Effective Time Management

Ready for Final Exam

Exam is one process leading up to a higher stage. Each exam has a different level of difficulty. Final exams enacted at elementary, junior and senior high schools are expected to produce qualified graduates. In the process of preparing for the exam, there are several parties responsible for it, covering teachers at schools, students and parents. Schools usually make additional hours of study, private lessons and debriefing students. It is not obligated whether students take private lessons outside school.

One of the activities undertaken by SMK BOKPRI 2 was preparing students of XII Class for Examination in the Year 2017 – 2018. The activity was held on Friday until Saturday, 5-6 January 2018 at Hotel Satriafi, Kaliurang, Sleman. “The purpose of the school to organize this activity is to prepare them mentally in the upcoming exam, to know the extent of the readiness of their students both subjects and mental to face the National Examination. It also has an additional purpose to invite them to relax and not to be awkward facing the test”, said Dra. Rusmiyati the chairman of the committee.

There were thirty-three students and five teachers following the briefing that was split into several sessions. Stube-HEMAT Yogyakarta, as a student and youth facilitator was invited to be one of facilitators. Stube sent Trustha Rembaka and Sarloce Apang to guide the session on Friday, January 5, 2018.

Sarloce Apang explained about Stube-HEMAT and it’s activities. While Trustha described the Key of Successful Exam: Intelligent Time Management. He started the session by guiding participants to write their activities since morning till night on a piece of paper. Next, Sarloce chose some participants to read their activities in a day.  Julian, who majored in Culinary told, “I always wake up early at 06.00 A.M, then I prepare to school. After school at around 3 P.M, I go home, take a bath and shower, watch movies, play with mobile phone until 22.15, and then go to bed”.

Anggi, a student studying Patiseri (flour making product) told that she always wakes up at 6 A.M and has shower, goes to school, comes home, takes a nap, wakes up and does shower, has dinner, plays mobile phone and sleeps at 11 P.M. Another student, called Novi studying House Keeping told that she wakes up earlier than the previous participants, then gets ready to go to school, comes home from school, has lunch, has shower, and has dinner and sleeps at 9 P.M. From the participants’ description, it can be known how they manage their available time. Apparently they have not used their time effectively and still spent much time for watching television and playing mobile phone, even not learning at all.

Trustha exposed the time of 24 hours a day into three parts, 8 hours for sleeping, 9 hours for school and 7 other hours to be used for good one. He invited participants to spend 7 hours for effective activities by considering which one is important and urgent, important but not urgent, not important but urgent and not important but not urgent. Each participant began to sort out which activities should be taken into priority and which ones should be ignored. The rest of study time to the exam is so limited, it means that the remaining time should be used as well as possible.

At the end of the session participants were divided into eleven groups. They talked and shared what challenging subjects for them in the exam. Most students expressed difficulties in Mathematics and English. Mathematics is still difficult to understand because the method of teaching is difficult to be understood. In the sharing time, the participants were more open and talked enthusiastically, even their teachers were involved in the conversation.

Trustha reiterated that a wish will come true if there is an action and sincerity to live it. So, from now, use the available study time before exam as well as they can. A big hope that all students can be ready for the exam, can do the exam well, and can pass it together.  The session was closed by having a photo together. (SAP).