While your family and friends are looking forward to the Christmas holiday, you may be feeling a little less joyful because you'll be spending some of those key days preparing for your upcoming January examinations. 

But don't worry, there are several strategies to ensure that revising doesn't completely kill the Christmas spirit while still getting in those all-important cramming days. 

Here are some pointers on how to revise over the holiday season.

Decide how you work best 

First and foremost, determine what works best for you. Some advisors and revision books will tell you to complete your revision in the mornings, but this isn't always possible. Some people may only require a few ten-minute breaks, but others need a full hour rest. It's all up to you. 

Our CEO and founder of our sister company Oxford Summer Courses, Rob Phipps suggests to: 

1. Schedule days off - you will have family gatherings or special events planned throughout the festive period. Mark them as fun time in your diary, calendar, or planner.

2. Prioritise your revision - use the red, amber, and green system to prioritise the tasks that require the greatest attention. This means going through your specification or curriculum and ranking everything stated based on how well you understand it. 

3. Check in - while revising, you should continuously check in with yourself and ask, "Is this going in? "Does this revision work?" If it's not working, you should try taking a break or modify your method

4. Timing is everything - set a timer for your optimal concentration time (anything between 20 and 60 minutes) and concentrate only on your revision. Then when your timer goes off, it’s time to take a break!

Get some fresh air 

Recharge your batteries and stay active. Don’t confine yourself to your desk or you’ll start to feel sluggish after hours of sitting looking at books or a computer screen. Take breaks to go for walks, breathe in fresh air, clear your thoughts,  and spend some quality time with friends or family so that when you return to studying, you will be refreshed and ready to focus.

Old past papers are your friend 

Although previous papers may appear to be torturous, they are excellent for getting your head into exam preparation. 

You may try to forecast what will come up from prior exams, but this is not the most effective way to spend your time when you might be revising. Instead use it as a method of timing yourself and identifying areas that you need to spend more time working on.

Change it up

We recommend creating diagrams, mind maps and lists to  your revision techniques. For example, diagrams can be useful for preparing for biology examinations or attempting to remember things in order. The nature of revision can be lonely at times so we would suggest collaborating with a friend so you can talk things through and test one another. Sites like Quizlet may help you memorise facts by allowing you to create your own flashcards, mini-tests, and even games.

Say it out loud

Rewriting your notes and then saying them out loud is one of the most successful methods to revise. 

According to research by Colin M. MacLeod, a professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, shows that speaking text aloud will enhance your long-term memory. Reading quietly, hearing someone else read, listening to a tape of oneself reading, and reading aloud in real time were all assessed throughout his studies. 

Hearing your own voice say something increases the probability that it will remain in your memory. According to MacLeod, this approach may be employed not just by kids but also by adults and seniors working on memory. The overall  impact of reading material aloud to oneself resulted in the best remembering, according to the results of tests with 95 participants.

The findings back with previous studies that demonstrates actively absorbing information, such as through handwritten notes or even doodling, improves in remembering.If you haven’t already, we would suggest adding this to your revision techniques.

Reward yourself

Finally, after a long day of work, it's nice to have something to look forward to. If you absolutely cannot get through the next two hours, offer yourself mini-rewards every time you meet a goal. Revising can be difficult enough on its own so make sure to make the most of your festive sweet treats!

Good luck to everyone in their exams, we wish you all the best and a very Merry Christmas!