Test-Taking Mindset

• Visualization

Picture yourself entering the classroom, you are composed and confident. You read the questions and know how to approach them. You are able to recall the information with ease.  You manage time well. Imagine the sense of relief and satisfaction when the test is over. Use as many senses as you can to make the image real in your mind. 

• Remembering Your Previous Best Performance

The task is to recreate the mindset that led you to succeed. Once you have it, come up with a trigger word to anchor your experience.  Use this trigger word to snap you back into the winning mentality when you need it. Repeat it to overcome the negative self-talk.

• Creating a Ritual

Exams are nerve-racking because we don’t know what to expect. Simple routines, including some breathing exercises, meditation,  or listening to a favorite song can calm your mind.

• Develop the Right Attitude

Aligning your expectations with reality is an important step to avoid excessive stress and frustration. You can’t expect perfection every time.  How you respond to what happens matters more than the happening itself. Set personal and meaningful goals to measure your own progress and commit to them. Control what you can and don’t stress about the uncontrollable.

• Increase your Energy Level

You can’t have the focus and mental alertness that you need for the peak performance if you lack energy. If you want to do well, you need to watch your diet, find time to exercise and get enough sleep. Easier said than done, but those who manage to do it consistently will be higher on that curve.

• Increase your Efforts

Step it up a notch to build up some intensity before the test week. Do practice questions with time constraints. Set a schedule for review. Get into the rhythm. It’s like flexing your brain before the big event.

• One Play at a Time

Don’t let one difficult question throw you off for the rest of the test. Stay focused on the task at hand. Set a pace, and when the time allocated to the question is up, move on.