Stress management under timed conditions?

inactive

Hey 7Sagers,

Had someone ask a question that I thought you could help with! Here it is:

I keep running into one problem consistently; I rush due to the time pressure and I always end up getting about 20% of my questions wrong. I'm not sure how to manage my time and relieve that time pressure so I don't jump on wrong answers too quickly. I end up worrying about not having enough time on the real test and missing the last bit of questions on a section. As a result, I rush and either pick a tempting answer or I miss reading and internalizing important details on the stimulus. Can you please give me some sort of advice to manage the stress of the time factor so I perform better in the questions?

the_force_is_strong_with_this_one

Just keep practicing, and keep timing yourself. Try to improve how many you are able to do with your time constraint without rushing(or guessing due to running out of time). As you get better at processing the questions, your speed will improve and you'll finish in less time. Concentrate on getting better(more accurate and faster). It is better to only get through 20 of the questions and be accurate than to rush through 26 questions and only get 5 or 6 of them right. Just my two cents.

EmergingAttorney180

In my opinion, there is no way to 'completely' alleviate the time pressure. After all, you are working within the constraints of the actual test, so that 35 minute limit will always be there. The key is to practice testing within that limit, so you can constantly push your pace and grow comfortable working under that pressure. Think of why many NFL teams practice the 2 minute drill over and over during practice. They want to simulate pressure-cooker situations so the team is prepared for them during the game, like when there's 2 minutes left and they need a score to win. When doing problem sets, try to set a time limit for them, even if it is just a "soft" limit that you can break if you need to. At the same time, though, you need to go back and practice your fundamentals and master each of the three sections of the test. Typically, the better you are at recognizing and solving problems, the quicker you will maneuver through the test. Good luck.

brna0714

I'd say the most effective way to relieve some of the stress associated with running out of time is to solidify your understanding of the "easier" questions, repeat them, review the underlying concepts ad nauseam until you can do them lightening fast.

Everyone is especially good at something related to the test, a particular question type, etc., so allowing yourself to go really, really fast on those questions where you feel most comfortable will free up time for your to "dig in" and work through more difficult questions without sacrificing accuracy.

Everyone seems to jump straight to their weaknesses when reviewing (which is, of course, indispensable) but there is something to be said for shoring up your strengths as well. Nothing will eliminate stress during a timed section like being able to count on the fact that you'll have an extra 5 minutes to go back and work on those questions with the especially tempting wrong answer choices and one way to get closer to that ideal is to speed up on what is easiest for you.