What to do when you’re bored of revision

It seems like you've been revising for months. In fact, you can barely remember life before revision. You revised through the Christmas holiday, February half-term and the Easter holiday. Now you're on exam leave it seems to be all you do. And you're BORED of it.

Oh, dear.

Don't stop now. There are ways that you can spice up your revision and make it more interesting so that you can see out exam season strong.

What to do when you're bored of revision

1. Take a break

Are you bored of revision as a lifestyle, having been doing it for months? Or, are you just bored of it today? Or, maybe you're just bored of revising one particular subject.

Whatever your reason for being bored of revision the first thing you should do is to take a revision break.

How long should your revision break be? Well, it might just be ten minutes or it might be a whole day. Or, it might be as simple as revising a different subject instead.

The key here is to give your brain a bit of variety so it's no longer bored.

2. Change your revision methods

If you've been revising using the same revision methods for months on end it's no wonder that you're bored. In Chapter 8 of my book, The Ten Step Guide to Acing Every Exam You Ever Take, I show you how to identify which learning experiences have worked best for you and how to creatively adapt them to your own revision. Lucikly for you, I give away an extract of this chapter for free. You can get it here.

So, download that chapter and start to get creative about how you revise. You might also like this blog post which has some unusual ideas about how to revise that I collected from around the web.

3. Get a change of scenery

When I got bored of revision back in the day I'd get a change of scenery. I might go in the garden, to the dining room or to the library. I sometimes worked with friends around me.

Getting a change of scene can fool your brain into thinking that you've got some variety.

4. Exercise

Getting your blood moving and releasing some endorphins is one of the best ways I know of getting out of your own head, releasing your stress and giving yourself a new burst of energy.

If you feel yourself getting immeasurably bored put your trainers on and go for a twenty-minute run, take a power walk or do a HIIT workout to get your blood going and release those happy hormones.

Get 30 ideas on what you can do in active revision breaks.

5. Be grateful

This might sound a bit corny but try to be grateful for the opportunities in front of you at this moment in time. It's an extraordinary thing to grow up in a developed country with access to a free, world-class education. Everything you're being asked to learn was laboured over for years by researchers or writers – and all you have to do is understand it and memorise it. You have the luxury of time to learn all this stuff and the support of your school, your family and me. There's a lot there to be grateful for.

At the end of the day, exam related problems are first world problems. I don't want to belittle them because I know they're very real to you. But I've personally taught Afghan refugees who risked their lives to cross Europe by land, in the backs of lorries and with no money, for the safety and privilege of a UK education. Be grateful for what you've got.

6. Stay strong and suck it up

Exam season may seem interminably long and boring while it's going on. However, it's actually a very short season of your life. If you do your best now and stick with the revision you'll open the doors of opportunity for yourself in the future.

So, stay mentally and physically strong to the best of your ability, suck up the boredom and the pain and GET. IT. DONE.

How I can help

If you feel like you're stuck in a rut with your revision and you can't get out then I'm here to help. I'll help you to identify revision techniques that will work for you and your brain, help you to put together a revision timetable that will keep you energised and focused and make sure you've got rewards planned throughout your day.

Check out how you can work with me here.

Over to you

How do you get yourself focused and motivated again when you're bored of revision? Which of the ideas I've shared with you are you going to try first? I'd love to hear your answers to these questions in the comments below.

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