Only seven days left for CAT 2021 and fear and anxiety may have very well taken over candidates. The great bard William Shakespeare once said: Extreme fear can neither fight nor fly,” quite the situation of exam takers today. No reason to fear though, because, in today’s article of our ongoing CAT Tips series, expert Pranav Pant lists seven ways to overcome exam fear.
1. Mix subjects while studying: While studying, make sure that you mix subjects. This is not the time to start something new but revise the concepts. There will be some weak links in your preparation. Maybe in one of the sections, you’re not strong, or maybe in one part of a particular section, you’re not strong. So, when you study for something which you’re not strong at, you feel underconfident. In order to go away with that under confidence, keep switching subjects.
2. Allocate time for breaks: Do not study continuously for hours and hours. After every two to three hours, take a break. Maybe have a cup of tea/coffee, go out in the fresh air, perform meditation or exercise or do anything that soothes your mind.
3. Don’t compare yourself with others: Each one of us is unique. You might have taken a particular number of mock tests. Someone else must have taken a higher number of mock tests or a lower number of mock tests. Someone might be acing at one section which you’re not good at. Don’t compare yourself with anyone. Just concentrate on your preparation and give your best in the examination.
4. Don’t think about results: At this point in time, do not think about results. Some students start thinking, will I be able to get 99 percentile? Or will I be able to clear the cut-off, and so on. If you think about the results now, you won’t be able to concentrate on your preparation.
5. Spend some time with your friends and family: When you study in isolation, you start building pressure. Stress takes over your mind. Talking to your family, friends could serve as a stress buster. But, make sure it is limited to a few people only.
6. Take proper rest, sleep well: Unless you have proper rest, your mind will keep fluctuating. At least six to seven hours of sleep is important for mental peace. At the same time, eating well and on time is vital too. Don’t skip meals.
7. Keep faith in your hard work: If you have prepared sincerely and have put in effort in your studies, you will definitely do well in the examination. Just have faith in yourself.
(Pranav Pant, an MBA from FMS, Delhi University who has cracked several exams such as CDS, SBI PO, RBI Grade B, UPSC Prelims and teaches Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning is hosting FPJ-CAT Tips series exclusive for FPJ readers. A 99.96 percentiler in CAT, Pranav Pant is all geared to drive exam blues away)
