PRACTICAL TIME-SAVING TECHNIQUES TO HELP YOU ACE YOUR EXTERNAL EXAMS WITHOUT BURNING OUT

Let’s be honest:  

You’re probably tired of hearing things like,  

“Read your books!”  

“Success is hard work!” 

“Sleeping 8 hours a day is very dangerous for your academics!”

But guess what?

Maybe you’ve heard it a couple of times, but I’d remind you again because repetition breeds conviction: reading harder is not the answer, but reading smarter is.

This post is your map to studying smarter if you're preparing to write WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, UTME, or any external exam soon, and you’re feeling overwhelmed, disorganized, or confused on how to cover it all within a specific period of time. 

But before we jump into the tips, let’s start with a short story...

Edison’s Story: From Below Average to Awesome

I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but Thomas Edison(The inventor of the incandescent light bulb) wasn’t always the genius inventor we celebrate today.

As a child, he was considered a below-average student in a traditional school setting.

He had difficulty focusing, was easily distracted, and his teachers labeled him as “addled”(mentally confused). What made Edison stand out wasn’t raw talent; it was his relentless determination and approach to learning.

Through his mother, Nancy Edison’s, assistance, he didn’t just work harder.

He worked smarter. He was nurtured through self-directed learning, experimentation, and hands-on exploration. 

Instead of being discouraged by early setbacks, he adapted his learning style, embraced mistakes as lessons, and kept pushing forward. 

This mindset helped him master complex subjects and tackle tough challenges, setting him up for success later in life.

Edison’s story is proof that exam success is achievable for anyone with the right strategy and mindset.

So here’s the deal:

Studying hard without a strategy is like pouring water into a basket.

Part 1: Common Mistakes Students Make

Let’s expose the bad habits first:

1. Reading Without a Plan: Opening your book and saying, “Let me just read,” is a trap. No goal equals no focus, and your brain doesn’t know what to retain, so you end up reading aimlessly and distractingly, and after an hour, you can’t retain much.

2. Studying Everything Like It’s Equal: Not all topics carry the same weight. Some are KEY. Others are fillers. Smart students identify high-yield areas( key definitions, formulas, recurring questions) and prioritize them. Studying smarter means knowing what matters most and tackling that first.

3. Ignoring Past Questions: You’re missing a shortcut if you skip this. Ignoring past questions is like leaving a map behind and walking through a desert of many dangerous creatures without a guide. It makes you not exam-smart, miss repeated patterns, over-read or under-read, and it also causes poor time management. 

4. Reading for Hours Without Rest: Your brain is not a machine. Yes, I know you’ve been told that your brain is sharper than AI. Those who used their brains the most used 10%, but sorry to burst your bubbles, that is a misconception. Neuroscience has proven that we use virtually every part of the brain, but just not all at once, and also, your brain being sharper than AI depends on the context. Your memory has no fixed “limit”. It can grow with use and training.

Long, uninterrupted study sessions, for starters, drain your energy and leave you mentally exhausted. You may end up dreading study time entirely because your brain now associates it with stress.

Part 2: Smarter Strategies That Work

1. Create a Personal Study Timetable  

Don’t borrow your friend’s timetable. Create one that matches your life.

• Morning person? Read harder subjects in the morning.   
• Easily distracted? Block sessions (Read 2hrs, take 30mins break).  
• Have chores? Schedule light reading during breaks.

2. Prioritize High-Yield Topics  

Use past questions to identify recurring topics.  

If 3 out of 5 years, they asked about osmosis, BET it’s coming again.

3. Use the “Teach Back” Method  

After reading a topic, close your book and explain it to yourself (or a wall).

If you can’t explain it in simple words, you don’t fully understand it.

This trick helped me increase my confidence in a topic. I would pretend to be a teacher teaching an online WhatsApp community and explain Chemistry, which was my worst-performing subject at the time, using explanatory voice notes, drawings, or sketches.

4. Mix Study With Practice  

Don't just read. Test yourself.

• Use WAEC & JAMB past questions  
• Take mock tests. You can either use practice apps or the hardcopy past questions  
• Time yourself  
• Correct your mistakes immediately

Bonus: Your brain retains better when you learn actively, not passively.

Part 3: Manage Your Time, Don’t Chase It

Time is flying, yes. But chasing it without control like a headless chicken is pointless.

Here’s how to own your time:

• Use a digital or paper planner: Write your study targets. To do this, ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve in this study?”. It could be to master a particular topic or topics, or to understand key points or basics. 
• Set 3 major tasks per day: Not 15. Be realistic.
• Avoid perfectionism: Done is better than perfect.
• Know your distractions: Instagram? TikTok? Keep them FAR away.

Part 4: Protect Your Energy & Focus

You can’t pour from an empty cup. Studying smarter includes:

• Eating well (4 wraps of fufu is NOT brain food before reading)
• Getting 6-8 hours of sleep 
• Taking walks or stretching during breaks, not using phones or screens  
• Avoiding late-night cramming every night

Your brain will work better when your body feels good.

Part 5: The Role of Past Questions

Can we scream this again?

USE PAST QUESTIONS!

They’re your cheat sheet (legally).

WAEC, NECO, and UTME don’t always “copy and paste,” but they repeat patterns.

• Know the type of questions asked
• Understand how marks are distributed
• Use past questions as a revision guide

Final Tips & Encouragement

• Don't Compare: Someone might be ahead, yes, but your pace is valid.
• Ask for Help: Don't stay confused. Ask All About Admissions.

 Refer to our previous blog post “How to Gain Admission Into Any University of Your Choice” for a guide on why you should ask for help.

• Use Your Community: Study groups can help (if you’re not all gisting). All About Admissions offers strategic small-group study groups to help you learn at your own pace and beyond your base.
• Celebrate Small Wins: Completed a topic? Celebrate. It fuels motivation.
• Prepare for External Examinations smartly: Use overlapping subjects to your advantage.

Studying hard without a strategy is like pouring water into a basket.

You don’t need to read 12 hours a day to pass your exams.  

You just need to read with a plan, with purpose, and with peace.

If Thomas Edison could go from mentally confused to confident with one strategy shift, so can you.

Start today.  

Study smarter, not harder.

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Let’s win these exams together.  

Edison’s mother believed in his potential.

All About Admissions is here for YOU, to believe in and help you unlock your potential.