Midterms are just around the corner here at the high school, and there are many students who have not yet proven themselves to the best of their ability. This is their opportunity to make an academic turn-around and raise their grades. Midterms are also important to those who have satisfactory marks already, as they will need to be prepared to do well in order to maintain their current scores. Most of us out there could take midterms more seriously, but for many they’re so used to their procrastination ways, that they won’t put time in to studying in order to do well, until it’s too late. Cramming in the night before – or even worse, the period before – is not the smartest thing to do. To be able to give these midterms your all this year, here are some steps you can take:

• Get a good night’s sleep every night the week leading up to the exams. I know it’s commonly said that eight hours the night before a big test is recommended, but really, how often is it that we have a bad sleep schedule to start with, and end up lying in bed for hours until we fall asleep the same time as always? That’s why it’s vital you start the process of trying to get a better night’s sleep sooner, so that when the night comes that it counts, you can rest easy knowing you’ll be awake and alert in the morning.
• Target your hardest classes. It’s important that you take time to prepare for every exam, but we all have that one class where we know we need to put a lot more time and focus into, especially if this exam could be making or breaking the grade. Plan out your study habits ahead of time, and be sure to dedicate more time towards that one class. It’ll pay off in the end when you take that exam more seriously.
• Start studying as soon as possible. It’s very easy to procrastinate studying until the night of the exam, when you’re left wondering why you didn’t start sooner and where all that time went. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all waste time in our day to day lives doing things that don’t matter. A year from now, you won’t be proud of yourself that you watched tv, played video games, spent hours on your phone, and sat around doing nothing for the better half of the year. It won’t get you anywhere doing those activities on the regular, but a year from now, if you put in time to study and work hard in school, you’ll be seeing it all pay off in college, and eventually your salary. I’ve never heard of hard work not amounting to something. That being said, by taking that wasted time and motivating yourself to hit the books, you can be sure to do much better on your midterms, and also in life in the long run.

Best of luck on exams this year!