Reducing stress in exam preparation and assignments

Stress and the MBA and MSc Programs - Reducing stress while preparing for Exams and Assignments

Stress is a serious problem in many of our lives. We know many of the contributors to this stress - family problems, money problems, health problems and school problems. In this blog, we are talking about problems encountered in completing assignments and work in the MBA and MSc Programs at U of Leicester's School of Management. At the end of this blog, I have posted a source for students facing other serious life problems. Go to the end of the blog to find the resources I have suggested to assist you with these issues.

In talking about stress and relaxation, I emphasize that stress reduction strategies assist students in grade achievement, but are not a substitute for the techniques of critical thinking that were discussed in an earlier blog. However, the relaxation techniques I suggest are employed in fields such as sports training where the emphasis is on winning. If they use these techniques, you too can use them with success.

Technique 1 - Morale and Self Messaging

The first technique is morale and positive self messaging. This is an important consideration for many students who are worried about performance and who feel that they cannot succeed. When you're drawing up your work schedule (which we will discuss in more detail below), you should provide yourself a checklist so you can see the positive results of your achievements on each occasion you work on your MBA/MSc program. Reward yourself when you do your studying and work. Give yourself time to feel positive about what you've done. Tell yourself that you've done a good job. Remember, in a DL program, although you are working alone, you also have Blackboard. When you are lost and confused about information in your module booklets/texts, you should refer these matters to your classmates and module tutors who are also working with the information. They can become a mini support group for you.

Although you may think it is hard to believe in yourself, you should think about all the other students who have come through the program successfully. They too may have encountered set-backs yet they completed their degree programs.

When setbacks occur, you need to remember back to the times when you got through your modules successfully and achieved your goals. Keeping a positive attitude will help you get through all the work that you need to do. Keep your mind focused on the program now, and don't worry about the future. You will eventually get to the end of the program and you will do so with a positive record of what you have achieved behind you.

Technique 2 - Good Time Management Practices

Next, I believe that good time management practices minimize stress. Students working to deadline, whether on an exam or an assignment, will find that the project is easier when they plan ahead. A number of steps are involved:

1. Before drawing up the time management plan, make no assumptions about what will be included on your exam. Do not you cut corners in planning out research and reflection time before tackling assignments. When you plan time properly, you'll be comfortable knowing that you have covered your subject thoroughly before an exam and won't have nasty surprises. Be
thorough in detailing all of your time needs before beginning an assignment or exam preparation.

2. A time management plan should incorporate the use of a calendar with sufficient space to describe all the activities you are planning to do that day. Small time planners do not allow you enough space to draw up a detailed daily work agenda. I suggest a large planner to assist you. Print your own, if you can't find one to suit you.

3. The time manager should also include a daily checklist for you to tick off the things that you've done. In the case of an exam or assignment, it allows you to monitor your progress and adjust your plans if you feels you should review material again or if you need to do more research and planning.

4. Finally, you should put time and thought into planning out your activities. Students usually underestimate the need to think through their topic or their study requirements. This leads to uncovered material from module texts showing up on exams and problems in assignments. Remember that thinking things through is also part of your work, not simply the execution. This is clear with exams, but often in assignments we fail to see that the same strategy applies.

5. In the case of exams, please remember the acronym SQ3R (Survey, question, read, recite, review) . These are requisite study steps. Look at the handout provided by the University of Minnesota to see how these steps work in more detail:

http://www.uccs.umn.edu/oldsite/lasc/handouts/sq3r.html

Technique 3 - Meditation and Relaxation

Like positive messaging, meditation and relaxation techniques are also used by sports professionals. In other words, the benefits of relaxation do help students to greater achievement in exams and assignments. Use these techniques when you are faced with stress at an exam. This will minimize time loss through freezing up and blocking information because you're worried about the results of the exam.

Below I've included the address for a guided meditation exercise that some students may find useful:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8845129782533837583


Finally, students facing career planning decisions or mental health issues can find assistance at Student Support and Development Service at the U of Leicester. Go to:
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds
for a description of their services in the areas of mental health, career planning and career guidance. Although I am always open to discuss their needs with students, I will always suggest this approach because I am not a qualified practitioner in this area. I always urge students to choose the best options to help them with their needs.