Effective time management skills are crucial to performing well in exams. With effective time management and study material, students can ace any exam.
Struggling with time management for exams? Here are a few tips to help you divide your time better and finish the exam just in time. Students face the problem of managing time effectively during exams which sometimes leads to loss of marks and result in low self-confidence.
Here are some tips to help you better for Effective Time management skills:
1. Familiarize yourself with the exam pattern
When you revise a particular topic or pattern repeatedly times, you familiarize yourself with it. The same happens with exam questions and patterns.
For tough exams, just having a thorough understanding of concepts and theories doesn’t suffice. Familiarity with the exam pattern is required for effective time management for entrance exams to score more on the exam.
While appearing for an exam, every student is advised to understand the given exam pattern and breakup of the syllabus to prepare well. This preparation can be done by attempting mock tests and previous year’s question papers. When the pattern of the exam is known, solving questions within the given period becomes easier.
2. Read the question paper thoroughly
One of the errors students make while attempting an exam is to go along the flow and take one question at a time. This can lead to poor time management. The key to tackle this issue is by reading through the entire question paper before the commencement of the exam. This will not only give you an idea of the difficulty level of the questions but also help you divide your time between easy and difficult questions. This will enable you to attempt the exam within the specified time limit.
To help students score better, CBSE has included 15 minutes of reading time at the beginning of the exam to encourage students to read the paper. During this time, the students are strictly prohibited from solving the questions or writing them down on the answer sheet.
3. Practise writing and solving questions
While preparing for exams, most students get everything right- understanding the concepts, effective time management, distribution, strategic revision, and practice, but they are unable to perform well on the final exam. How could that be?
Just like you cannot learn to play an instrument just by looking at instructional videos or learn to cook by only reading food blogs, performing an exam is also incomplete without the right practice. While you may understand all the questions and know their answers, the process of writing answers and solving questions is an art. This is where regular practice comes into the picture. Spend some time each time practicing how to attempt the exam. This trick is guaranteed to help you score better.
4. Set realistic goals
Goals cannot be achieved if they aren’t set right. Goals that are attainable and unrealistic often remain unmet and leave you in distress. To reach your goal, you need to ensure it can be reached. The best way to do that is to ask if your goal is SMART. What’s a SMART goal?
A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. It’s only when your goal meets these prerequisites that it’s considered a relevant goal. Once you set realistic goals, the process to reach them becomes much more manageable.
5. Divide your time carefully
Before starting writing and solving questions, divide your time between questions or sections on the exam in a realistic manner. Dedicate the required time to each section and do not overshoot the time. This careful division will help you cover all the questions/areas just in time,
6. Start with the easy questions
One of the best and most convenient tips for effective time management for entrance exams is to always begin with answering the easy questions. Once all the easy questions or the questions you know very well are attempted, it leaves you with enough time to attempt the difficult questions. Starting the exam with easy questions allows you to divide your time carefully and, more importantly, gives your self-confidence a boost as you progress through the exam. This confidence booster keeps you encouraged and motivated to perform well throughout the exam.
7. Maintain your calm
Nervousness or anxiety in exams is very common. But these negative feelings can severely impact your performance in the exam. When you feel self-conscious or less confident, you are most likely to perform worse on the exam. Therefore, maintaining a calm and positive state of mind is important to help you stay motivated and confident in the exam.
8. Ask for an extra sheet before you need it.
A small but crucial tip for effective time management for exams in school is to always ask for an extra sheet before finishing the current one. That is when you’re only left with one page. Having an extra sheet on hand avoids wastage of time. When you ask for a sheet only after filling the current one, the time taken by the invigilator to hear you and hand you a sheet may break your chain of thoughts and affect your time distribution.
Best tip: If you’re starting a question, you think will exceed the current answer sheet space, ask for the extra copy before you start answering it. This way, you can avoid hindrance in your thoughts.
9. Tie your extra sheet before the exam ends
Before you start writing on the extra sheet, always ensure filling out your details and tying them to the main sheet. These small details can often go unnoticed in the haste of the exam. If your extra sheet doesn’t have your details towards the end of the exam or is not tied properly, your invigilator may refuse to accept it, throwing all your hard work down the drain.
10. Fill out your details first.
When in an examination hall, students are very nervous and hasty. With the only goal of scoring well in their brain, they start solving problems and answering questions from the moment the question paper is handed out to them. In the haste, they forget to fill in their details. This can lead to disqualification from the exam. To tackle this issue, you need to ensure that the first thing you do after receiving your answer sheet in the exam hall is to fill out your details. Investing the first 10 minutes into filling in these details will ensure your sheet reaches the right hands and reaps the benefits of your hard work.
Final Thoughts
Though small, These tips for effective time management for exams, can impact your exam performance and help you score to the maximum extent. While appearing for an exam, paying attention to these small details is just as important as studying hard. The examination hall can be an intimidating place. Your ability to manage yourself in the hall determines your success in the exam. Effective time management becomes crucial in such cases. Time management also helps you reduce stress and anxiety during the exam, which can directly impact your performance.
