Lent Term gets very busy, very quickly with new classes for people taking half modules, society events, and preparing for Summer exams. To avoid running yourself into the ground during the April break, here are some tips for how to plan your Lent Term to spread out the work and still enjoy all of your activities:
Set some time aside every week to revise modules from Michaelmas Term
Work builds up quickly and to push off revision until the break in April is a strategy I wouldn’t recommend. Otherwise, you will feel overwhelmed in April and burn out. What has worked for me is making sure that I do some of that revision for summer exams throughout Lent Term.
Every week, I set aside some time to revise my modules from Michaelmas Term so the material stays fresh in my mind. While I’m revising in Lent Term, I also make sure to write down questions and mark the areas I need more help in so I know what I really need to concentrate on. It also relates to my second point on office hours.
Take advantage of office hours
Office hours are a great way to strengthen your understanding on material you’re not as confident in. While revising in Lent Term, you should make sure to ask your questions as soon as possible during office hours, especially for modules you took during Michaelmas since you won’t have classes and seminars to ask questions. Also, some professors aren’t available for office hours during April.
You don’t want to hold all of your questions in until the first week of Summer Term when you can already be getting answers for them since you will undoubtedly accumulate more questions during your April revision. Utilising office hours regularly as you go along will also enhance your revision and you won’t have as many weak areas to concentrate on closer to exams.
Don’t spend every free minute you have on revising – everything in moderation!
Just as you don’t want to delay revision until the last minute to avoid cramming in April and the Summer Term, you also don’t want to cram too much into Lent Term. After all, you are still taking classes and hopefully engaging in activities across the school. You don’t want to burn yourself out by setting unreasonable goals.
Set some small goals every week, like finishing a mock exam for one module or revising two chapters for another module, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to know everything perfectly by Week 11 (you do still have time in April!). Additionally, set some small goals in terms of personal time for yourself to make sure your taking care of your mental health.
Whether that’s going to your society’s events, hitting the gym or checking out a restaurant you want to try is up to you. Just make sure you do something for fun in addition to all of your work; it will actually help you be more productive when you are sitting down to study.
Keep track of what you have done so you know what still needs doing
With all of the assignments, lecture notes and slides you get during Michaelmas Term and Lent Term, there’s a lot of work to keep track of when you’re revising. Start a spreadsheet or keep note of what you’re achieving every week so you don’t have to redo it closer to exams.
This will make your revision time in April more effective because you can focus on what you haven’t done, spread it out and spend more time on your weaker areas, which you will have taken note of for yourself as mentioned before. It will also allow you to plan out your April revision schedule much better because you’ll have a better idea of what material is left over to review.
