Is The Hype Over 10th Boards Necessary? Tips To Reduce Exam Stress

The other day my brother studying in the 9th standard came to me and posed a simple question that I found a bit tricky to answer. He asked ‘Di, are 10th boards really as important as people make it seem? Do I really need to take so much stress or is it just hyped?”

To be very honest, I didn’t really have the right answer to offer. I have been a child who slogged myself during the 10th boards. However, now that I look back, I do believe that I could have done things differently. 

I did tell my brother that the 10th boards are an important milestone in one’s career. Scoring well is undoubtedly necessary as it is where one’s career starts shaping up. I also told him that it’s not a matter of life and death and that no one should study taking so much stress. So, how can students prepare for their board examination without taking the stress and also end up scoring well? 

Here are some tips that will help you:

Start early

This is the one and the most basic thing where most of the students go wrong. I did too. You must start preparing for your 10th boards right from the beginning of the academic year. This way your concepts will be clear and you will have ample amount of time to study the topics that are complex. Further, if you start early, you won’t have to take stress towards the end. You won’t feel like you have a lot left to study and your mind will be at rest. 

Prepare a timetable 

This is one habit that has proved to be very helpful to me, so much so, I still practice it even today. You must prepare time daily and follow it with sheer determination and discipline. Divide your day into parts, each of two hours. Example: 

If you start studying at 8 am then your day’s timetable will look like this

8am-10am: Study
10am-11am: Break
11am-1pm: Study
1pm-2pm: Lunch break
2pm-4pm: Study
So on and so forth 

Study a mix of subjects daily 

Studying one subject per day will drain the mind. Instead, study a mix of subjects during your day. Give two hours for each subject as per the timetable shown above. I followed this method, and I cannot stress enough how much easier I found it to study. 

Solve question papers of the previous year 

This is something you must not compromise on at all. Solve question papers from the previous years’ examination. This will help you understand how the papers are set, what is the weightage of marks allotted to each section (this however is subject to change), how much time should you allot to every section and question, how much should you write for each question (the length of your answer), etc. 

Take the help of your subject teachers in school (I wouldn’t suggest going to your tuition teachers) and ask them to evaluate your answers and grade you. This is the most helpful as school teachers are also board paper examiners, so they can guide you well and tell you what’s really expected of you. 

Take breaks 

Don’t exhaust yourself, mentally as well as physically. Take frequent breaks to refer yourself. This will help you in keeping your mind active and retain your grasping strength. However, make sure your break hours are shorter than your studying hours as it’s very easy to drift into distraction and laziness. 

Eat healthily 

Try not to consume more junk food. Eat healthy foods which are rich in nutrients. Eating healthy will help you stay strong and increase the capacity of your brain to concentrate more. Consuming leafy vegetables, soups, milk, eggs, pulses, and fruits will greatly help you. 

Complete your sleep

Your body needs to recharge. Yes, there is the thrill in staying awake through the night and studying, however, it’s not good for your health. Make sure you start studying early in the morning so that you can go to bed early at night. Ensure that you give your body the much-needed 8 hours of sound sleep. 

As personally having gone through the mad 10th boards ‘ pressure, I would suggest against taking unnecessary stress. Remember, as long as you are dedicated and devoted to your goal, all your efforts will pay off. Besides, it’s just an examination. As my professor had said to me, ‘this too shall pass’