What to do if you’ve left it too late to revise

Stop. Panicking. Before you do anything else, take a deep breath and refocus. Self-judgement isn't helpful, and quitting isn’t an option. It's time to channel that adrenaline into action.

You’re only human

There are completely valid reasons for procrastination, from muddling dates to fear of failure, or even just prioritising self-care and socialising. You’re not alone; this is a common experience among students. These feelings are the result of normal psychological patterns of self-doubt and self-soothing.

But now is not the time for excuses or negative self-talk. Panic, self-berating, or a negative attitude will only shut your brain down.

So, what do you do right now? You hack your nervous system and make a plan.

Hack your nervous system

Adrenaline can be good; it’s part of our survival instinct, and it can focus the mind. The pressure you felt is probably the reason you’re here. Just think, right now, if someone told you “nah, you’ve got plenty of time”, how would you react? Would that keep the fire beneath you burning to get the work done, or would those words of comfort cause it to go out, leaving you to slack off?

Self-regulation is important here. It’s safe to say that too much adrenaline can intensify feelings of anxiety, which can lead to confusion, overwhelm, and mentally shutting down.

Keep the fire burning, but don’t stoke it too much. Here’s how.

Calculate what’s required, complete what’s achievable

As we’ve established, right now you don’t need a pity party or undue reassurance. What you need is a plan of attack. So, how many hours, days or weeks do you have? How many modules to revise? How many lectures per module?

If you don’t break down what you’ve got to do, with clear end points in sight, the task can feel overwhelming, sometimes insurmountable. But it’s not, you just need to know what progress looks like, and then you can go get it.

So, count your units of study (lectures, modules or other) and divide this part, the “what you need to learn”, into the time you have left. Do that first before you overcomplicate things.

Then, tweak the time allocation for topics that might need more brainpower, as well as those that are likely to earn you more points in the exam.

With that in mind, you might need to…

Ask for help

Be clear with yourself from the outset–do you know what will be on the exam? Are there modules you can leave out, lectures you can focus on?

Knowing this will be a huge time-saver when you need it most. Regroup with your coursemates if you need to. They might even be able to tell you what they felt was most valuable to learn from a module. They can also give you an insight into what might take up more time to revise.

These are valuable insights and help you hone your revision strategy without making your friends feel like they’re doing the work for you.

Also, if you’re the type that hates asking for help, this is a low-commitment request.

All you’re asking for is a summary–do they know what’s going to be tested in the exam, not a copy of their revision notes.

If you need more help than this, that’s fine too. All you can do is ask. Be gracious if they decline. But, if they choose to help, remember how selfless an act this is, and if the opportunity to help them or someone else in future presents itself to you, you'll know what to do.

Chances are, your peers will want to help you. They might tell you what they’re focusing on or what they’re currently struggling with. If they want to bounce ideas off you, it can be mutually beneficial.

Find your flow state

In times like this, you’ve got to get away from your phone. It’s great life advice in general, but it’s an essential survival skill during times that require intense focus.

When you find your flow with your revision, it becomes smoother, easier and more intuitive. Be focused on finding that feeling; it’s so much better than fighting against it. To do this, you have to be clear on one thing: remove all other distractions.

Take comfort in the fact that your only task now is to focus. That alone feels more manageable, and a singular ambition can be very stabilising.

Check in with yourself regularly

Have a little regroup with yourself, like a half-time huddle, when you’ve completed an allocated block of revision time. Did it take you more or less time than expected? How does it feel?

Check in, but don’t dwell. The only objective here is to take stock of how time is passing and use any sense of achievement as encouragement to keep going.

There’s no need to put pressure on yourself to feel completely ready after each revision session or concern yourself too deeply with whether it’s actually sunk in

Your brain has a way of retrieving information with the right cues, which could come in the form of the exam question itself, or a quick recap in the hours before. You’ve put the work in. Trust yourself. Move on to the next module.

Remember, there’s nothing new under the sun

Many of us over-rely on deadline pressure to get started with a task. This is all part of our biology and a very human experience.

The current situation and the challenges you face will do one of two things for you in future. You’ll likely experience both:

1. You’ll learn from this and vow to prepare sooner, if only to save yourself from future stress.
   
2. You’ll do it again. Life, family and other commitments will always be there, and you’ll likely encounter this situation at different points in your working life. What’s important is to stay calm. Mitigate your stress, make a plan and move forward.

Even this, in the long run, is a good experience

What’s done is done; all that matters now is how you respond to it.

And that is a life hack worth learning.

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