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Anything I could say is better said in this video:
Coffee. For real. Assuming your body can take it, caffeine peaks in your blood stream after about 45 minutes of consumption, and it only takes about 5 minutes to start working. I plan on having some about 20 minutes before the exam, and more during the break. That being said, I will do the same when I practice. Also, make sure you are practicing with 5-part exams to build your stamina. The more you practice, the less mental effort it will take. I would also suggest using some techniques to calm yourself down during the break, since anxiety is a crazy energy waster.
Books and meditating! Reading 1-2 hours per day can do wonders.
I know there's a serious time crunch, but even taking 5 seconds to look away from the test, close your eyes, and take some deep breaths (maybe even while giving yourself a pep talk about getting psyched about focusing!) does wonders. It's basically like a very mini- brain break!
Do longer prep tests to build endurance. I mostly Pt'd by taking one 4 section test with no breaks, a 15 minute break, and then another 4 section test.
Endurance wasn't a problem on the real thing. Instead it felt sort of short and light.
@"Seeking Perfection" Did you also improve your scores by doing that?
Why do you think you can't focus? I find that people have all types of problems when it comes to focusing and, depending on your source of problem, there are different solutions.
@"Alex Divine" I have this moment feeling dizzy and zoning out. When this happens, I can't focus. I also start to doubt myself if the answer is correct or not.
I improved my score from a 172 to a 180 (and my PT average from a 173 to a 177), but the improvement may have been more the result of the combination of foolproofing logic games which I did in the same time period and just blind reviewing so many tests than the gain in endurance.
I recommend closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and visualize scanning down your body so you ground yourself in the present moment. Gently start by focusing on your head, and then move downwards to the throat, chest, stomach, knees, and feet each for a count of about 2 seconds.
@"Seeking Perfection" You are perfection.
Nope, I still missed 1 on games. But, I got close enough.
Give your brain a break relative to how long you've been studying for. I can usually go for 2 hours straight and then I need a little Youtube break in between (10-15 min). I've also realized that I have to have to pack snacks or I'm completely done.
Give yourself 3 hours and complete two LSAT exams untimed. Two this for three weeks. If your endurance doesn't improve, I owe you a coffee. LOL
This is interesting... So you're doing the exams untimed, but trying to complete 8 sections in 3 hours? So giving yourself 22 minutes per section, on average?
I like the advice on just breathing during the exam. I recently started freaking out on a hard SA question on PT62 and just took 20 seconds to take some deep breaths, close my eyes, and relax. It made a big difference.
3 hours is approximate. Do the section time as stated in the section instructions. The purpose is to build endurance in an extreme way. Two exams in 3 hours is alot (and your head will hurt).
But then 1 exam for 3 hours will feel like a breeze.
Warning: This is very extreme.
One exercise could be separate timed sections.
Practice practice practice.
I used to have a huge issue with focusing but it went away with more practice. Challenge yourself. if you do a 4 section PT don't take any breaks. If you do a 5 section PT either don't take a break or take like a 1 or 2 min break instead of the 15 min break. Maybe even try a 6 section PT with 3 sections-15 min break- 3sections. This will all suck at first but will help not only with focus but with getting over fatigue from the test. I've done all of these and I'm more focused and barely ever get fatigue after doing a PT now. It takes time and does SUCK at first but you get used to it.
I know someone who used to do back to back PTs 4 sections -- 15 min break -- 4 sections and his fatigue level was almost nonexistent, his focus was good and he said test day felt like a joke. this may be a bit excessive but just throwing it out there in case you experimental with any of this.
best of luck!
dude...
@StephenASmith
It works out to 2hrs 20 mins, 15 minute break 2hrs 20 mins.
5 hrs of PTing on a Saturday won't kill you.
Of course getting through the blind reviews the same day so you can find out your scores makes for a long day of LSAT prep. But you won't have to worry about endurance at all.
I agree with the majority of other posters, in that practicing for a longer amount of time definitely helps with stamina-- or at least it did for me. I am also pretty susceptible to zoning out and being unfocused if I'm not constantly vigilant about what I am reading. Logic games is no problem (usually) since it is more tactile, but let me share what I do when I often become unfocused on RC/LR:
Reading Comprehension:
If a passage bores me (typically the art-based ones), I try my best to make it the most interesting thing possible. More often than not the material in a passage is new to me, so I try to take it as a learning experience and constantly say to myself "Huh, I didn't know that!" or "Why would people criticize Kate Chopin? Her writing style is awesome!" or something. In addition to that, I am a notetaker and I constantly underline/search/summarize key statements and relate them to other key statements. Latching on to transition words when you are unfocused is also very helpful in getting back on track. I would say don't do the note thing if that's just not your style, but at the very least it helps refocus and gives you a cheat sheet for the questions.
Logical Reasoning:
For me, these are my worst sections just because going from one argument to the next can be taxing. Unlike LG/RC, you don't have a solid body of information you have been working with for multiple questions. I have seen a great improvement since my diagnostic, though, by 1) identifying the question stem, and 2) making NOTES! Looking at the question stem and consciously saying "Okay, this is a sufficient/necessary/RRE/MBT... etc." grabs my attention and shifts my focus from the previous question to that specific one. From there, if I find myself lacking focus or understanding, I do the same thing as RC and begin circling key terms that play a part in the argument. Latch on to transition words to help identify the conclusion, or make diagrams that help illustrate what exactly is going on. (Even when it isn't conditional logic, I find myself diagramming, typically in MBT questions.)
Basically, increase that stamina by getting used to taking a 5-section test, and then be engaged with every question. Having something concrete to use as a checkpoint in a question or passage is extremely helpful. This is what has worked for me (someone with a very short attention span), but ultimately just find what you can latch to in a passage/stimulus and I think you will beef up your stamina in no time.