Are your exams making you feel stressed? Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do in such a limited amount of time?

If so, these simple tips will help you to overcome stress and get the grades that you deserve.

1 Get a plan. If you haven't already, make up a plan including all of the things that you have to do. Once you have your list, turn it into a timetable by splitting it into realistic chunks of time each day. You should allow time for normal stuff like seeing friends or your favourite tv programme because if you don't, you will be tempted not to stick to the plan. Make sure that you are also realistic with what can be achieved in the allowed time - if you only have an hour, you will not be able to revise about a whole semester of work! Take time devising your plan and it will really work well for you, rush it and it will work against you.

2 Time Out. As mentioned in tip one, this is a vitally important step despite what your parents or peers say! If you overload yourself with work, you will burn out and you will achieve nothing. Make sure that you schedule good quality time out at least 2 or 3 times during the week to visit friends, go to the cinema or to watch your favourite film at home. Whatever it is you choose to do isn't really important as long as a) you find it relaxing and b) you are NOT able to think about your exams or your workload. The whole point is to give your brain a complete break from revision and worrying about exams, so if you do visit friends - make sure you do something that won't involve sitting around talking about exams.

3 Use relaxation techniques. There are some really easy and effective relaxation techniques that you can use everyday to help you to get the best out of your exam season. Some of the techniques are so simple, you can do them when in your class and your friends and teacher won't even know! Don't dismiss something because it seems too simple, some of the best relaxation tips that I teach are the best ones. Breathing deeply is one that I teach people to avoid extreme panic attacks and although some of my clients have been suffering with panic attacks for years and thought that nothing could help them, the simple deep breathing techniques that I show them WORKS.

4 It's all in the mind. Exam stress is all in the mind and therefore it is important to figure out where the stress started. Dealing with your limiting beliefs is a key part of the 5 point strategy and without it, you will not succeed. Not just in your exams, but in general. We carry our limiting beliefs around with us in our subconscious and once they are programmed into our subconscious they will not disappear on their own - we need to take measured steps to rid ourselves of them or they will stay there forever. An example of this is one of my limiting beliefs that I found using a technique called EFT (tapping therapy). I realised that I had carried this particular belief around with me since I was approximately 6 years old! Once I knew I had the limiting belief, I was able to retrain my brain to think more positive thoughts and it has made a big difference in my life.

5 Decide Every successful person has one thing in common. They made a decision to do something. When you take that first step of deciding what you want to achieve, you can then figure out the steps necessary to make it happen. Nobody can tell you what want and therefore YOU must decide, but once you make the decision, things will start to become easier. You can make a plan and use the earlier 4 tips. You can also ask for help with your studies or with dealing with your limiting beliefs.

Once you have the help you need, your life will become a lot less stressful and you WILL achieve your desired results!