Must Do’s for students and parents to improve concentration, Motivation

Stress can lead to both anxiety & depression. However, some amount of anxiety is imperative for good performance. Most of the students feel stressed during exam time. Two most important things to perform well in your exams are high concentration and constant motivation.
What to do for improve concentration, Motivation

Do’s for students

• Know your concentration span, study with breaks.
• Work out best time for concentration.
• Group study for difficult subjects.
• Do not let previous results discourage you – identify your weak areas from previous exams. And work on them.
• Time management plan must be made for all subjects.
• Choose a study place with minimum distractions and auto suggest to yourself about your resolution.
• Try to coincide study time with the time, you would be giving an exam.
• In case of average achievers, master what you know and are comfortable with.
• For low achievers, master the essential information first.
• Prioritize the workload. Give your best concentration time to the toughest subject.
• Repeat your learnt work so the recall in exam is easy. Work not repeated or revised is easily forgotten.
• Try to plan your revision time by drawing up a timetable. Build in time for the things you enjoy – like watching your favorite TV programme, going out with your friends, or going to play football in the park.
• Give yourself a few treats – pamper yourself with a long hot bath, or listen to your favorite CD for an hour after you have finished your revision.
• Relax with what you know before entering the exam hall.
• Do not get anxious about the result – cross that bridge when you come to it…options await.

Do’s for parents

• Student can fail to do well if they fail to cope with stress. Parents should guide their children in planning, organizing and setting a timetable.
• To avoid a stress situation for the child the parents must provide right kind of motivation and a conducive environment.
• Help the child to develop self-discipline self-direction, self-confidence and a sense of achievement.
• Just good schooling and tuition are not substitutes for emotional cushioning.
• Help the child in maintaining his confidence especially when he seems discouraged by his dropping marks or grades. Do not displace your anxiety on the child.
• The achievement goals should be realistically set according to the child’s capability.
• Do not mix academic issues with family conflicts.
• Praise your child when he does well. Encourage the child’s performance with positive statements like, “well done”, “you can do better”, rather than
• saying “that was not enough”.
• Work out your child’s schedule with him instead of nagging him. There could be learning problems.
• Do not harp on previous failures or results.
• Under achievement may be due to some children believing it is safer not to try than to try and fail.
• If achievement expectations are too high then some children would prefer to be criticized for being lazy than being considered not good enough.