With exam season just around the corner, it’s time to get your head down and crack on with a bit of revision. It’s crucial to make the most of the next few months if you want to do well in your exams. The trouble with studying, of course, is that you’ve got to be in the right frame of mind to do it, otherwise you’ll end up wasting time by staring unproductively at a blank screen for several hours.

Some people work better at home, whereas others work better in the library. If you’re one of the former, it’s important to set up your study space in a way that makes you as productive as possible, and these tips will turn your room into a super-productive revision spot.

Get Comfy
When you’re in the library, you’re generally free of distractions because you’re sitting in a purpose-built study space. Working at home, on the other hand, takes some real self-discipline, because your room isn’t put together with this in mind. You’re dangerously close to both your bed and Netflix, which could be a recipe for disaster if you’re not careful.

For this reason, we recommend that you get comfortable enough to study, but not too comfortable. By all means stay in those comfy indoor clothes that you’d never be seen wearing outside in the real world, but spread your work out on a desk and try to sit up straight – at least make it feel like you’ve left the house, or you run the risk of being tucked up in bed and losing several hours of your day napping.

Light It Up
Make sure you’ve got plenty of light on your work, otherwise you’ll end up straining your eyes, feeling fatigued, and calling it a day earlier than expected. The same applies when you’re working  from a laptop: don’t stare at the screen for too long, especially when the lighting in your room is dim, because this can be taxing on the eyes – take regular breaks from your screen to stop this happening.

It’s also important that you have the right type of light in your room. The more natural light, the better, because rays from the sun have a positive impact on your body, which will in turn have a positive impact on your mind, making you more productive than if you were locked inside a dark and dingy room.

Time Your Tunes
Some people work well when they’re listening to music, and others don’t. This one is completely subjective and requires a bit of thought on your end. Do you react differently to various types of music? Some people find themselves unable to think when they listen to songs with lyrics, whereas others find it motivating.

Once you’ve worked out what music (if any) works best for you, try to find out if different songs help you at different stages in the revision process – do upbeat songs help to motivate you when you’re feeling fatigued? Or do you need soothing music to ease you back into the right frame of mind? Make separate playlists and time your music in a way to help you to be more productive.

Ditch the Phone
Smartphones are great because you can do just about anything with them, but that means you’ve also got access to all of your social media accounts, you can chat to your friends at the push of a button, and you could end up watching videos of cats on YouTube without even realising it. The best way to avoid this is to ditch your phone when you start your revision session. Simply turn it off and lock it away out of sight while you crack on with a bit of work.

You will find that you’re incredibly more productive when you don’t have your phone to hand, because app-developers build their services to purposely make them addictive (phone addiction is genuinely a real thing – it’s called nomophobia). So making sure it’s out of sight will ensure that you’re more productive than if it were sitting in front of you, just waiting to be used.

Exam Conditions
When you’re studying for your upcoming exams, it’s worth at least trying to revise in exam conditions. This means that you will have to answer questions in complete silence under the pressure of a time limit. This might seem like a dull way to spend your day, but studies have proved that we recall information better when we’re in the same conditions in which we learned that information. This means that revising for exams in these conditions will make the process easier when you’re sitting the test.

Get Yourself in the Right Frame of Mind
Creating the perfect revision space is all about getting yourself in the right frame of mind. If you don’t fancy heading down to the library, make sure that you’ve got access to a quiet and comfortable room.

Author Bio: Daniel Sefton is a writer for The Student Housing Company, providers of modern, purpose-built student accommodation in the UK.