My job is pretty amazing. On any given day I get to work one to one with some great insightful minds, whether it be a top leader of a car company here in Dubai or a child.

Seb, age 12, has gone on an amazing journey of development over the last 6 months. He has been relentless in his quest to improve his focus and grades at school. I am sure his exams over the coming month will reflect the progress he has made internally and externally. Below I have taken some of his amazing strategies for revision success. The beautiful thing is some of these tips were in our discussion to get success in sport or gaming and then he realised they can also be applied to exams.

Note: I have added my own coach tips below his.

Feel free to share this blog post on your social media or with your child. The best bit about coaching is the contribution we can make when people share what they like to read…

1. Remember the worst thing that can happen is that you will get feedback. Yes failure or mistakes are just feedback. The key is to take the learning from it, change something for the next time and go again. When taking the learning ask yourself better questions. What can I do differently? How can I _____?

Coach Tip: Ask yourself better questions, questions that will get you to see the possibility of changing something.

2. Winning is an amazing addictive feeling. If you are going to be in school and have to study anyways then it is best to put 100% focus, attention and effort in. The more wins you can get the greater the momentum and the better the feeling.

Coach Tip: A win breeds more wins – positive momentum follows and attracts more success.

3. If you practise in between exams it releases pressure and helps your in exam skillset. Practise the technique over and over again. If you only learn facts but don’t learn the technique of writing an essay your grades will not reflect your knowledge.

Coach Tip – Learn the strategies that enable success and that you can apply your knowledge too.

4. Rewrite notes to aid memory and watch videos to inspire learning. It is well known that people remember things that they rewrite in their own words or that they watch. Children nowadays can find great ways of learning something online.

Coach Tip – Understand how you like to learn and use that medium. There are brilliant subject revision games on sites such as bbc bite size or documentaries on youtube for History.

5. Set an amount of time per day on test revision and stick to it. Be consistent. Try to do two half hour slots or one hour slot per subject / day for example.

Coach Tip – Scheduling is crucial. Design a quick timetable of what topics you will do/day and stick to it.

6. On weekends get at least one early night so you can get up early and while brain in shape you can revise. Then you have an early victory with which to build on during the day. You will also be refreshed. Tiredness can create stress and affect grades.

Coach Tip– Rest and sleep is crucial to exam success. Stay balanced. Go to bed early and wake refreshed.

7. Start revision a couple of months early and if you have not started start now. It is never too late to start and also you will know better for next time.

Coach Tip – Do a little bit of active revision each week throughout the year. If you do this you will have less to do in the last month before exams and always be one step ahead practically and emotionally.

8. Take control of your state. Listen to music you like that gets you in the mood. This is something you can fully control going into exams. Choose a different music song per subject. Before the English exam listen to the song that you chose to listen to during the English revision.

Coach Tip – Your state is under your control. You may not know exactly what will happen in the exam but you can set yourself up for success pre exam by committing to being in a great up lifiting state. State > Behaviour > Result.

9. Always reward yourself with breaks between revision topics and blocks. The breaks are a great way to clear your mind before you go onto another topic or subject.

Coach Tip – “The space between the notes creates the beautiful music” – enjoy the refreshing breaks with a clear head when you know you have done your focused block of revision.

10. Write down four revision goals for day. Reward yourself when you have achieved those goals as you deserve it. Imagine how good some treats will be when you fully deserve them.

Coach Tip – Enjoy the journey and the outcome will take care of itself. Reward the small milestones within your exam success journey.

I hope this has helped. Would love to know your thoughts on these tips and which one was the best for your child.

Have a wonderful day,

Adam Zargar
Director of UAE Coaching

If you would like further information regarding our child development life coaching service click here