Revising for exams: 10 habits to stay focused

Habit 1 · Plan backwards

A revision timetable that holds up.

Focus starts before you sit down. When you don't know what to revise, you waste ages choosing, start with the easy stuff and put off the rest. A timetable solves this problem once and for all.

The simplest method is the backward plan : start from the exam date and work back in time. List every subject and every chapter, estimate the time each will take, then spread them across the weeks left, keeping some slack for the unexpected.

Each day, set yourself two or three precise goals, such as "do exercises 4 to 8 in chapter 3", rather than a vague "revise chemistry". A clear goal is a goal you actually start.

Habit 2 · Test yourself

Stop re-reading, quiz yourself.

This is the most useful finding in learning research, and the least applied. Re-reading your notes and highlighting give an impression of mastery: the text feels familiar, so you think you know it. But recognising information is not the same as being able to retrieve it on exam day.

Testing yourself forces your brain to fetch the information without having it in front of you. It is more uncomfortable, and that is exactly why it works: each effort of recall strengthens the memory. Researchers call it the testing effect, or retrieval practice.

• Close your notes and write down everything you remember on a blank sheet.
• Make question-and-answer cards, and only turn the answer over after you have answered.
• Redo worked exercises without looking at the solution.
• Explain the chapter out loud, as if you were presenting it to someone.
• Work on past papers from previous years, against the clock.

And when you get it wrong? Good. Note the mistake, read the right answer, then test yourself again later. That loop is where most of the learning happens.

Habit 3 · Space out revision

Less cramming, more coming back.

Revising a chapter for four hours straight the night before the exam feels productive. The same time, split into four one-hour sessions over several days, produces far more lasting memories. This is called spaced repetition, one of the most robust effects in memory psychology.

The principle is simple: come back to an idea just as you are starting to forget it. One rhythm often suggested to students is to review a lesson the next day, then a few days later, then a week after that. The further away the exam, the longer the intervals can be.

A bonus: mix up subjects or types of exercise in the same session, rather than doing everything in blocks. It is more confusing at the time, but it trains you to recognise which method to apply, exactly as on exam day.

Habit 4 · Work in blocks

How to focus: the block method.

Nobody stays focused for four hours straight. Attention fluctuates, and trying to force it often ends in a "ghost" session: you're at your desk, but not doing much. The solution is to cut your time into short blocks, separated by real breaks.

The best known of these methods is the Pomodoro technique, invented in the late 1980s by the Italian Francesco Cirillo, then a student, with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer.

Twenty-five minutes is a starting point, not a rule. Many students then move on to blocks of 45 or 50 minutes, followed by a 10-minute break. What matters is the principle: a short, protected stretch of work, then a clean break.

Habit 5 · Put the phone away

Your phone, in another room.

A notification, a message, a glance "just to check": every interruption breaks your momentum, and it then takes several minutes to get back into an exercise. During revision, your phone is focus enemy number one.

Even switched off, it is not neutral. In a study of nearly 800 people, Adrian Ward and colleagues found that participants whose smartphone was on the desk, screen down, did worse on working memory tests than those who had left it in another room. Its mere presence seemed to take up some of their attention.

• Leave your phone in another room during every work block.
• Turn on your computer's focus mode, or a site blocker.
• Close all unnecessary tabs and keep only your notes open.
• Tell those close to you your hours: they'll know when to reach you.

Habit 6 · Choose your music

Music for focus: what helps, what gets in the way.

"Music for concentration" is one of the most common searches during exam season. Should you revise with music on? The answer depends mainly on the type of music and the task.

The famous "Mozart effect" comes from a short study published in 1993 by Frances Rauscher and colleagues: students scored better on spatial reasoning tasks after listening to a Mozart sonata. The effect was brief, and later research struggled to reproduce it. So listening to Mozart does not make you more intelligent.

What is much better established is that lyrics get in the way of verbal tasks, such as reading, learning by heart or writing. The brain can't help processing the words it hears, even when you try to ignore them.

A good compromise: an instrumental playlist, always the same one, at low volume. It ends up becoming a signal: when it starts, it's time to work.

Habit 7 · Protect your sleep

At night, your brain revises for you.

It's the habit most often sacrificed during exams, yet one of the most important. During sleep, the brain consolidates what you learned during the day. An all-nighter before an exam means both less memory and less focus the next day. To find out more, see the benefits and dosage of rosemary.

If exam stress keeps you from falling asleep, our Sleep+ formula contains melatonin, which contributes to reducing the time it takes to fall asleep, with Reishi, Valerian and magnesium bisglycinate. 1 to 2 capsules 30 minutes before bed.

Habit 8 · Move

Active breaks, not the sofa.

Sitting for eight hours a day numbs body and mind. The most useful breaks are not the ones spent on social media, but the ones where you move a little: stand up, walk, stretch, breathe at the window.

A twenty- to thirty-minute walk each day, ideally in daylight, helps you switch off, ease built-up tension and sleep better at night. During short breaks, a few stretches or a trip up and down the stairs are enough to get going again.

And if you do sport, don't stop during revision. Cut back the volume if needed, but keep your sessions: they are often the best moment of the day to let off steam.

Habit 9 · Eat and drink

What's on your plate and in your cup.

A heavy lunch, and you are guaranteed a nap over your notes. During revision, aim for simple, regular meals: vegetables, protein, wholegrain starches, and snacks that don't send you on a rollercoaster, such as fruit, nuts or a yoghurt. And drink water throughout the day: a water bottle on your desk is the most effective reminder.

Then there's the question of coffee. Many students drink cup after cup to keep going. The problem is jitters, clammy hands before the exam and worse sleep. That's why we designed Brainstoorm with only 20 mg of microencapsulated caffeine per cup, combined with 1,000 mg of Lion's Mane, Cordyceps and Chaga and 3,000 mg of Maca. Here's what two of our customers say on Trustpilot (reviews translated from French).

If you're looking for more drink ideas, read our article on drinks with mushrooms and adaptogenic plants and focus.

Habit 10 · Manage stress

Exam stress, tamed.

A little stress helps you get going. Too much, and your mind goes blank when it's time to answer. Exam nerves can't be removed, but they can be tamed, especially if you start early.

• Practise in real conditions: timer, tidy desk, no notes.
• Practise slow breathing, for example breathing out for longer than you breathe in, a few minutes a day.
• Keep at least one evening a week free of revision.
• Talk about your worries to someone close, a classmate or your school or university health service.
• Replace "I have to know everything" with "I'm doing my best with the time I have".

For those who like plants, our Anti-Stress Complex formula combines ashwagandha, Reishi, holy basil, schisandra and vitamin B6. And to understand how stress works, read our article on how to lower cortisol.

A typical day

A revision day, from waking to bedtime.

Here's what a day applying these ten habits can look like. Adapt the times to your own rhythm: what matters is the structure, not the exact time.

Plants and mushrooms

Natural nootropics, in their rightful place.

During revision, many students take an interest in natural nootropics, the plants and mushrooms associated with focus. Let's be clear: no supplement replaces the ten habits in this article. But some like to add them to their routine, over the length of a course.

To understand these ingredients fully, read our guide to natural nootropics. And if you want the complete routine, the BrainPower Pack brings together Focus, Energy and a Brainstoorm.

Sources

1. Roediger H. L., Karpicke J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3).
2. Cepeda N. J., Pashler H., Vul E., Wixted J. T., Rohrer D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: a review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3).
3. Dunlosky J., Rawson K. A., Marsh E. J., Nathan M. J., Willingham D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1).
4. Ward A. F., Duke K., Gneezy A., Bos M. W. (2017). Brain drain: the mere presence of one's own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2).
5. Rauscher F. H., Shaw G. L., Ky K. N. (1993). Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365.

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