Help! I have an exam!

Your brain is full of notes. Your desk looks like a minor disaster zone. And suddenly you've become very interested in tidying up, doing laundry, or watching videos of cute puppies.

Welcome to exam season! The season when exam anxiety, exam stress, and exhaustion set in.

Here are three hacks that actually work:

1. Picture your success

Spend a few minutes imagining your success. Preferably several times a day.

Picture how it feels to get through your presentation or examination. Feel how good it feels in your body. You know your stuff. You're well prepared. You've worked hard for this. Now, finally, you're standing here in front of the examiner. You present what you know about the subject. It's going well. You have their attention. You're breathing. You're present, with yourself. Now picture and feel how it feels in your body when you leave the room after the examination. You've done well enough. See, feel, and sense how it feels to receive your grade. This number, which is merely a symbol of your here-and-now performance.

Several studies show that mental preparation improves performance and confidence. Sports psychologists have used mental training for decades. When you imagine calmly walking into the exam, answering the questions clearly, and leaving the room with a good feeling — right there the brain activates many of the same networks as during the real experience. The brain actually doesn't know the difference between training for the exam and being at the exam.

2. Stand up and move your body

Just two minutes of movement can help regulate exam stress and create new energy. When you "freeze" in a position of fear and unrest, nothing good happens for your body or your learning. Even though you might think "I don't have time", "I'm way behind", etc. — all experience shows that small breaks (going for a walk, a run, stretching, making yourself a good cup of tea/coffee/water, singing and dancing to a great song) — all these small physical activities give you and your brain a much-needed pause.

Afterwards you'll be clearer and more focused. Do it.

3. Catch the catastrophic thoughts

When the thoughts say: "I'm probably going to fail," "I can't, I don't know…" etc. That's okay. Everyone preparing for an exam has thought that, at all times. IT'S JUST A THOUGHT. It has nothing to do with reality. Greet the thought. "Hi there, I have no use for you, you're way too negative — off you go."

Remember that you ALWAYS have at least two options. 1) You can do what you usually do. You know roughly how that tends to turn out. Or 2) You can do something new. Think NEW. Do something NEW. Believe something different from what you usually believe. Catastrophic thoughts are ancient habits. They lead to nothing new. They lead exactly the way all catastrophic thoughts lead. To catastrophes.

Do something different today. Do what's in points 1 and 2.

Researchers in positive psychology have shown for many years that our thoughts affect well-being, motivation, and performance. That doesn't mean you have to think positively all the time. It just means you don't have to believe all the worried thoughts that appear.

Remember: You've already learned more than you think. Now it's time to open the drawers in your brain, turn on the light, and fill the world with your knowledge.

That's exactly what the "Exam Boost" cards help you with. You're not alone. There's a helping hand for you.

REMEMBER: there's plenty of life on the other side of the exam.