How to achieve increased concentration during test preparation

Each of us in life has repeatedly had to take all sorts of tests and exams - at school, to get a driver's license, when entering the university or to language courses, etc. Today we will talk about how not to "burn out" for those who are preparing for passing GMAT .

For those who are happily ignorant of what it is, we will explain - this is such a standard test that determines a person’s ability to study in business schools, such as MBA, for example. Almost all serious business schools have adopted this test and pass through it all who claim to be students in institutions of this type. Based on the explanation, we can conclude that the people preparing for this test are very purposeful, with developed analytical skills. However, nothing human is alien to them either — they, too, cannot always keep their attention focused on the right level, panic and simply “burn out”.
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Therefore, today we will consider a number of strategies aimed precisely at increasing the level of concentration of attention and improving the ability to focus on the most important things without harming our own psyche. Moreover, these strategies are very versatile and are not limited to preparing for an important test.

1. Active presence

Remember the phrases of our teachers - “Enough of the crows outside the window to count!”, “Don't dwell in the clouds!”? Each of us is sometimes confronted with the fact that being physically present, for example, at a lecture or a meeting, you are mentally in a completely different place with other people.

Those. we are not actively present, not involved in what is happening. The same thing can happen to us when we try to read and remember the necessary information. This effect is very succinctly characterized by the following phrase: "I look at the book, but I see a fig."

Agree, sometimes we sit for hours on one page and cannot remember a formula or rules. Or vice versa: quickly scroll through the pages, but ask us about what was there - a problem will arise. Our main task is to keep attention in the right direction. Kansas State University professors advise their students to do this simple exercise:

- Focus on the task and keep it in attention as long as possible.
- As soon as thoughts begin to disperse to the opposite side of the task, immediately tell yourself: "I must be here and now."
- Return all thoughts to the actual problem.
- Do this whenever the attention begins to "float."

2. Be proactive in taking care of your own health.

It is very easy to say that in any circumstances it is necessary to take care of your own health, that you need to spare the nervous system, or that your own well-being should always come first.

Let's be frank: there are few people who would say on the eve of an important exam: “I will not prepare, but I will go to the gym, then to the pool, then take a good sleep, tomorrow I will schedule a check-up at the dentist and so on!”

What kind of pools, when to the desired goal (to become, for example, a student of a business school), just a little bit remains ?! The very thought of this seems blasphemous to us.

And nevertheless ... Even in these days of the highest tension of brain activity, we must find time for useful and pleasant habits. It has been proven that a slightly increased level of arousal or stress helps to make the right decisions quickly and mobilize all the forces of the body to solve the problem.

The key word in this sentence is “a bit”. As soon as this level has passed for “a little”, the reverse (malicious) reactions begin. Our task is to learn sometimes to relax and give ourselves rest, and if possible to restore the resources spent.

To do this, plan yourself every day at least one pleasant / useful / relaxing action. Set a reminder or an alarm clock and, as soon as you hear the agreed signal, drop everything, whatever you do before, and dedicate this time to yourself. Moreover, all the scheduled time! You shouldn’t spoil everything with the phrase “Well, okay, I’m looking like 10 minutes and back, learn!” Now you are a priority. Learn to "recharge."

3. Define a special working space in the house

The test organizers traced an interesting pattern. If the conditions in which the exam is being held are different from those in which the examinee passed the test test (for example, the room was more comfortable, additional breaks for snack or toilet appeared, the oral part of the exam was not at the table, but in cozy chairs; there was a pleasant background music), many students demonstrate worse than expected results.

Why it happens? After all, conditions have improved? To avoid this, do the following: although you are under the influence of pre-exam stress, try to find the strength to properly arrange your workplace. Why is it important?

First, you can organize the workplace in such a way that no objects can inadvertently direct your thoughts in a different direction. Remove, for example, from the table a photograph taken during the last vacation at sea, or cute souvenir gifts donated by a loved one.

The pleasant memories caused by stopping your gaze on them will easily (and, maybe, for a long time) force out the basic rules of setting a SMART task or the principles of forming business strategies out of your head.

Secondly, your work will "learn to" live in a specific, specially designated place for your home, and will not begin to encroach on neighboring territories. As soon as you leave the “work corner”, the “working” thoughts will also leave your head. And soon you will learn to disconnect from business when the “fun hour” came, because life is not only the constant conquest of new heights.

The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, the founder of the TESTutor company.