How To Manage Exams & Blogging [Part 1]

I think some of you know that I am currently at university, and I'm pretty sure a lot of us bloggers blog as a hobby and have either school, college, university or a job to juggle alongside it. My second year exams are fast approaching (my first exam is in 1 week *eeek*) so I thought I'd put together a two part series on how to juggle the two without having to sacrifice one or the other. This post will focus on the exams side of things.

What to do for exams:

1. Create a timetable
I never really did this because I didn't think it worked but it really does! I don't stick to an hourly timetable so I'm not too strict or putting too much pressure on myself to get a lot of work done in a hurry, but I set myself goals and aims for that day. Also, if you're studying for more than one exam you have to juggle which exam you study for on what day and alternate between them as you don't want to be under prepared for an exam because you started revising for it too late.

Pretty timetables to help keep you motivated!

2. Study on weekdays // Blog on weekends
It's important to have some sort of balance and if you want to separate the two (exams and blogging) then why not keep the weekdays for studying after school/class or during the day if you're free - and then use the weekend as the time to bulk take blog photos and edit them ready to post throughout the upcoming weeks. Or, for a different kind of schedule you could give yourself a mid-week break from studying and blog instead. You need to find a balance that suits you and your schedule.

3. Relax in the evenings
For most of us blogging is a hobby, so it's actually fun to do! If you've spent the whole day studying for an exam or working on an essay, take a break in the evening by watching some TV, having a relaxing bath and scheduling some blog posts to relieve some of those exam nerves. There are loads of Twitter chats you can join in the evenings starting at around 7pm, which last an hour and can be a nice escape from the exam stress.

4. Rest
This may seem like a strange one but it's so important to get enough sleep, particularly when preparing for an exam. So one thing you should definitely avoid is staying up late to blog or to finish writing up those notes you still have to do. Get an early nights sleep so when you wake up in the morning you'll feel refreshed and ready to work.

How do you create a balance between revision and blogging?