okay, simply put, i know finals are going on right now, and i know a ton of us are struggling. this post is intended to help you bounce back after a failed exam, a poorly written paper, or whatever else may be getting you down.
don’t give up! everyone has failed or will fail at some point, but i promise it’s not the end of the world. instead of calling it quits, think of why you could have failed–and don’t say “i’m just stupid” or “i can’t do it,” because i assure you that’s not the case!
did you not study enough?
did you study the wrong material?
was it something as simple as not sleeping enough or skipping breakfast?
once you know what went wrong, come up with a fix so it won’t happen again (or at least not as extremely) in the future. here’s a list of some things you could try (in no particular order):
mellow out: take some time to decompress–have some tea, take a bath, listen to your favorite music, or whatever else helps you calm down. studying for hours on end is pretty counterproductive and you won’t get as much done, so be sure to give yourself a time out every once in a while!
plan ahead: as soon as you learn when the next test will be, take the time to pick some days to study in advance. if you have a study plan in place, you’re much less likely to procrastinate or lose track of time.
set some goals for yourself: big or small goals are both fine! whatever your goals may be, just make sure they’re not too much for you; maybe your goal is to write a page a day, or study one chapter per study session. heck, maybe you’re aiming for an A this time around. go for it! just don’t push yourself too hard.
make a routine: this applies to almost everything tbh. having some sort of routine will help you in everything you do! for example, you could study on a regular basis (30 mins or 1 hr each day) instead of cramming for hours the night before a big test. the last thing you want is to pull an all nighter and then not remember anything for your exam. another example would be to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. yes, this includes weekends!! “catching up” on sleep is a myth, it’s much better for you to get a consistently decent amount of sleep (7-8 hrs a night for most people).
talk to your instructor: their job is to help you succeed, so make use of that! they can give you pointers regarding what/how to study, or they may offer extra credit to boost your grade a bit. if they have office hours, you should definitely visit during them, or you can set up an appointment in advance. it lets them know that you care about the class and they’ll be much more open to helping you.
perhaps most importantly, don’t be so hard on yourself. find a positive source of motivation rather than a negative one–for example, think about your hopes and dreams for the future, rather than poor grades that you’ve gotten in the past. when something bad happens, you won’t feel so defeated, because you’ll still have so much to look forward to.
alongside this, practice self care, always. my self care tag is here (/tagged/self-care) and has lots of different ways for you to help yourself out. see what works for you!
and lastly: “success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” -winston churchill
how to stick to your plans
how to get over a bad semester
how to avoid education burnout
little things to feel less stressed
managing mental illness as a student
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