My final exams are 2 weeks away, panic is starting to set in, so I've been spending large amounts of time in the library. The funny thing is, I have every single hour of revision planned out before the Easter break even started, and this year I am taking only 5 papers compared with 7 last year, so in principle I should have at least 25% more free time.

This is true to a certain extent... I have been practising my guitar and exercising a lot more than I did in the same period last year. I think the problem is that I treat these as part of my schedule, rather than as something extra. My parents probably wouldn't think of me as being too organised from having me lazing around the house for 19 years, but truth is that when I have a large period of time free in front of me, I mentally plan things even when it is probably unnecesary. For example, I already have my exercise schedule planned out for the next week....gym Tuesday, short run Thursday, long run Friday, gym Sunday. Or at least, that's how I plan it... I'll probably not follow it to the letter, but it's the thought that counts (i.e. I'm stressing myself over it).

The part of my revision that is the most time-consuming is the process of understanding the material. One of my courses is solid state physics (affectionately nicknamed solid-s*** physics) is taught by a lecturer whom we have (equally affectionately) nicknamed 'Horseface'. As I have mentioned before, Horseface is a lecturer only in name, and his 'teaching' involves some rambling in class and scribbling random undecipherable things on the board. Thus, literally all the material in solid-s*** is totally new to me, and I have learn it from scratch. The course isn't trivial either, as the material is conceptually new.

One thing I've realised from my revision is the process of intuition that goes with being a physicist. When going through the notes, there is always the temptation to think that just because I can follow the mathematical steps in the derivations, I 'know' the material. But just following derivations in a linear way isn't assimilating it... doing physics requires one to 'feel' the subject matter. It's hard to describe, but 'feel' is the only word I can think of. I refuse to move on from a section until I can feel it intuitively, and understand what it means physically and how it relates to other things. The intuition is one of my main strengths, and if I don't make sure I intuitively understand the material, there isn't much to differentiate me from Mr. "I-Hate-Physics-But-I'm-Doing-This-Course-Because-Investment-Banks-Like-Physicists".

It's back to the grind tomorrow morning....