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Freezing up on timed PTs
I've been PTing for about a week now and it's not going great at all.
As soon as I turn on the timer or proctored app, I freeze up and can't even read the first question. I'll read and re-read it three times and then will lose 3 minutes because I was so out of it. I'm not sure what it is -- in university, I never got nervous before timed exams but we always had a decent amount of time to complete them, or at least I felt like I did.
I haven't been able to properly complete a PT because I'll just stare at the paper, lose a significant amount of time, and then stop the timer to get up and take a breather.
Does anyone have advice for how to chill out when taking a timed PT or how you went about doing it in a way that didn't stress you out?
Comments
Hey! From what I’ve been told, this is super common and I experience it too. When I first started PTing, my first section was always -7 to -10 and I know that’s because of how long it takes me to get into the groove of the LSAT.
Here is what helped me:
1) Warm up questions
2) Not writing PT’s alone in my room. I usually go to a library so that I feel a bit more pressured to work.
3)Realizing that learning how to take the test is a skill.Just like learning to diagram, I had to teach myself how to calm my mind to PT. Try doing a mini work out before you take a test.
Good luck!
You need to get out of that habit. When you're taking a timed PT you need to treat it as if it were the real test.
I'm sure others will discuss breathing/meditation. I'm not familiar with those strategies, but I have a few things you can try out and suggestions:
* Avoid higher numbered tests for now. You don't want to waste those. For the tips I'm going to give, try it out with a low numbered test (it could even be from 1-35).
* All your logic games FPing needs to be timed from now on. Pretend it's like the real test. When the timer rings switch to a pen and finish the section. At the end, take a note of how many you would have gotten right during test day. I'd also suggest printing the section like an actual PT.
* Pick one LR and one RC section. Start a stopwatch, and work through the section diligently. Try to work through the questions at a good pace but don't worry about the 35 minutes. Record your time, and post it here. If it's taking you 70 minutes to finish the section, then you need to stop PTing. If you're clear to the 35 minutes, then you just need to work on nerves.
* Start completing timed sections until you are comfortable with the 35 minute limit. Once are comfortable with the timed limit, then you can head to high numbered tests and begin PTing.
* At the end of this, I highly suggest you start taking some PTs around other people. If you get anxious test taking in front of others, it'll be better to find out now than on test day. Some test prep companies offer a free proctored exam.
I had this happen to me after my first week of PT-ing, too. This is what helped me:
I'm a runner, so here's a quick analogy: Let's say you want to run a 5k. You've never run a 5k before, but say your goal is to complete it in 25 minutes. Do you run 25 minutes and see how far you get? No, you run a 5k, and see how much time you need to shave off to get to 25 minutes -- and you keep practicing until it takes you 25 minutes or less to run the 5k. Eventually, running in 25 minutes will be a piece of cake, you won't even think about the time because you've done this so many times before and know that you'll almost always be able to complete the 5k in 25 minutes because you have your own rhythm.
So in relation to this test, I did a couple full LR sections from PTs 1-35, but ran a stopwatch instead of a timer. This way I didn't stress out about the time, but I also didn't loiter thinking I had unlimited time -- just kept a good pace, used my skipping strategy, and moved through the drill section as if it were a real PT. At the end, I could see how much time I needed to shave off to comfortably complete the questions in 35 minutes, and kept drilling sections until I was hitting 35 minutes.
I stopped using a wristwatch during LR, and still don't use it. Doing (1) above made it so that I have an extremely strong internal clock, and I almost always complete LR sections with 5-8 minutes I can use to BR specific questions before the clock runs out. I still use a wristwatch for LG and RC, and check it after every passage/game.
This is sort of a radical (controversial?) strategy, and I would try and see if it helps or not. I know some people need a wristwatch or they can't complete the section. I use it occasionally to see if I'm doing 10 in 10, but find that I do better without during LR.
Recognize that the test is just a bunch of papers with questions on them. I realize it plays a big role in our futures. I can't imagine myself doing anything but law. But what's the worst thing that can happen? And if I work hard and give it my all, what's the likelihood of this worst case scenario playing out? Rationalizing why I'm taking this test and realizing that in the grand scheme of my life this is just one challenge that I'll face makes the exam less stressful.
All that said, it's better not to take full exams again until you feel comfortable taking sections without freezing up. You definitely don't want to get into a habit of pausing the timer because you won't get to do that during the real exam. What you can do, however, is devise a method to settle down panic/stress during the test without stopping the timer. I put my pencil down, close my eyes, take a couple deep breaths in and out, and continue.
Hope this helps!
(Edit: Meant 5k, not 10k! A 10k in 25 minutes would set a world record!)
Maybe practice doing some timed sections you've seen before so you can get acclimated to PT'ing.
I would recommend doing an untimed PT. Do like... 36 or one in the 20s so you aren't "wasting" a valuable PT. You're gonna have to just do it. Maybe by starting with an untimed one, you can get rid of some of your anxiety. Or perhaps give yourself 40 minutes for the first section. Anything to trick your body into not being as stressed.
In all honesty, you want to be so familiar with tests that you'll be able to dive right in to any of the sections as soon as the proctor starts the clock. Un/timed sections may help with this as well.
But also remember you're only a week in! After some sections/full PTs, I'm sure your testing anxiety will lessen.
all of the above.
So I think you do have a solution -taking a breather-that works for you. I also tend to stress under pressure and cannot think things through. From what I understand the problem is we are in a fight and flight mode which lets us not calm down and focus on reading the LSAT stimulus calmly. One thing to counter that is by putting your pencil down, closing your eyes, taking a breath in and exhaling very slowly. You exhale needs to be a lot longer than your inhale. This exhale lets our brain know that we are not in a fight and flight mode and it can calm down now.
I did this between every page turn for LR, between every RC passage, and every LG game. Each of these breaths takes about 7 seconds each, so on each section you are spending a total of 30 seconds doing this - a small price to pay for a calmer brain during the test. I do think it made a big difference for me on the real LSAT.
Fellow runner. Appreciated the analogy!
Great advice!
I had exactly the same problem when I first started PTing. I just froze and couldn't start. When taking PTs, I now do what @Sami does.
As @"J.Y. Ping" says, the LSAT is a psychological test. There are already pretty good advice here, so I just want to stress the importance of meditation. Meditation will help you bring calm and reduce stress. I use apps like Headspace and Calm to meditate.
Here is an episode of Sam Harris's podcast on the science of meditation: https://samharris.org/podcasts/111-science-meditation/
Experiment with warm-up routines. Also, when you're off the field, visualize things going well and being calm.
Thanks everyone for all the lovely and helpful responses so far - I'm writing my next one tomorrow; with all the advice given and taken into consideration, hopefully it will go much better!
@"Idil.Beshir" mini workout definitely helped - did one yesterday morning before I wrote a PT and was a lot more in the zone
@"Habeas Porpoise" I am also a runner so the analogy helps!
@"Alex Divine" and @lsatplaylist - going to do some timed practice sections & warmups today! Thank you!
@kimmy_m66 I already feel like the anxiety is going away after doing 1 timed PT and one untimed PT. Getting a bit more used to it. Thank you!
@Sami never thought about it like that - yesterday during a PT, I swear I barely got a breath in. This is great advice. And, on that note, thank you @akistotle for the link.
Please let us know how it goes. You're on the right track.
I did my first timed PT yesterday before I had read any of these comments. I felt less nervous/frozen but still felt like my heart was going to explode from the pressure of having it timed.
I got a 158 which is good for me; I just need to drill weak spots more + calm down a little in order to go up a few more points. I'm hoping that the next PT with all these comments in mind will help a ton.
That's a good result. Keep up the good work.
@kshutes13 I posted about this a while ago. The only thing that helped was to just push through. I never found the “trick” to get over it because my heart still races when the clock first starts but then it’s like I just forget about it before Im finished with the first page. It’ll get better the more PT you do. I was literally afraid of the clock but now I’m not paralyzed by it anymore and I just take a few breaths and hit start.