When it comes to your memory, you may be surprised at how much you can retain. In today’s post we discuss whether it’s smart to take a holiday study break, or keep studying through.
Holiday Study Break: Can You Afford to Take One?
To answer this question, you first need to have a realistic idea of where you are at in your study progress. For instance, if your exam is scheduled for December 27, it’s probably not a good idea to take time off studying from December 23 through December 26.
That said, there is room to relax for those of you that don’t have an exam until the second or third week into January.
Your Memory May Be Better Than You Think
While we at Professional Exam Tutoring are not memory specialists, we do see a lot of students every year. Hence, we see how a lot of students’ memories work to some extent. What comes with this, is seeing how students perform after taking periodic breaks during their studying.
What we alternatively witness is that often after taking a long weekend, or even three or four days off from studying, student recall of material is fairly intact. In other words, we don’t believe that you will get too far behind after a short break. Our students do not seem to forget a whole lot after a short study interlude.
Consequently, when it comes to balancing spending time with your loved ones and studying, take a little time for yourselves. A day or two to spend time with loved ones is rarely regrettable.
If you leave yourself some wiggle room before your exam, then this should be totally fine. If you find yourself with some downtime with family, sneak in some flash card work. Or even consider doing 10-20 practice questions before bed if you really want to stay sharp.
Overall, taking a break from studying for two or three days over the holidays is not likely to be a dealbreaker. While it may not add to your progress, it is likely to detract very minimally, if at all. Here are more tips on holiday studying.
Good luck with your exams! And, happy holidays!