Exam week approaching: how to get your workspace ready in an hour
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Making a desk ready for exam week takes about an hour and costs less than €25. What you'll need in terms of pens, highlighters, paper, and storage — in the order you'll tackle it.
The first exam weeks usually appear on the calendar somewhere between mid-October and late November. What you often see then: someone starts studying on Sunday evening, spends half an hour looking for a highlighter that still works, prints a summary at the last minute, and finally begins at 9:30 PM. Not because the material is too difficult, but because the workspace wasn't prepared.
Getting a desk or kitchen table ready for exam week takes about an hour and costs less than €25. Below is what you need, in the order you'll tackle it.
Start by clearing out, not by buying
Put everything on your desk into one box. An Action Moving Box measuring 480 x 430 x 330 mm (50 litres, €3.50) is large enough for this and will also be useful later if you want to store items from school or your room. Then only put back what you will really use in the next three weeks.
Test your pens and markers before putting them back. A ballpoint pen that skips or a dried-out highlighter should be thrown away—otherwise, you'll accidentally pick it up again next week. What's left is usually less than you thought, and then you'll also know immediately what you need to buy.
Writing and highlighting: what to look for
For studying, you roughly need three things: something to write with, something to highlight with, and something that also stays on plastic, cardboard, or a tab.
Highlighters. The Stranger Highlighters, 4 pieces cost €4.00. Four colours are enough for a system: one colour for definitions, one for dates or formulas, one for what you don't understand yet, one for the rest.
Felt-tip pens and markers. The set of Felt-tip Pens / Markers, 4 pieces costs €4.00 and is intended for paper and whiteboard-like work.
One practical tip about highlighting: only highlight on the second reading. Those who highlight during the first round often colour half pages yellow and later end up with a summary that's as long as the book.
Keeping paper together
Loose sheets of paper are the biggest source of panic during an exam week. Three things largely solve that.
Write the subject and date on the envelope with a permanent marker. Finished with a subject? Close the envelope, move it away from your desk. This not only saves space but also reduces the feeling that everything still needs to be done.
Everything within reach, nothing in front of you
You want items close by without them being on your workspace. A Desk Organizer with Phone Holder (€5.00) stands pens upright and gives your phone a fixed spot—it helps if you don't hold it in your hand while studying.
On the wall, a cork bulletin board measuring 29 x 13 cm (€7.95) works for your exam schedule and daily planning. If you don't want to drill, you can look at self-adhesive hooks measuring 6 x 6 cm, 10 pieces (€5.95) for your bag, headphones, or charging cable. Test such a hook first in an inconspicuous spot: they don't always stick well to wallpaper and freshly painted walls.
Work in blocks and plan breaks just as diligently as studying. What you do during that break matters: getting up and doing something with your hands works better than scrolling while still in the same chair. An anti-stress ball in 3 models (€5.95) or the stress balls in 3 models (€7.95) are not magic bullets, but they give your hands something to do while you review a text aloud or have someone quiz you.
Also, prepare a bottle of water and something to eat before you start. Every time you walk to the kitchen, you lose five to ten minutes.
A starter list of approximately €25
If you want to be ready all at once, this will get you a long way:
Ballpoint pens 10 pieces — €2.00
Highlighters 4 pieces — €4.00
Permanent markers 5 pieces — €4.00
Staples 3000 pieces — €2.60
Desk organizer with phone holder — €5.00
Tape 6 rolls — €2.60
Ruler 30 cm — €4.00
Total €24.20. The envelopes, bulletin board, and moving box are logical additions if you find that paper or space is your biggest problem.
After exam week: tidying up takes ten minutes
End the week by putting the envelopes per subject into the moving box and writing on the box which block it was. Old summaries are golden later for a resit or a final exam, but only if you can find them. Immediately throw away used up markers, so you don't face the same surprise at the beginning of the next period.
Order everything together
Pens, felt-tip pens, and markers can be found under Writing and Hand Lettering. Staples, tape, envelopes, and rulers are under Office Essentials and in the broader collection Office Supplies. For organizers and everything that keeps your desk tidy, check Desk Accessories; boxes for storing items are under Storage. If you are unsure whether an item is in stock or if you want a larger quantity for a class or team, please email info@verpakkingdeals.nl—we'll help you out.
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