How to Study for Exams in One Week

You have a week. That’s not a lot of time, but it’s enough if you use it well. Sitting here feeling bad about it won’t change anything, so the only option is to start.  

No overcomplicated plans, no excuses about working better under pressure. Just studying that actually gets results.

How to Study for Exams in One Week (Even If You Haven’t Started Yet)

1. Study When Your Brain Works Best

Some people focus better in the morning. Others can’t function until noon. What matters isn’t when or how long you study—it’s how well you use your time. 

Pay attention to when your brain is actually working with you and use that time to cover the hardest material. 

When your focus starts slipping, switch to reviewing, testing yourself, or taking a break. Forcing yourself to study when your brain is already shutting down is just a waste of time.

2. Don’t Waste Time Making a “Study Plan”

You don’t have time to sit around color-coding notes or mapping out the perfect schedule. At this point, the only thing that matters is getting through the material. 

Look at what’s most important, figure out what you actually need to know, and start. If you’re spending more time organizing and planning than actually studying, you’re just avoiding the work.

3. Ask for Hints, Areas of Concentration, and Past Questions

Teachers always give hints, whether they realize it or not. Some will straight-up tell you what to focus on if you ask, while others might drop subtle clues—like emphasizing certain topics more in class or repeating the same concepts in assignments. Pay attention to what they spend the most time on.  

Past exams are one of the best study tools you can get. If your teacher reuses questions or sticks to a certain style, that’s a pattern you need to learn. 

Go through old tests, spot the recurring topics, and focus your energy there. Your goal isn’t to waste time trying to master everything—it’s to study what’s most likely to show up so you can maximize your score with the time you have.

4. Start with the Hard Stuff First

Your brain is at its sharpest when you first start studying, so don’t waste that energy on things you already know. It might feel productive to breeze through the easy stuff, but that’s just a way to avoid the real work. 

Instead, use that fresh focus to tackle the topics that actually challenge you—the ones that make you want to give up. Push through the hardest material first while your brain is still alert, then move on to reviewing or reinforcing what you already understand.

5. Writing Everything Down? Only If It Actually Helps

Some people retain information better when they write things down. Others just end up copying notes mindlessly, tricking themselves into thinking they’re studying when they’re really just transcribing. If writing helps you process and remember the material, use it. 

But if it’s slowing you down, don’t force it—move on to something more effective. What actually matters is whether you can recall the information when you need it. 

Test yourself in a way that forces you to think—say it out loud, try to recall it from memory, or go through past questions. If you can’t bring the information back without looking, you don’t really know it yet.

6. Test Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It

Reading your notes isn’t studying—it’s just reminding yourself that the information exists. That’s not enough. You need to prove that you actually understand it. Cover your notes and try to explain the topic from memory, as if you’re teaching it to someone else. 

Go through past questions and test yourself under real conditions. If you blank out or get stuck, don’t just move on—go back, relearn it, and try again. 

The more you push yourself to recall the information without looking, the stronger it’ll stick in your brain.

7. Group Study? Only If You’ve Studied Alone First

Walking into a group study session without studying first is a waste of time. If you don’t know anything yet, you’re not contributing—you’re just sitting there, hoping to absorb information through osmosis. 

Study on your own first so you have a baseline understanding, then use the group to fill in gaps, clarify confusing topics, and test each other. When done right, group revision is one of the best ways to reinforce what you’ve learned. 

But if you’re just sitting there nodding while someone else explains everything, you’re not actually learning—you’re just listening. And that’s not enough.

8. Put Your Phone in Another Room. Seriously.

If your phone is next to you, you’re going to check it—whether you mean to or not. If it’s across the room, you won’t. It’s that simple. 

Don’t convince yourself that you have the self-control to resist it, because the moment you get bored or stuck, you’ll reach for it without thinking. The best way to avoid the distraction is to remove it completely. Put it in another room, give it to someone else, or use an app blocker if you have to. 

Just don’t leave it within arm’s reach and expect yourself to ignore it—you won’t.

9. Eat, Drink Water, and Sleep or Your Brain Will Shut Down

Running on caffeine and three hours of sleep isn’t impressive—it’s a fast track to forgetting everything the moment you close your textbook. 

Your brain doesn’t run on willpower alone. It needs proper fuel to focus, process information, and actually retain what you’re studying. 

That means real food—not just snacks or energy drinks—so your body has the nutrients to keep your mind sharp. It also means drinking water because even mild dehydration can mess with concentration and memory.  

And then there’s sleep. You might think you can push through on an all-nighter, but if your brain is exhausted, you’re not studying—you’re just staring at words, hoping they stick. And they won’t. 

Lack of sleep makes it harder to absorb new information and recall what you already know. If staying up late actually works for you, fine—but don’t just do it because you feel like you should. 

If your brain is shutting down, the smartest thing you can do is step away, sleep, and come back when you can actually retain what you’re learning.

10. Short Breaks Are Fine. “Accidental” One-Hour TikTok Breaks Are Not.

Taking a five-minute break every hour is fine—it helps reset your focus so you don’t burn out. But telling yourself you’ll “just check your phone for a second” and losing an hour? That’s on you. Breaks should be intentional, not an excuse to procrastinate. 

Step away, stretch, grab a snack, or do something that actually lets your brain recharge. But be strict about it. A break is supposed to help you reset, not turn into a full-on distraction. If you’re not careful, you’ll look up and realize you’ve wasted half your study time doing nothing.

11. Review Every Single Day, or You’ll Forget Everything

Studying something once isn’t enough. If you don’t go over it again, your brain will treat it like useless information and forget it. That’s just how memory works. To actually retain what you’re learning, you need to review the same topics multiple times throughout the week. 

A quick refresher every day will keep the information in your head, so you’re not scrambling to relearn everything the night before. Cramming might get you through a test, but if you actually want to remember the material long-term, repetition is the only way to make it stick.

12. Freaking Out? Study More.

If you’re panicking, it’s because deep down, you know you’re not ready. Sitting there overthinking and drowning in anxiety won’t change that. The only way to stop the panic is to do something about it. 

Open your book, test yourself, and keep going until you start feeling more in control. The more prepared you are, the less you’ll freak out. 

Stress comes from uncertainty—so the best way to handle it is to make sure there’s nothing left to be uncertain about.

13. The Day Before the Exam: Stop Trying to Learn Everything

At this point, you’re not learning anything new from scratch. Cramming an entirely new topic the night before won’t help—it’ll just overwhelm you. Instead, focus on your weak spots, go over key points one last time, and make sure you actually remember what you’ve already studied. 

Test yourself, review the essentials, and fill in any last gaps. Then, get enough sleep to function. Walking into an exam exhausted and unfocused will undo all the work you’ve put in.

14. Exam Morning: Don’t Cram—Just Refresh

Review your key points one last time, but don’t try to cram everything at once—you’ll just overwhelm yourself. The last thing you study before the test is what your brain will hold onto the tightest, so be intentional about it. 

Focus on the concepts or formulas you know you’ll need, not random details you’re just hoping will stick. At this point, it’s about reinforcing what you already know, not stuffing in new information at the last second.

15. No Exam Is Worth Losing Your Mind Over

It might feel like everything depends on this test, but it doesn’t. Even if it goes horribly, life moves on. 

One bad grade won’t define you, and it definitely isn’t worth destroying yourself over. Focus on doing your best, but keep it in perspective—this is just one moment in a much bigger picture. 

No matter what happens, you’ll be okay.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to study the hardest, just the smartest. Don’t waste time. Don’t burn yourself out. Work with your brain, not against it. You’ve got this.

Now go study.