learning to drive....the theory side of it

Since passing my driving theory test on Monday I thought why not share my tips on revising & preparing for the theory test & the day of the test itself. Some of them are fairly obvious but sometimes the most obvious ones we ignore & don't actually do. Obviously they won't guarantee you will pass first time, nobody can guarantee that..sorry about that.
 
my revision materials
 
- Get your materials -
First things first, to actually revise you'll need something to revise. It could be books, CDs for using on the computer, DVDs, apps or you can even use various websites online. I used a mix between books, CDs & I bought an AA app for my ipad too, for the basic reason of I didn't want to get bored by just one thing.
 
- Block the outside world out -
Move away from your phone, put the ipad down (unless you are using it of course) , log off twitter & facebook.. You really need to have all your focus on your revision. How would you expect to learn when you have all the other distractions.
 
- Don't force yourself -
If you really aren't feeling in the right mind set to revise, simply don't. It isn't great missing out on revising opportunities but it isn't a good idea to just sit & revise when nothing isn't going to actually sink in. Just a waste of your time & effort.
 
- Don't brainwash yourself - 
This is one thing I knew I wouldn't do, I actually wanted to learn what I was studying. Not just learn to memorize the questions & answers. I practiced doing the mock tests maximum of twice a day & never did it straight after the other one either. I'd do one in the morning & then one later on in the afternoon or at night.
 
- Don't revise for too long -
I used to think oh the more I revise the more I'll learn, it turns out that's wrong apparently. After so long of revising your brain just looses interest.
My instructor told me that if you study for 1 hour, you will only actually remember around 20 minutes of it. So instead of doing it continuously just take a break & do it little by little. 
 
- Only book a date for when you know you will be ready -
Instead of thinking yeah, I'll book it next week & just cram in everything all day until then. Chances are it might not work like that.
Be realistic & book a month or so in advance & work towards that. You can change your date closer to the time, as long as it is 3 working days before your test. Otherwise you might loose your fee.
 
- Book a time when is best for you -
If you get really nervous & would rather get it out the way as soon as you can then get an early morning one, but I would also bare in mind if you get an early morning when your nerves might get the better of you. I decided to go for a middle of the afternoon one, yes I had nerves but luckily I managed to control them.
 
- Keep to your normal routine -
I'm not going to claim this is my tip because it isn't, my friend Adele actually told me this piece of advice but I thought I would share it with you. The worst thing you can do is just sit around all day thinking about it. The more you focus on your nerves the stronger they will become.
 
 
Well there is my longgggg list of tips & pieces of advice for you.
 
Maybe you would like to check out my post about learning to drive while experiencing mental health difficulties. You can find that by clicking here.
I really hope it can help someone, even just one person. So many people in this world feel alone & they don't need to.
 
Thanks for reading.
- Anna ♥

No comments