How to slay and stay sane during review and right before taking the board exams

Heeey! It's been a while. As you all know, my journey to earning my license during review period was an interesting one. Just like how it always is with everyone's academic journey, it's a love and hate relationship, wherein it's safe to say that I was my own worst enemy during my preparation and less on the circumstances I was in.

My preparation for the board exam lasted six months. During the first half of that duration, my thesis mates and I, as well as other research groups, had to juggle between reviewing and working on revisions for the approval of our research manuscript. No approval, means no diploma, means no taking of the board exam.

On one hand, transitioning between reviewing and research left cases like us physically exhausted most of the time but continuously mentally stimulated as well. On the other hand, our task management skills were also being put to the test. I'm just glad that the topics in review classes at that time were basics, allowing us more time to focus on working on revisions.

I looked back and realized I didn't really torture myself studying as much as I did during college, and I had to admit, that part was a huge adjustment. I had to unlearn some really nasty mental habits (those that "kept me going" during college), and relearn healthier and more sustainable ones. It didn't come easy because I was constantly on edge, evaluating and re-evaluating myself (to the point of paranoia) if what I already know was good enough or if I was just in denial. One thing that could explain my putting on of less effort could be because I did my college years well. In the words of Anne Porter, "review is just going to be breezy for a person with a concrete foundation in physical, chemical and engineering principles during college".

If you have that, then good. If you don't, that's okay, but it means you need to put on more dedication and commitment to your preparation a bit more than those who have that advantage. I know for a fact that staying committed to studying can be hella hard, and it's very difficult to look for effective study habits that suits everyone, because people function differently.

What I have in this article are some pre-board exam studying tips and tricks that I've compiled, some of which are based on my experience, along tips from my girls, Anne Porter and Abegail Abad, last May 2017's ChE Board Exam Top 1, Wayne Lorenz Tandingan and last May 2019's ChE Board Exam Top 8, Armel Jay Mercado (yes, we're close), so that you won't have to. This article is tailored for future ChE board examinees, but it may also be applicable to board exam takers of other fields as well.

⚠ It's going to be a long read, so kids, brace yourselves. ⚠

We've all been through that feeling. Those five- six- seven- years of chemical engineering surely aren't enough to contain every ounce of knowledge that we gained in that span of years. Going back to what I said earlier, it's safe to say that we are our own worst enemies. If there is a certain outcome we want, we don't need to readily go to war against our enemies. A better option is to negotiate a truce with them. It's still a game of chess however. The voices in our head are crafty, even more convincing than the facts life put on our plates. So how do we conquer or negotiate with our enemy you ask? -- by getting to know them.

It starts by asking yourself a series of questions, and you can do this along the way especially during times when you feel like you're losing meaning in what you're doing (when you start questioning "what's the point?"). Ask yourself what you want. Ask yourself if you really want the license. Ask yourself if you're willing to put on the work to get this license. Remind yourself of the benefits if you do and/or remind yourself of the consequences if you don't. Get to know yourself: where your strengths lie, where your weaknesses lie. List them down, one by one, and revisit and revise them, and hopefully, you'll get to tick off your weaknesses from time to time during your preparation. Which topics have you already mastered (which topics can you answer adequately when randomly thrown a question)? Which parts do you need to work on? 

Know thy self, kids. Don't take Socrates' words for granted.

Decide a goal and stick to it, but the usual problem we encounter is we often overestimate ourselves and our capabilities. "My daily goal for today is to answer 100 questions on advanced mathematics" is attainable if you're a god-tier engineering math wizard who actually eats Bessel functions and Laplace transforms for breakfast (sorry for the nerdy jabber). But if you're like me, who just gets by and considers answering 20% of the problems correctly a glorious victory, then it's high time that you need to reevaluate if the goals you are setting won't drive you crazy.

I'm not saying that you should lower your standards for yourself. You shouldn't, but one way to help you stay sane in the process is to set attainable goals. These will help you stay grounded with the right amount of challenge to help you gain confidence in your abilities and be motivated. How will you know that you are being presented with the right amount of challenge? not too less that it might lead to slacking off and take what we you are doing for granted, and not too much that you might face discouragement and lose confidence in tackling problems. Find that "Goldilocks zone".

I've mentioned this in one of my posts before, a quote from one of my college professors -- "You're as good on a certain topic as the number of problems you solve (correctly)". Credits to the teacher who shared this by the way, as recently, I've realized the extent of significance this piece of advice had while I was preparing for the board exams.

📌 Give emphasis on your weak spots.

Assuming that you are already aware of your weak spots, it would highly benefit you if you give emphasis and dedicate more time working on those. I know it's easier said than done, especially when your ego is on the line, but my friend Armel once said that "Repetition is the mother of skill". If it takes a significant amount of dedication and hard work for someone who topped the board exam, then that's the type of example that all of us should follow.

📌 Never underestimate the power of your ally -- The Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook (You need it more than it needs you, tbh).

Get to know your Perry's. Love your Perry's. Marry your Perry's if you must. When answering chemical engineering questions, include your partner Perry's as much as possible. Your relationship with your Perry's is crucial to a healthier relationship during the board exam. The more you explore your handbook as early as possible, as often as possible, the more you'll train your mind to get used to where the important charts, graphs, values, tables and sections are located and it will save you so much time during the board exam when you know where to look.

Remember these bad boys?

📌 Honor your momentum and get off social media.

Social media when used properly and responsibly is a great stress-coping tool, but most of the time, people DON'T know how to use it properly and responsibly, that's why many fall to this time-wasting black hole. Once you open that app, you are probably going to hate yourself for not realizing that you have spent two-three hours scrolling through your feed of posts from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, 9Gag, Tumblr and so on of what once was an agreement of 15 minutes of time allocation for social media.

Usually, one of its side outcomes is that you'll lose your momentum and motivation to get behind your books and study. What to do when you lose motivation by the way? Anne Porter said "Embrace the boring"™ and discipline yourself. Act like a grown-up and do what you need to do.

📌 You won't always be motivated and that's why you need discipline.

To be fair, you won't like it at that moment. Sometimes you'll even hate it, but instead of thinking about the agony, think of it as a massive gift to your future self. When you make a habit of being disciplined, not only will it get you nearer to your goals but it will also make you feel good, because it means you respect yourself enough to work hard for what you want.

📌 Be in the moment.

Another tip for studying is to actively study or fully immerse yourself in it. There will be times when memorization is a must. If you are like me, who 'absolutely hates' memorizing, then apir! Haha. Wanna know how I survived? There are some tips that worked for me and made it easier for lessons retain.

Aside from the obvious like:

👉       revisiting what you've read from time to time (preferably with changing study settings). Index cards will get handy at this point. Revisit what you've read 15 min., 30 min., 1 hour, 2 hours after, whether that be while eating ice cream, taking a long ride in a jeep or doing chores. The change in study setting will help your brain reinforce what you want to memorize. Based on my experience though, it's more effective when you actively think about or visualize what you're trying to memorize (see next points)

👉      often teaching, explaining or talking about what you've read to someone else. This is very helpful especially in trying to reinforce what you know. One of the most effective ways in learning something is by teaching the subject to another person. Make sure though that it is someone who is interested in listening to what you have to say or better yet, someone who is also actively learning the topic as much as you do. That's when your peers come in, and by doing this, you both will be helping each other reach your goals.

👉       have an accountability partner, since we can't guarantee that we are going to follow through everything we say we would do all on our own. It's one of the many ways that we can combat our own excuses and laziness.

Anne Porter in one of her posts said "When we have an audience, we don't want to give them a shit show", more motivation to better ourselves come when we know that there will be people watching us and of course, judging us whenever we fall towards our own mediocrity.

it also helps when you:

👉       visualize what you are reading. Whether it's Thermodynamics I or Transport Phenomena, it helps when you imagine the scenarios you are reading or make a story out of it. This becomes handy especially when trying to understand the mathematical definitions of parameters (e.g. the Reynolds number and how it's just the ratio of the inertial forces over the viscous forces present in the fluid)

👉      understand the relationships between variables. Getting the hang of certain concepts will be much easier when you know how one variable changes when another variable increases and decreases (e.g. how the Reynolds number changes when the flow rate increases or when the pipe material used is changed from stainless steel to cast iron and so on)

👉       gauge your strengths and weaknesses on the different topics then plan your study technique based on them

Tip: make catchy jokes, puns, pickup lines or mnemonics out of what you're studying. Not only will this aid your creativity, but it the catchy-ness will make it easier for the lessons to stay in your head, and recall them when they are needed.

👉     remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing in the first place. Distractions are inevitable. It's tempting to become lazy and just settle for less. In times like these, it is important to remember why you are doing it in the first place.

✖     It doesn't help in the long run when you just simply memorize the textbook definition of the terms without actually knowing the topic in depth, because at one point, it is going to backfire.

✖       Don't nitpick. Read as many resources as you can. Do not just rely on a few books or materials.

✔      Be objective, critical and realistic. Consider all possibilities, both good and bad. It's unwise to slack off and  assume that everything is going to work in your favor without you putting in the effort, and it's just as unwise to catastrophize and assume that everything is hopeless before you even try to put in the work, or before you are even half-way through your lane. Work on attaining the good, maintaining the hope, and avoiding the bad.

Armel once mentioned about a Ted talk video ("What makes some brains more focused than others?") emphasizing three simple points. You can check out the video here.

One of the points the speaker emphasized is to simplify. You can't absorb all the information and details from all the books, materials and other resources, so only focus on the important ones. Start with the fundamentals and go on from there. A good foundation is necessary for easier comprehension of relatively difficult topics.

Another point is to unitask, since the mind works best when focusing on just one thing at a time. It is discouraged to jump from one topic to another within a short period.

📌 Practice compartmentalizing as early as possible. 

Chances are, you won't always be in the best condition for studying. You also have to deal with problems outside your study space, may it be at home, at work, at school, with your relationships, with yourself and so on. I know this is easier said than done, but compartmentalize. When you start developing this habit, you are going to thank yourself for not jeopardizing your progress in this area.

Leave unrelated problems to your preparation right out the door, and just revisit them after you have done what you need to do for the day. This will also help you practice compartmentalizing when it is needed during the board exam. Leave your worries out the door and just answer what you need to answer right in front of you.

The mind needs rest just as much as the body needs rest after an intensive workout. Studying is a form of exercise in the mind and giving yourself days off or nights off to enjoy will be more beneficial for your preparation in the long run.

Armel Jay's advice: Don't forget to breathe. Know when to take a break. Productivity depends on the state of mind. Sometimes, it may be tempting to go on and force the mind even if you're tired but this just leads to inefficient learning.

At some point, we all feel like we don't deserve to reward ourselves after we feel like we're not doing enough, or our outcome isn't enough and usually what triggers us is when we start comparing ourselves with other people. Don't do that. We all learn at different paces. Comparing only leads to an over-inflated ego (pride) or envy.

While studying for an exam, most people have to tendency to munch on sweets or salty calorie-dense food to keep themselves awake or to keep themselves occupied while memorizing or answering problems. It usually happens when we're stressed, and the body will ring its internal fire alarm and release stress hormones as a response, making us crave for sugar. While sugar and refined carbohydrates might seem good especially after a long study session, pace yourselves, because it might not be such a good idea.

Eating sugar while studying poses a lot of controversy. Aside from the most common negative effects such as premature skin ageing, skin inflammation, weight gain, increased risk in Type 2 diabetes and cancer (Learn all about it here and here), studies have shown that different types of sugar affects cognitive function differently after being metabolized. The results of one research paper showed that glucose and sucrose had relatively negative effects on response time, arithmetic processing and attention (Read all about that here). But despite all that, it has been considered conventional wisdom that sugar helps people focus. One study even supported the idea that will-power feeds off sugar (Read about it here).

Whether or not you include sugar in your studying habits, is up to you. However, it must never replace your daily dosage of vitamins and minerals which you can get from consuming wholesome, healthy foods, and it must not replace your water intake as well. It's common sense that eating fruits and vegetables and staying hydrated actually has more long-term benefits than succumbing to your cravings. While these types of food cannot give you the sugar rush for studying, it will make you full for a longer time, and will keep your neurotransmitter levels up especially when you eat high protein study snacks.

What most people don't know about preparing for an intensive exam, is that you actually need to 'chill'  during the board exam. By then, you already need to be in a state of 'chill'-ness, even Wayne says so.

As much as possible, maintain a positive atmosphere, especially in the days nearing the board exam. By then, you should be focused, and you should have full trust in your preparation. If you don't, then no matter how good you actually are, that low confidence is going to hamper your chances of passing.

Armel emphasized the need to practice calmness. This does not mean running away from your problems or resisting the pressure. It's about being able to ride and live with the waves and storms of life, and being at peace whatever the circumstance.

Go on walks in the park. Exercise. Meditate. Get your daily dose of sun. 

Aside from the numerous obvious health benefits exercise has on your body, exercising at the right time can also help retain information in the brain. You can check out at which times to exercise are better for information  retention and memory improvement here.

I know this is going to sound silly, but meditate. The reason why it sounds silly is because it's unconventional and most people don't take time to do that. Recent studies have shown that meditating has a lot of benefits for the mind and body. Meditating actually changes your brain for the better. It helps improve concentration, focus and clarity because it is a type of mental exercise requiring you to expand your horizons and exercise positivity (You can read all about that here, here and here).

Just like any exercise, you have to consistently do it every day in order to see long-term results. It doesn't happen overnight. You don't have to finish a whole hour everyday. Even just ten minutes everyday is enough as long as it's done consistently Click here, here and here for 10-minute samples of guided meditation videos. Start small.). Remember that your mind is always eavesdropping on what you tell yourself, so it would be really great if, as a replacement to your social media usage, you give yourself that ten minutes every single day to exercise positivity instead.

Protect your peace. Your peace should be a safe haven in your preparation, in dealing with the dreaded "what if's", in dealing with the self-doubt, and the worries of falling from grace in the unfortunate instance of not passing. You can't always get what you want. That's a universal fact of the human experience. Thus, you need to have something that will keep you going in your lane. Find it and as much as possible, protect it. Protect it with your life, because you could always just look at the board exam as just an exam you need to leverage yourself for a brighter future, or look at it as something that you want to your tie your worth as a person on. It's your choice.

*in my voice* 
BUT SRSLY FOR THE LOVE OF HUMANITY AND EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD, PLEASE CHOOSE THE FORMER HAHAHA.

Passing the board exam is really great and all, but it shouldn't define your worth as a person. In case *simbako simbako* (it's a type of Visayan expression) you face the unfortunate circumstance of failing the exam, take some time to grieve. It's an unfortunate circumstance and you're allowed to feel what you're feeling. When you're ready, take the exam again. Redeem yourself. "Fall down seven times, then get up eight" and I'm pretty sure all of you reading this know where this quote comes from.

I cannot stress this enough.

📢   You need sleep to stay sane. 

Not too much (>8 hrs), not too less (<6 hrs), just enough to make you maintain peak brain function after you wake up. Do that every single day before the board exam as much as possible.

✔ Respect your circadian rhythm. Develop a regular sleeping cycle, something that will sustain you especially in the nearer days of the board exam and stick to it. 

✔ Unlearn bad sleeping habits. Avoid looking at digital screens an hour before your planned sleeping time. Wash your face. Brush your teeth. Turn on your aromatherapy diffuser. Do whatever you need to do to get yourself to relax.

✔ Sleep early and wake up early. All of us have different sleeping and wake up times, and while some people prefer being night owls because it's more convenient for them, board exam-wise, it is recommended that you adjust your body clock to becoming an early bird, or the very least, during the days nearing the board exam. This is to be sure that you'll be getting enough sleep the night before when the three-day board exam comes.

Most people I've asked around typically stop cramming a week before the board exam, and rightly so. Allot much needed time to mentally prepare yourself for the event.

⛔ DO NOT CRAM A NIGHT BEFORE IN ONE OF THE EXAM DAYS.

I know it's going to be tempting especially when you feel that you haven't prepared enough for the next exam day, but it's wiser to conserve your strength for the next battle. Sleep and just take Abegail's advice:

I wish all the luck to everyone taking board exams, and I truly hope this article will be of help.

Special thanks to the contributors of this article:

Engr. Abegail Abad

Engr. Armel Jay Mercado

Engr. Catherine Anne Porter

Engr. Wayne Lorenz Tandingan,

thank you for helping and supporting me in this endeavor. Without you guys, this article would be a flop since I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. You guys are the best 💖.