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Heavy Temptation During the 15 Min Break

Lsat taker22Lsat taker22 Alum Member
in General 315 karma

Hey fighters of LSAT-evil,

During the actual exam, that 15 minute break can seriously be tempting to a lot of people to relax too much and this can be detrimental to a few of us out there, including myself. When I took the exam yesterday (sept 2017) I couldn't resist going outside, grabbing some sunshine, eat my traditional trail-mix (with extra m&m's), play with my somewhat 33 pencils (give or take) and completely stop thinking about the LSAT that was coming back to bite me in the *** 14 minutes later.

I read @LSATcantwin 's strategy during the 15 minute break regarding a personal 1-1 pep-talk with, well, yourself. That seemed really useful to me personally and am very curious to see what other people do.

What exactly goes through your mind during the actual exam during the 15 minute break? What do you do to stay level-headed and frequent in the "eyes on the prize" mode?

Comments

  • vanessa fishervanessa fisher Alum Member
    edited September 2017 1084 karma

    I definitely felt some relief and "come down" at the 15 minute break yesterday. Mostly because I had two LG sections (LG is my weakest section and the one I was most worried about) in the first half, so not only was I done with LG (and felt I did pretty well on it) but also knew it was my experimental section, so I knew there was an RC and LR after the break.

    I definitely stayed away from talking to others on the break, and just chilled and did some stretches and some breathing meditation. I found it helpful to stay away from other test taker's anxiety. This was the same for when I first arrived. I got away from the crowds of people waiting by the door talking and found a corner to do some light LG drilling and meditation

  • Victoria14Victoria14 Alum Member
    776 karma

    I made a serious mistake. I had RC-LR-LG and the LG was stupid easy so I was feeling great. I waited in line and chatted a ton with my fellow LSATers. Ended up being one of the last back in the room and I was thrown straight in to the real RC and it killed me.

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage
    13286 karma

    Did the same thing! Went outside, didn't talk to anyone, and told myself that I was going to go back into the test even harder after the break. Told myself to buckle down and focus and to not get thrown off. Told myself what was done was done and all I had control over was the next bit.

    Basically had the same prep talk with myself haha

  • SamiSami Live Member Sage 7Sage Tutor
    10774 karma

    During my break I stood with my back straight against the wall facing my fellow LSAT test takers. I tucked my chin in and while maintaining eye contact I started flapping my hands like bird wings.

    Jk. I did some stretches and drank my vitamin water and ate my snack. I went over in my head what sections were still left to do and just revisited my section strategy. It helped that my boyfriend was right there and we had for the past two months taken a PT and break together. So this 15 min break wasn't any different.

  • Maddie D.Maddie D. Alum Member
    325 karma

    @Sami said:
    During my break I stood with my back straight against the wall facing my fellow LSAT test takers. I tucked my chin in and while maintaining eye contact I started flapping my hands like bird wings.

    Girl this had me dying :lol: Like Vanessa, I did some meditative breathing, which is a foolproof strategy for me at this point in basically any stressful situation. It not only calms my mind but it always slows my racing pulse down when I'm tense. Everyone in my classroom was thankfully very much in their own zone like I was, so there was zero chatter. I told myself going in that I'd avoid getting into conversations with people for fear that those conversations would hinge around test day stress and whatever. Obviously it's all personal preference, but if you find it hard to bring your body down from a stress/adrenaline-induced high, I recommend looking into breathing techniques. I'm one of those people who is perpetually stressed and tense so if it helps me, I think it can help just about anyone haha I learned about it through a physical therapist, but I'm sure there are lots of resources online.

  • bklsat05bklsat05 Member
    177 karma

    I resharpened all my pencils, did some breathing work and knew the next two sections were going to be either LG or RC and I was ready. Just go through your strategies,

    "Read carefully, 7.5min per passage tops, slow down. low res summary, you got this you got this you got this"

    Too bad I didn't remind myself to write small :(

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