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This is true for me in LR/RC sections. As soon as J.Y. gives me the five minute warning on my phone two things are guaranteed to happen.
1.) I jump....every. damn. time.
2.) I start to get a brief moment of panic and all the reading I am doing goes out the window. I have to stop, compose myself, and resume.
How can I not let it cause panic in me?
It's not that I am running out of time, I usually finish every section on time, I just don't like to feel rushed.
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19 comments
used to happen to me with the 7sage proctor too. idk how I got over it, but I eventually just did.. I think it is just having quiet and then all of the sudden hearing something and getting startled. When it happens, just stop, take 5 seconds and take a breath then continue!
@acsimon699 said:
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 --I was actually asking @shaw5563 because he is not yet a skipping convert. I think your way is the usual way to skip, but not the way I like to employ. Cross off answers that I feel are definitely wrong, pick on me of the remaining and then bubble that question. I only skip certain question types and also one other time-saving trick so that there's plenty of time to not only answer the skipped questions (usually two) but also provides time hit the questions that I circled one more time. Crucially, it means that the 5 minute warning mark comes as a welcome thing--"fuck, I still have five minutes to work", I think to myself.
You've referenced these time-saving tricks for LR a few times in this thread, care to expand on them a bit?
@leo555 said:
Hey @shaw5563 have you tried meditation? That might help. I'm sure lots of meditation gurus say this, but Andy in the Headspace app specifically tells you during one of the sessions to just listen to the noises around you and be comfortable with them--just let them come and go. I've found it helpful to think about. A few deep breaths can also be helpful.
That said, I still get thrown off by loud noises and struggle to regain focus at that point. I was watching re-runs of American Ninja Warrior in the gym the other day and thought it was interesting how everyone dealt with dismounting from the rolling log. Some people held on but never seemed to fully regain their balance (and consequently didn't make it much longer), while others made it, paused to regain their balance, and then went on to shred the rest of the course. Like this guy:
It sounds like you're pausing and re-composing yourself already, but maybe, like Jake Murray, you can find a way to pivot from the moment of imbalance into a dance move that increases, rather than decreases, your drive for the rest of the 'course'. Note how he used the dance moves to shake off the imbalance. Dancing probably would be looked down on during the test, but that kind of mindset--turning the panic into a positive moment--could get you far. Maybe try saying in your mind "I can do this" and think of yourself dancing or fist-pumping. Kind of silly, but it's worth a try. Positive self-affirmation is a good thing. :smiley:
Thanks for sharing! I love this show and this is a great example of how going slow during certain times can make you go faster over all.
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 --I was actually asking @shaw5563 because he is not yet a skipping convert. I think your way is the usual way to skip, but not the way I like to employ. Cross off answers that I feel are definitely wrong, pick on me of the remaining and then bubble that question. I only skip certain question types and also one other time-saving trick so that there's plenty of time to not only answer the skipped questions (usually two) but also provides time hit the questions that I circled one more time. Crucially, it means that the 5 minute warning mark comes as a welcome thing--"fuck, I still have five minutes to work", I think to myself.
I will at that, even with the usual skipping strategy, there is no good reason why doing the questions in sequential order improves accuracy. The only reason I can think of for why skipping doesn't help is that it is awkward at first and there's a bit of an psychological pressure (from ego or the thought that they are "supposed" to be tackled in said order) which we're all concerned conditioned to think. But there's nothing in the questions themselves which makes it such that your accuracy goes down if you decide to skip 3-5 and come back at the 25 min mark after you've breezed through the other questions. I think @gregoryalexanderdevine723 has it right in claiming that skipping can be a windfall on the section.
@leo555 This is what I was looking for! Thank you, I'll give it a shot. Some sort of mental way to shake off the distraction faster instead of letting it take me completely out of the test.
@acsimon699
Skip hard questions - ones with stimulus I struggled with or AC I don't understand
Questions where I'm 50/50, do a best guess and move on while circling the question
Not really sure what other skipping strategies are out there. If it's a questions I haven't struggled with why would I skip it?
Hey @shaw5563 have you tried meditation? That might help. I'm sure lots of meditation gurus say this, but Andy in the Headspace app specifically tells you during one of the sessions to just listen to the noises around you and be comfortable with them--just let them come and go. I've found it helpful to think about. A few deep breaths can also be helpful.
That said, I still get thrown off by loud noises and struggle to regain focus at that point. I was watching re-runs of American Ninja Warrior in the gym the other day and thought it was interesting how everyone dealt with dismounting from the rolling log. Some people held on but never seemed to fully regain their balance (and consequently didn't make it much longer), while others made it, paused to regain their balance, and then went on to shred the rest of the course. Like this guy:
It sounds like you're pausing and re-composing yourself already, but maybe, like Jake Murray, you can find a way to pivot from the moment of imbalance into a dance move that increases, rather than decreases, your drive for the rest of the 'course'. Note how he used the dance moves to shake off the imbalance. Dancing probably would be looked down on during the test, but that kind of mindset--turning the panic into a positive moment--could get you far. Maybe try saying in your mind "I can do this" and think of yourself dancing or fist-pumping. Kind of silly, but it's worth a try. Positive self-affirmation is a good thing. :smiley:
@acsimon699 said:
Curious to know what skipping strategies you've tried. Is it just to skip any question for which you are unsure of the answer or something more principled?
My skipping strategy is basically to skip any question that I read and attempt that I can't answer in about a minute. Or any question that when I read the stimulus twice, and still can't understand, I skip.
This usually means I'm skipping 3-5 on any given LR section.
Curious to know what skipping strategies you've tried. Is it just to skip any question for which you are unsure of the answer or something more principled?
@shaw5563 said:
@acsimon699 said:
@shaw5563 : perhaps we misunderstand each other. Just because you always finish on time doesn't mean that time is not an issue. For instance, if you tend to finish with two minutes left, then I can see how that 5 min announcements an issue.
It's decidedly less of an issue though if you're already just reviewing by the time it comes up. If you are not already in a place to where you're finishing LR sections before the 30min mark, maybe getting to the place where you're consistently doing so can turn your issue into a non-issue.
I finish the section with roughly 3-5min left depending. I don't use a skipping method, when I do my scores tend to decrease.
Hmmm... It might take some practice to implement, but I think skipping will certainly help. Then again, if you are doing fine without it, no need to change it up now.
As far as staying cool in the pocket when the 5 min mark hits, I think willpower is the way to go here. Also, I've gotten so accustomed to the 5 min warning that it just isn't that big of a deal for me anymore. You said yourself, timing is not an issue, so I think now it's just a matter of just forcing yourself to stay calm. If you finish with 3-5 minutes left, take 10 seconds to just close your eyes and breathe if you need it. Whenever I get all worked up during a PT/section, that's what I do and it helps me to stay focused and cool.
@acsimon699 said:
@shaw5563 : perhaps we misunderstand each other. Just because you always finish on time doesn't mean that time is not an issue. For instance, if you tend to finish with two minutes left, then I can see how that 5 min announcements an issue.
It's decidedly less of an issue though if you're already just reviewing by the time it comes up. If you are not already in a place to where you're finishing LR sections before the 30min mark, maybe getting to the place where you're consistently doing so can turn your issue into a non-issue.
I finish the section with roughly 3-5min left depending. I don't use a skipping method, when I do my scores tend to decrease.
I cry a little and and curse the lsat Gods !
@shaw5563 : perhaps we misunderstand each other. Just because you always finish on time doesn't mean that time is not an issue. For instance, if you tend to finish with two minutes left, then I can see how that 5 min announcements an issue.
It's decidedly less of an issue though if you're already just reviewing by the time it comes up. If you are not already in a place to where you're finishing LR sections before the 30min mark, maybe getting to the place where you're consistently doing so can turn your issue into a non-issue.
@71888 yes, if they spoke loud enough to interrupt every person taking the test, it would disrupt me.
@acsimon699 I said in my post it's not a timing issue. I finish every section in time. It's more of losing 20-30 seconds when I am startled by the proctor giving the 5min warning.
Which section are you having a timing issue on?-- I would offer different advice for different section types.
(1) If LR, if you employ the right strategy, you should already be into answering skipped questions or reviewing by that time. If you aren't, then this needs to be addressed going forward. I have a method which seemed to shave off at least 7mins from my times with LRs. When you get done around the 26/27 min mark, the panic simply doesn't have a chance to take hold when the 5 min announcement is made.
(2) If RC, maybe practice doing the all the questions from the last passage of RC sections in 5 mins or under. Under test conditions, you'll probably be already into these questions, but knowing that you have been able to answer 7 or so questions in the allotted time should help with the comfort level should the situation arise with the five min warning.
I hope that this helps a bit. Cheers--A.c.S
@shaw5563 said:
@71888 said:
I haven't taken too many timed LSAT exams, but in undergrad I had a lot of exams where it wasn't plausible to finish the entire exam (I recall being ecstatic over 40%'s).
The 5 minute warning is just like the sun coming up in the morning. It shouldn't surprise you. For that reason, I never got nervous or gave myself time to think about how I messed up. After those 5 minutes you can take all the time you want to panic.
As for what you should be doing on the LSAT, I'm not sure what the pros say but I think a good general rule would be to give yourself enough time to bubble in the remaining answers (no fancy strategy or thinking about the prevalence of a previous answer) and proceed to answer the rest of the questions normally. You shouldn't be adopting good habits in the last five minutes.
I didn't really mean it that way. I'm not adjusting how I'm taking the test. Or looking for tips on how to make better use of my last 5min. What I meant is how to stop myself from stressing when someone verbally interrupts my train of thought so I can continue working. I lose anywhere from 20 - 30 seconds during this because I have to refocus on everything I just read or am reading.
So if someone were to ask a question in the middle of a section, that noise would also disrupt you? If so then I would put myself in that situation. Take some old tests/questions, and solve them timed in a noisy/semi-noisy location.
I've used this tactic throughout all of my highschool and college life. I imagined the one giving the warning was a loved one (friend, parent, partner) who was letting me know I got five minutes (or 10 or 15, whatever the warning time was). Thinking about it this way sort of defeated the fear I associated with the "warning" and I'm an anxious test taker as it is so this tactic really helped. Also, depending on your upbringing or your school experiences, the word "warning" could have been used as a negative thing. If you got a warning you did something crappy but not crappy enough to get you in real trouble. I'd try referring to it as a "heads up", "notification" or "advisory". That way you can condition yourself to get over the stress associated with the word and continue working on what you're working on. The worse thing the five minute advisory can do is interrupt your chain of thought and force you to retrace your steps.
@71888 said:
I haven't taken too many timed LSAT exams, but in undergrad I had a lot of exams where it wasn't plausible to finish the entire exam (I recall being ecstatic over 40%'s).
The 5 minute warning is just like the sun coming up in the morning. It shouldn't surprise you. For that reason, I never got nervous or gave myself time to think about how I messed up. After those 5 minutes you can take all the time you want to panic.
As for what you should be doing on the LSAT, I'm not sure what the pros say but I think a good general rule would be to give yourself enough time to bubble in the remaining answers (no fancy strategy or thinking about the prevalence of a previous answer) and proceed to answer the rest of the questions normally. You shouldn't be adopting good habits in the last five minutes.
I didn't really mean it that way. I'm not adjusting how I'm taking the test. Or looking for tips on how to make better use of my last 5min. What I meant is how to stop myself from stressing when someone verbally interrupts my train of thought so I can continue working. I lose anywhere from 20 - 30 seconds during this because I have to refocus on everything I just read or am reading.
I haven't taken too many timed LSAT exams, but in undergrad I had a lot of exams where it wasn't plausible to finish the entire exam (I recall being ecstatic over 40%'s).
The 5 minute warning is just like the sun coming up in the morning. It shouldn't surprise you. For that reason, I never got nervous or gave myself time to think about how I messed up. After those 5 minutes you can take all the time you want to panic.
As for what you should be doing on the LSAT, I'm not sure what the pros say but I think a good general rule would be to give yourself enough time to bubble in the remaining answers (no fancy strategy or thinking about the prevalence of a previous answer) and proceed to answer the rest of the questions normally. You shouldn't be adopting good habits in the last five minutes.