"Once I've committed to showing up, I get myself ready. I can't look ugly and be dumb at the same time. The showing up in sweatpants and a messy bun phase usually comes a little later in exam season haha."

Rushing from the bedroom to the kitchen to look after the cake I just baked while I deep-clean my wardrobe, is something you will see me doing when I actually should be studying for an exam worth 60% of my grade...
Somehow, whenever exam season rolls around, everything else suddenly becomes incredibly important. But unfortunately, this degree isn't going to magically appear because I have a spotless apartment or because I've completed the 142nd walk-and-talk with a friend.

So when I catch myself overloading my schedule with useless tasks instead of planning out my study calendar, I know I need to trick my brain.

Staying in bed and binge-watching Friends for the seventh time is always super high on the procrastination list. I figured the only thing that can reliably get me away from bed and to a desk is another person. I am lucky enough to have a lot of friends at university who are going through exam season at the same time as me.
If we've agreed to meet at the library at 9 a.m., I am much more likely to get out of bed than if I had planned on studying at home.
Once I've committed to showing up, I need to get myself ready. I can't look ugly and be dumb at the same time!
The showing up in sweatpants and a messy bun phase usually comes a little later in exam season haha.

Once in the library, the next temptation awaits just behind the corner: My phone
I downloaded a free app called ScreenZen that restricts my screen time on certain apps, and honestly, I genuinely appreciate it. It feels like my mom is telling me to go back to studying, and sometimes that is exactly what I need.

Also, often I experience feeling overwhelmed and thinking that everyone else seems to have it together, while I don't even know what day the exam is.
What I try to tell myself is that It is ok to feel this way, but the important thing is not to get stuck on it.
I write a list of all the topics that could come up on the exam and tick the topics off that I have already studied. To everything else, I assign the day on which I will study it. This often already helps a lot!
The list puts everything into perspective and makes me less overwhelmed when I see it written out in front of me.

After everything, I want to remind you and me of one thing:
Grades are just grades.
They don't tell how smart someone is and they certainly don't measure creativity, kindness, humour, determination, emotional intelligence, or any of the other things that make people who they are.
Grades simply reflect how well someone understood and remembered what one particular teacher said. That's it.
Of course, it's okay to care about your grades. I do too!
But life goes on. At the end of the day, a test will always only be a test. ♡