rest - I thought I'd share with you the perks of being an extreme morning person:

• You've already completed half your to-do list by the time most people are just waking up. Cue feelings of hyper-productivity, elevated motivation and just a touch of thinly-veiled self-satisfied smugness. 

• It's a daily strength workout for your willpower. If you can get up at five a.m. on the daily simply because you chose to, then you can probably do anything.

• Breakfast. You have more than enough time for it, meaning you can get all creative and savour it without having to grab and go (or just skip it all together). 

• If you're an introvert, then you're always guaranteed to have some time yourself to replenish your solitude reserve, so that when it does come to socialising later in the day it won't feel intrusive or way too much because it's been too long since you had some Alone Time. In fact, since you've been up since five doing your thang, seeing people actually feels quite nice.

• People think you're insane - in that genius-like, determined, brilliant kind of way. 

• It's a great time to get on with your creative endeavours. It feels like the rest of the world is still asleep, the sunshine is slowly filtering in and growing brighter, the smell of coffee fills the entire room and progressively perks you up, and as you get settled in you feel more inspired than you've ever been.  

• Sunday lie-ins feel absolutely glorious. And since a lie-in means getting up at 8 or 9, you've still got the whole day ahead of you. 

• You have more time to procrastinate. I can watch four episodes of Pretty Little Liars, and it's still only 9 a.m. Yeah, that's right - productive procrastination is possible.

• You have more time for everything. All the things you didn't have time for before suddenly just become a question of scheduling. Carpe Diem, right? 

What about you? Are you a morning person or a night owl? 

Five Tips For A More Productive Revision Session

As I mentioned in this post, for me May marks the beginning of an intense revision sessions before exams roll around with the month of June, and I'm doing my my best to keep my revision at optimum levels. Some days are better than others, but what's important is to not stress and beat myself up about all the things I didn't do or could have done and didn't do, but rather stay focused and determined to get to the end of this exam period having done the best that I can. 

Today I thought I'd share with you five ways I've found to have a more productive revision session. 

I. Break your time up into chunks || I've noticed that I work much better when I break down a three hour revision session into smaller chunks of anything from 30-50mins, rather than attempting to sit down in front of my books for three hours straight. Chances are my mind is going to start wandering after an hour, and instead of taking in new information, I'll be desperately hoping for the time to be over. Keep your breaks to 5-10mins between each study chunks (but no more or you risk never coming back!), and get up to to stretch your legs, maybe dance to your favourite song to get your mood back up, or reach for a nice cup of green tea to help with an energy slump. To help set your times, I recommend using the 30/30 App, which has to be one of the best productivity apps I've used to date. 

II. Start your revision in the morning || You may not be a morning person but for the sake of your revision, you are now! When you get your revision over and done with earlier in the day, it leaves you with the late afternoon and the evening to chill out rather than having to push yourself to revise when you've more than likely already used up all your reserves of motivation. Plus chances are your exams won't be at one in the morning, so being a night owl doesn't actually do you any favours! Which brings me to my next tip:

III. Make sure you get enough sleep || This is a no-brainer, so obviously it's one of the hardest things to do. I often catch myself procrastinating on going to sleep, finding a whole host of different things I just have to do before I go to bed, only to wake up the next morning still tired, groggy and in absolutely no mood to get stuck into my textbooks. If you can't get the sleep during the night, then don't be afraid to take small naps during the day and incorporate them into your revision schedule so that you're actually alert enough to take in what you're studying. If you're sat in front of your textbook falling asleep, taking a small nap is much more productive than telling yourself you've studied just because you stared at the text for the amount of time you'd set yourself.

IV. Learn the structure of your course || I have this one lecturer who since I first had him in first year when pressed for advice on how to pass his exams, had only this to give by way of advice: "Learn the table of contents". Naturally, I thought he was a little...eccentric until recently it finally clicked in my mind as to what he meant by that. When you know the structure of your course, it allows you to place information within that structure. This makes it just that bit easier to recall the information, especially when you're in the exam, sat in front of your exam paper and your mind is going blank on you. Even if you aren't able to recall the little details, you'll at least have the general framework, and usually, the more you relax, the more information your brain will give you as it remembers the connections you made between the details and the overall structure.

V. Don't give up on your hobbies || This might sound like strange revision advice but experience has taught me that nothing causes revision burnout faster than having nothing to look forward during each day other than...more revision. If, however, you schedule a coupe of hours where you take the time to do something that you enjoy or renews you, revision will feel more like something that you just happen to have to do in preparation for your exams as opposed to something that is slowly but surely taking over your life and sucking the joy and energy out of you. Remember, revision is important, but revision isn't life, and doing your best isn't about pushing yourself until you're miserable.

What are your tips for a more productive revision session?

My Daily Face

I don't wear makeup every day (and take conscious breaks from a full face when it begins to feel like I'm wearing it to hide behind rather than because I enjoy it and find the process fun and relaxing) but on a day-to-day basis I'll gravitate towards the same products.

After moisturising I give my skin a glowing boost with the The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost. If I'm wearing foundation, particularly liquid foundation, I'll add The Body Shop All-In-One Instablur on top just to make sure that everything stays in place as long as possible. Despite always thinking that a matte finish was best, and as a consequence resenting my oily skin for never being completely matte, I have been enjoying the more dewy finishes of late; they give my skin an overall healthier, and brighter look. My current foundation of choice is the Maybelline Fit Me Liquid Foundation in the shade 355 Coconut. 

For covering them "I've been up all night revising" dark circles, I use the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in the shade 30 Cafe  which is my absolute favourite concealer to date. It's lightweight, blends easily and when patted into place with a powder like the L'Oréal Nude Magique BB Powder for Dark Skin  has incredible staying power. I prefer to set my foundation in place with a loose powder like the Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder, as the BB Powder quickly becomes cakey when layered on too much. Though if I'm having a no-foundation day, it's great for wearing alone.

For my eyes, I usually reach for the Make Up Revolution Euphoria Palette - Bare. Not only is the packaging just gorgeous, the 6 eyeshadow shades are all complementary, and perfect neutral tones for every day wear. I used to think that I was more of a matte eyeshadow kind of girl, but I've since realised that a little shimmer goes a long way to bringing out my eyes, usually hidden behind glasses. I then reach for my Make Up Revolution Double Flick Thick and Thin Eyeliner  to create a chunky cat-eye or a subtle thin flick depending on my mood thanks to the double ends. 

And then it's onto my eyebrows. In a recent post I confessed that I was more of a brow pen kind of girl, and in a dream world I'd have my Make Up Revolution Ultra Brow Arch & Shape in Darkest , but as it stands, I'm using the Eyelure Ink Brow in Dark Brown. It's not my favourite product, and I'm fairly sure it's drying out on me already (I haven't even had it a month), but it does the job. I then set them into place with the e.l.f Essential Wet Gloss Clear Brow & Lash Mascara (which has now turned that lovely gunky brown). To set my face into place, I spritz on the Kiko Cosmetics Face Make Up Fixer, which I absolutely love. I never thought I could get through a day without my make up melting from my face until I tried this. As far as affordable setting sprays go, I highly recommend this. 

Last, but not least, I'll try to add a little something to my lips. I say try because I'm not really a lip product kind of girl, but I'll sometimes add some colour to them with something like Yves Rocher Automatic Lip Liner in Red. I'll then just pop on some lipbalm or lip gloss and call it a day. Otherwise I find myself gravitating towards nude shades - either the traditional nudes like the e.l.f. Studio Matte Lip Colour in Praline, which gives a peachy, "Kylie Jenner" nude, or nudes for my skintone which is actually a brown like the Yves Rocher Lipstick in Chestnut which is a perfect "my lips but better" shade for me.

Then that's me done!

What products do you reach for in your daily make up routine?