Yes, fish contains that magical ingredient – Omega 3. We’ve all heard of this fatty acid Omega 3 before, it’s now even being added to foods such breads, mayonnaise, pizza, eggs and infant milk. But why? What’s all the fuss about?

Research indicates that Omega 3 is associated with a huge range of benefits such as:

prevents crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer

reduces ADHD type symptoms

lowers risk of chronic disease

reduces the risk of strokes

sharpens memory

improves ability to learn and concentrate

enhances mood and emotional well-being

Omega 3 and Learning Enhancement

Researchers conducted an interesting study on a group of more than 100 below average students. For 6 months half of these students had to take omega 3 capsules with their meals whilst the other half received a placebo.

Interestingly, what the researchers found is that 40% of the students who took the omega 3 capsules showed significant improvements in school performance in relation to reading, spelling and behaviour than the students who received the placebo.

In fact one mother even reported dramatic changes in her son who went from having little interest in reading to developing a passion for spending time in the library after school and soaring through books. In addition, he also developed an interest in classical music. Other parents reported similar changes in their children.

Omega 3 and Mood Enhancement

Omega 3 is also now being used to lift peoples moods and enhance their emotional well-being.

Andrew Stoll, M.D. (Harvard) ran an experiment with 30 participants who had bipolar disorder (this disorder involves periods of feeling depressed and manically high). Half the participants were fed 9.6 grams of fish oil capsules a day and the other half were administered olive oil as a placebo.

What the researchers found was that the participants who took the fish oil capsules experienced lower depression levels than those who took the placebo. On the downside, some of them also reported experiencing nausea and a fishy aftertaste.

Omega 3 – what will you find it in?

Will you get your daily Omega 3 dietary intake by ordering fish and chips from your local shop? No, most likely you won’t.

Omega 3 is commonly found in cold water oily fish such as sardines, mackarel, anchovies, herring, salmon and to a lesser extent tuna.

Some individuals have expressed concerns about heavy metals and toxins being present in these fish as they may accumulate in the food chain. However in the 2006 Journal of American Medical Association it was stated that the benefits of eating these fish far outweigh the potential risks. In addition, Choice magazine investigated the benefits and risks associated with eating fish and concluded –

“There are plenty of fish species, both fresh and processed, that are good for you and are harvested sustainably.”

How much should you have?

You can meet your dietary targets of Omega 3 by eating 2 oily fish meals per week.

If that doesn’t sound appealing then you’ll have to take a fish oil supplement – either some syrup or capsules.

Should you go the syrup or the capsules?

Speaking from my own personal experience, the fish oil syrups can smell and taste a little funny/disgusting.

Smell and taste aside, it has been suggested that fish oil syrups may be more effective as they are absorbed by the body more quickly than capsules.

Forget the oily fish and syrup, give me the capsules!

There are a lot of different fish oil supplements out there, so knowing which one to purchase can be difficult.

Conveniently Choice magazine conducted a study comparing 20 different supplements and found that 4 of the 20 supplements actually contained less than the suggested dietary targets for Omega 3 in the maximum daily dose. Click here to see the results (you’ll notice that the price can vary dramatically – from 10c to $1 a day, so choose your capsules carefully!).

Why do you need to use a diary?

Let’s consider the limitations on our short memory for a moment.

Psychological research tells us that we can only hold on average only 7 (plus or minus 2) pieces of information in our short term memory at a time. Your brain cannot handle too much information all at once.

In order for you to learn new information effectively in class it’s going to make a difference if you can reduce the demands on your memory/mind. You need to reduce your mental load.

How can you reduce your mental load?

By far the easiest way to reduce your mental load is by using your student diary/organiser. You will be able to learn more effectively in class if you take things out of your head (e.g. “English essay due on Thursday” and “Swim trials on Monday”) and dump them into your organiser.

Tips for using your diary

1. Treat your diary like your school pants – don’t go to school without it!

Think of your diary as being like your school pants or skirt. Would you leave home for school without wearing your school pants/skirt? Of course not, it would be ridiculous, incredibly embarrassing and stressful upon realising you were wearing no pants or skirt. In the same way, if you leave home without your diary and your teacher tells you to write something down in your diary and you don’t have it there with you, chances are you’re going to feel stressed out. If you don’t feel stressed out then you’ll most likely feel stressed out upon realising that you forget to do whatever the teacher told you to do (e.g. your assignment).

So bring your diary with you everywhere, every day!

2. Write it down then and there, or else forget it!

Imagine you’re in class and the teacher says to you “Your science project is due in on Friday the 19th of March”, what should you immediately do? Write it down!

Another limitation of your short term memory is that you can only hold information there for approximately 20 seconds. If you don’t write the information down then and there, chances are you’re going to forget it.

So a good strategy is to have you diary placed next to you on your desk open to the relevant day or week.

3. Use colours

This is a map of Japan’s railway system. For a moment, I want you to enjoy the pretty colours of the different railway tracks on this map.

Now, have a look at a black and white version of the same map. You’ll notice that it’s really hard to separate out each track. The railway system becomes very confusing and overwhelming.

Likewise, I recommend that you use different coloured pens in diary to represent the things you need to do for each of your subjects. This will be more exciting for your brain than black pen on white paper and you’ll know exactly what needs to be done for each of your different subjects.

4. Use prompts to avoid nasty surprises

Imagine that you’ve had a busy week at school (see image above) – your art and health projects have been handed in and you’ve successfully completed your maths test. The weekend arrives and you just want to relax, so you hang out with your friends and don’t touch a single text book all weekend.

Now imagine this – the weekend is over and it’s Monday morning. You’re getting ready for school and you take out your diary, turn to today’s page only to discover that you have an english assignment due in today that you haven’t started! You start to stress out. There is no way in the world that you’re going to be able to get it done in the next 20 minutes.

This scenario could have been avoided by simply giving yourself a reminder the previous week in your diary (see below).

Alternatively, if you had used a wall calendar you would have been able to see in one glance what was happening for the entire month. For $2 and a little effort filling everything in, a wall calender is well worth it.

Do you have any tips on how to use your diary more effectively? Let me know!

‘SMART’ represents a set criteria to help you evaluate your goals. Goal setters are asked to consider ‘Is your goal specific? Measurable? Attainable? Realistic? and timely (has a deadline)?

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely

Personal development gurus and teachers tell us time and time again “Goals should be SMART”. I can appreciate this advice, especially after recently stumbling upon a list of goals I had set for myself several years ago. I couldn’t help but cringe at how vague these goals were (e.g. “Enjoy life more” and “Save money more effectively”). It was of no surprise to discover that I hadn’t achieved half the things on my list of goals.

But quite frankly the SMART criteria just doesn’t do it for me anymore.

I have got to the stage where I find this formula for success (or at least the way it is phrased and presented) uninspiring.

The SMART criteria fails to excite my imagination and leaves me feeling like goal setting is nothing but a boring chore similar to scrubbing the floor or filling out an application form.

At the heart of it, goal setting is about your dreams. It’s about going for something that would really change your life if you achieved it. It’s about breathing life into areas that have gone dead/stale or you may have given up on.

David Rock in his book ‘Personal Best’ writes about how to set goals worth going for. Rock goes beyond the stock standard SMART criteria and discusses some other nifty strategies to help beef up your goals.

1. Don’t be conceptual, work towards a project with a real conclusion

Back in 2007, I set this goal for myself “Be more creative/create contemporary art”. Nice idea, but do you think I did this? No. Besides totally abandoning and failing to meet the SMART criteria, this goal had no real end point. What was lacking was an exciting project to work towards.

David Rock suggest that a better goal to set would be “Have an exhibition” (even if it’s just with friends and family). If you want to get fitter, instead of a goal of “Get fitter” you could set “Salsa dance for one hour non stop”.

2. Go for goals that extend you but are still achievable

David Rock encourages us to extend ourselves and to be open to being challenged and learning new skills. He believes the best goals are the ones you may not know how to achieve but you have this feeling that no matter what you’ll be able to work it out if you apply yourself.

I have always felt restricted by the ‘Achievable’ criteria when it comes to the A in the SMART goal setting criteria. I used to think to myself when evaluating my goals “I think this is achievable but what if I’m being overly ambitious? What if I can’t actually do this?”. There was always this feeling of holding back and not fully going for something if there was even the smallest doubt I wouldn’t be able to achieve it.

Alternatively, there were times when I set totally outrageous goals such as “Be earning $100,000 a year” (in my final year of university), only to later look back on that goal and think “What on earth was I thinking?”

In relation to setting achievable goals David Rock states –

“Sometimes you might start out with a goal that you think is achievable, then a few weeks into it you realise it isn’t, it’s okay to change your goals at that time….there’s nothing wrong with giving something all you’ve got, then discovering you need to change course mid-stream”.

I find this idea helps to take the pressure off setting goals perfectly. There really is no reason to hold yourself back when you know you can stop, re-assess and change your goals at any point in time.

3. Keep your goals short and snappy

Since you want to be taking action towards your goals every day, you want to be thinking of your goals and saying them to yourself on a daily basis. In order to do this, David Rock tells us to keep them “short and snappy”. He also mentions that “the best goals are around five words, not long statements”. Instead of “Pay off my HECS debt and car loan” a snappier goal could be “To be debt free” or “To love my bank statements” as Rock suggests.

4. Give your goal a visual element

Many of us respond well to visual images, so we should try to capture each of our goals in striking visual images that moves us. For example, ‘Wear a bikini to the beach’ is much more powerful than ‘Lose 10 kilograms’.

If you respond well to other senses (e.g. smell and taste) try to tap into those. Rock gives the examples of “live where I can smell the ocean” and “hear my song played on the radio”

5. Give your goals a 90 day (3 month) deadline

You won’t be able to achieve all of your goals in a 90 day period, but significant action can certainly be taken to bring you closer towards achieving your bigger goals. David Rock states -

“I have found that 90 days is enough time to really make an impact on people’s lives, but short enough to maintain motivation and excitement”

On your wall calendars and in your diary, schedule in a 90 day countdown for your goals.

6. Take your time creating your goals

We live in a world that is obsessed by speed (fast food, faster computers and internet connection, etc). Perhaps this explains why many of us get easily frustrated when we fail to come up with goals in a few minutes that inspire us. We want instant inspiration.

The fact of the matter is that setting great goals worth going for takes time. You may need to write your goal down, put it aside and then come back to it a few days later.

If you have an image of people sunbathing and relaxing on deck, then think again. This was not that kind of trip. It was a trip to challenge young people (primarily teenagers) and push them to their limits. It involved hauling and heaving ropes, scrubbing the deck and waking up in the early hours of the morning to be on watch (Not exactly my idea of fun).

On the second day of the voyage the Captain said to us ‘”For some of you, today will probably be the worst day of your life!”.

I thought to myself rather smugly “Yeah, yeah captain, don’t you think you’re being a little melodramatic?”

But the Captain was spot on.

It was the worst day of my life. I don’t think I have ever vomited so much before. To make matters worse I was wet, cold and sleep deprived. I didn’t want to eat because I knew what would happen – it would just come up again. So I should add to the list that I was low in energy.

I remember being surrounded by sick teenagers who were vomiting over the edge of the ship when I said to one of the crew members:

“I am not doing this anymore! When we reach land I am calling up my family and they will collect me… I am an adult and can make my own decisions!”

This crew member looked me straight in the eye and said “This is not you talking, this is the sea sickness talking” (Not the kind of response I wanted to hear!)

So I stuck it out and I got through the 5 day voyage, had some really enjoyable moments and made some new friends. But I can’t tell you how relieved and grateful I was to get back home – to my own bed, to my family and closest friends.

Once I had stopped rocking on land and got some decent sleep, I noticed something really amazing had happened to me. I became super productive and focused. I had new energy and my faith in people and life had been renewed.

How did this happen? I spoke to a fellow crew member (a high school teacher) who said she had had a similar experience to me. This is what she pinpointed her new energy to:

“I think it is partly the idea that at any age we can have adventure and unusual experiences. That whatever path we are on, with all its expected events and challenges, there are people and places and options that will come into our lives (especially if we seek them out) that will spice it up and send it on new tragectories”

So whilst I wouldn’t go sailing again, I am glad I had this new experience. I think we can all get to a stage in our lives where everything starts to become quite predictable. We become so set in our ways and daily routines that we lose sight of a lot of the beauty in life and can start taking things (and each other) for granted.

When I received my graduation certificate I thought to myself “How did I do it? What helped me get through the past 8 years of study?”

One thing automatically sprung to my mind: Mind Maps.

Anything that I was required to learn at university, I had to mind map. Why? Because rote learning no longer worked at Law school. For my legal units I had to really understand the information and mind mapping it all out allowed me to do this.

Interestingly, a few weeks ago someone sent me this question:

“I know the mind maps with a main idea on each branch can give a great review of the most essential ideas but the point is that law is full of data, definitions and I’m not sure how to present them….
So could you share with us some of your legal masterpieces?”

I would hardly call my mind maps ‘legal masterpieces’ but I’m happy to share them with everyone if it will help to break the illusion that legal mind maps need to be works of art or look a certain way.

Unlike my legal mind maps, the mind maps on this site (under the resources section) contain very few words. Ideally this is how you want your mind maps to be. Tony Buzan states in his book ‘How to Mind Map’:

“Use one key word per line. Why? Because single key words give your mind map more power and flexibility. Each single word or image is like a multiplier, generating its own special array of associations and connections…Phrases or sentences dampen this triggering effect.”

In theory, I really like this idea, but when it comes to the reality of studying several subjects at University and having a heavy workload, I just don’t think many of us would feel totally confident creating mind maps with only one keyword word per line. Speaking for myself, there is this fear that when it comes time to revise these mind maps just before exams, there may not be much triggering action taking place (and instead just a whole heap of confusion and stress).

How to Mind Map Legal Subjects

Let me show you one of the mind maps I did for my favourite unit, International Environmental Law (click on image to enlarge).

You’ll notice I haven’t stuck strictly to Tony Buzan’s advice of writing one key word per line. Based on my experience, I believe that for subjects that require you to learn large amounts of complex information in a short space of time you want to put down important points of law (in more than one word) and perhaps even write whole definitions. If you feel the need to write out a definition on your mind map, make sure that you break it down into pictures (the more personalised, humorous and exaggerated the better).

Create a Simplified Mind Map of your Mind Maps

Once you’ve done your detailed mind maps, it’s a good idea to create an overarching mind map that contains significantly less text. You want to do this on one big piece of paper to bring together all the information and clarify things for yourself.

Mind Mapping Legislation

Mind maps will be your savior when it comes to understanding confusing and/or complex legislation. Often statutory laws are worded in convoluted ways and have a lot of exceptions. In order to fully understand these laws, I found I had to break down each law into different parts using pictures and coloured pens.

For example, section 48(1) of the Sale of Goods Act 1895 states:

48 Action for price
(1) Where, under a contract of sale, the property in the goods has passed to the buyer, and the buyer wrongfully neglects or refuses to pay for the goods according to the terms of the contract, the seller may maintain an action against him for the price of the goods.

This is how I broke down section 48(1) using pictures and different coloured pens:

Breaking Down Tough Assignments

It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by hypothetical legal problems that our lecturers throw at us. In order to decrease my stress levels and get clear on the facts of the scenario, I would always mind map out my assignment questions.

Not Sure How to Mind Map?

If you are new to mind mapping and not so sure how to go about creating mind maps, I recommend that you read my blog post on How to mind map for study success and also try to get a copy of Tony Buzan’s brilliant little book ‘How to mind map’. Tony Buzan has written several books on mind mapping (some of which are incredibly thick and contain a bit too much waffle). In my opinion ‘How to mind map’ is his best book by far as it is a simple, easy read and gets to the heart of mind mapping (it took me about 30 minutes to read).

For me the answer is when I exercise. Whether it be one hour of lifting weights at the gym or a couple of hours on the dance floor, I’m surprised how many great ideas come to me during and after a good workout.

There is something quite amazing about moving your body that allows you to think more clearly and work more effectively.

Scientific studies have recently found that a number of benefits are associated with engaging in strenuous exercise. According to Dr John Ratey (Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain) exercise helps to activate areas of the brain such that people are sharper, more attentive and less impulsive. In addition, exercise can lead to increased intelligence and lower stress levels.

Dr Ratey also stresses that by engaging in exercise you are helping to grow new brains cells, specifically in the areas of the brain associated with learning and memory (the hippocampus).

So what sort of exercise is best for your brain and will help you to learn more effectively?

Students frequently ask me “Is a 30 minute walk OK? Is that all I need to do?” A 30 minute walk will certainly help you to relax and unwind after a long day but there are much better forms of exercise that you can engage in to benefit your brain.

Dr Ratey suggests that aerobic exercise such as running, cycling and circuit training are all great ways to benefit your brain. He also suggest that by doing interval training (i.e. alternating six 30 second sprints with 60 seconds of jogging in between) two times a week can help to increase your learning ability by up to 20%!

“The more we challenge our bodies and brains, the stronger both become” he states.

All too often I hear people say that they don’t eat breakfast or if they do, their breakfast has little (if any) nutritional content.

Let me give you some examples of what I commonly hear students say they eat for breakfast: fruit loops, white bread with jam, coco-pops, a glass of juice and hot chips!

Is it any wonder why so many students can’t concentrate in class?

The simple fact is that a good, healthy breakfast fuels your mind for the day. So if you’re one of those people who has a tendency to skip breakfast because you don’t have time, you just don’t like it or perhaps you’re not sure what to eat, or if you’re someone who eats breakfast but it tends to be high in sugar and fat (yes, that’s you coco-pop girl and hot chip boy!), you’re at a disadvantage because you won’t be able to learn new information effectively. In fact, it’s going to be hard to learn anything at all.

If you eat the wrong foods or don’t eat at all in the morning, your experience of study will be like running a race with shoes made out of concrete slabs. It’s going to be difficult and take you longer than it should to go the distance.

So below are some healthy and simple ways to nourish your mind at the start of the day so you can succeed at your studies.

1. Fruit smoothie

If you’re one of these people who struggles to find time to eat breakfast, then smoothies are for you! They only take a minute to make and a minute or two to drink!

I recommend that you make your own smoothie. Don’t buy them from cafes and places like ‘Boost Juice’ for several reasons. Firstly, places like ‘Boost Juice’ tend to add a lot of ice-cream/sorbet to your smoothies but not so much fruit. In short, you can never be quite sure what they are adding to your smoothie! That’s why I prefer to make my own, I’m in control and know exactly what’s going in!

You can add anything to a smoothie but I like to keep mine simple. Here are a couple of my favourite smoothie recipes:

*Chocolate Pear smoothie

1 – 2 pears, chopped up
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 cup of milk

*Fruit smoothie

1/4 cup of blueberries
1 banana
1 pear
1 cup of milk

For extra protein you can add a raw egg and some nuts (I always add a handful of almonds. They taste great!). You can also add a tablespoon or two of natural low fat yogurt (I tend to use locally made Mundella yogurt).

2. Avocado and tomato on toast

Slice half an avocado and spread it across 1 or 2 slices of toasted bread (sourdough or wholemeal). Then slice a tomato and add it on top. Season with pepper.

If you want a slightly more creative and flashy breakfast, you could try this recipe, “Creamy Avocado and Cherry tomato Toast”.

If you’re someone who loves to eat white bread and can’t live without it, you can now purchase a low GI high fiber bread from Bakers Delight. I’ve had it a few times and it’s quite nice.

3. Omelette with vegetables

Eggs are full of protein and can be a great way to start the day.

Click here to see a basic healthy omelette recipe. Please note that this recipe only uses 1 whole egg and the egg white of another egg. The reason for this is that egg yolk is high in cholesterol.

On average teenagers need between 40 – 50 grams of protein a day. From eating 1 cooked egg you’ll be receiving about 7 grams of protein. The Queensland health department have come up with a fact sheet on ways to boost your protein and energy, click here to check it out. Please note that this resource was created for parents who want to boost their energy levels in their children, therefore some of their recommendations such as “dress foods with sauces, gravies, dips or toppings” and “add sugar/honey to cereals” I would not recommend to young adults.

Another useful site that talks about protein is “Kids Health”. As you can probably tell from the name, it’s aimed at kids but I think you’ll still find the content very relevant and useful.

4. Porridge

I always cook porridge for breakfast when I go hiking. Firstly, it’s really easy to make (click here for a simple recipe) and secondly, it allows me to walk for several hours without needing a snack and helps me fight fatigue.

A word of advice, try to avoid buying instant porridge. They tend to be overpriced/over packaged and can contain a lot of artificial flavours. Why waste your money on this stuff when it’s so easy to make?

5. A bowl of muesli

Oats are low GI, so a bowl of muesli that is low in sugar with some chopped fruit (e.g. banana, pear and/or blueberries) is a great way to start the day. You can also sprinkle some almonds and add a tablespoon of low fat yogurt on top.

Having just completed my honours thesis (which turned out to be the hardest, most stressful and rewarding project I have ever done) I am happy to say that there are many ways to motivate yourself, but it may involve some pain, frustration and overcoming mental barriers to begin with (at least this was the case for me!).

Unfortunately, there are no quick and easy solutions to have you feeling totally inspired and energised about studying a subject or completing a project that may not be all that inspiring/interesting at times.

Here are some of the things you can do to motivate yourself to get on with the work and study that needs doing.

1. Make every thought serve you and move you forward

During the initial phase of my honours project I spent a lot of time in my head but it wasn’t time well spent. I would worry constantly about whether I’d be able to pull this project off, whether I’d get the response rate I needed, how I’d start writing it, etc.

In hindsight, this was a complete waste of time. It was only towards the end of my project that I started to be more effective with my thinking. I heard Dr Sharon Melnick state that we have 60,000 conscious thoughts a day. Now for those of you who just thought ‘What’s a conscious thought?’ that’s exactly what a conscious thought is, you just had one! Dr Sharon Melnick states that each of these thoughts are going to either be bringing you closer towards achieving your goals or further away from your goals.

After hearing this I decided to carefully watch what I was telling myself. I replaced thoughts such as ‘I can’t do this’ and ‘My writing sucks’ with ‘I’m making progress’ and ‘I’m doing the best I can and my writing will evolve and get better. This is a work in progress!’.

2. Visualise yourself taking action

Studies have found that visualisation makes a difference to professional athletes’ performance, so why don’t we as students practice doing it as well?

Practice visualising yourself taking the actions that need to be taken (e.g. see yourself typing up your work on your laptop, organising your files and being able to access articles/materials with ease).

This simple strategy helps you to stay focus on what needs to be done. As Jesse Jackson said

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it”.

3. Small actions add up

My mum recently said to me ‘Jane, every action is a cause which has an effect! If you put in the action, you’ll get the results!’. What great advice mum!

Often we can get bogged down and feel overwhelmed/stressed by the enormity of the things we need to do (e.g. writing an 11,000 word thesis). I had to regularly remind myself that even if I wrote only one sentence each day, eventually all those sentences were going to add up to my 11,000 word limit.

But I was really committed to finishing my thesis on time and doing a good job, so in February I set myself a goal to write 500 words a day. This meant that if I stuck to my goal then my draft thesis would be written in 22 days. I said to myself ‘It doesn’t matter how bad the writing is, just type up 500 words’. This was a very empowering activity as it forced me to be in action.

I read somewhere recently that worry disappears in the face of action. So next time you start worrying about an assignment or exams, force yourself to do something, however small it might be.

4. Get some comrades and spend time with them

There’s something really comforting and energising about spending time with others who are going through or have gone through the same painful experience as you.

I found that it made a huge difference to be able to talk to other students who were doing their honours projects or had completed an honours project in previous years. A lot of these people gave me motivating pieces of advice such as ‘You’re going to feel so good once you finish this project! We know it’s tough but just stick at it!’ as well as practical advice/tips (e.g. “Make sure you don’t leave your referencing until the last minute!”)

I was told by one of my lecturers about this idea of getting together with other honours students and having regular writing sessions each week (where you would all sit around at a table and write for an hour or so). Whilst I never did this for my honours project, I have done this in previous years with friends when preparing for really difficult exams. Getting together with others can turn boring, stressful tasks into a fun, playful ones.

5. Remind yourself that this won’t go on forever

I see a lot of students that are really overwhelmed and want to throw in the towel at this point in the year in regards to their studies. If you’re a student, remind yourself that this won’t go on forever, that everything changes and all you need to do is just keep taking action.

Whilst the focus of my talk was on study skill strategies today, I feel they may have benefited as well from learning some simple stress management strategies.

Let’s face it, you can’t learn effectively if you’re stressed out. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, stress makes you stupid.

So here are 3 simple ways students who have exams coming up can decrease their anxiety and stress levels.

1. Breathe deeply

This isn’t just any old breathing. I’m talking about deep breathing. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed about the amount of study you need to do and whether you’ll be able to get it all done in time before the exam, I want you to stop. Find a quiet place. Sit up right. Breathe in deeply for the count of 5 (counting in your head 1…2…3…4….5), pause by holding your breath for 5 (1…2…3…4…5) and breathe out for the count of 5 (1….2…3…4…5). Keep doing this (as monotonous as it may seem) for 2 – 3 minutes. Just trust me on this one. Do it. It will calm you down and you’ll be able to think clearer and work more effectively.

2. Exercise

In my 7.5 years of study at university this has been the best way for me to decrease my stress levels. One hour at the local gym everyday during exams has made the biggest difference to me. Of course, you’ll find yourself thinking ‘But I don’t have time to exercise! I must study!’ but that’s just flawed thinking. Engaging in one hour (even just 30 minutes) of exercise will be an investment in your studies.

I recommend that you find a friend who is going through the same painful experience of doing exams and go exercise with them. Just make sure you don’t spend the whole time being negative about how crap it is that you need to do these exams, trying to predict the exam questions, etc. We all know and accept that exams aren’t fun to take. Why waste your time dwelling on this? You just want to get through this tough period. So by cutting out the negative talk you are ensuring exercise is an uplifting experience for you. Not a downer.

3. Take breaks

I recommend putting a timer on for 45 minutes, study for that period of time and then when 45 minutes is up, take a break. Should you go on facebook? A chat program? You could, but what will be better is to do some push ups/star jumps, go outside and get some fresh air….you want to get the blood circulating throughout your body. This will help to sharpen your focus and concentration for the next study session.

For some general tips on preparing for exams, click here.

I wish you all the best of luck (luck isn’t really the right word…but it will do!) with your exams. I know it’s a painful, stressful time. My advice is simple: just get through it. I don’t want to bag the school system, but learning actually becomes a lot more fun once you leave high school (well, that was certainly the case for me). Hang in there folks!

‘What is an ocularist?’ I hear you ask. Well, ocularists create artificial eyes for people. As you can imagine, when someone goes to an ocularist they are likely to be feeling pretty overwhelmed and distressed. As studies have found, the amount of information a traumatised individual can take in becomes severely restricted.

That’s why Paul and Jenny approached us. How could they convey all the information they needed to on how to adjust to losing an eye without leaving the client feeling overwhelmed and even more distressed than when they first walked in?

Here’s the Artificial Eyes Mind Map we came up with.

As you can see the ‘Adjusting and adapting to eye loss’ mind map has a fun feel to it. Don’t get me wrong, by no means were we trying to make light of a serious subject. Certainly not.

The use of colour and pictures was to help individuals focus their attention and assist them in processing new ideas that would help them to adjust and move forward.