What are some tips for reducing test anxiety?
Herbal medicine, meditation, etc
Generally recommended practices (not sure if scientifically tested for test situations):
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Practice papers - the more you're accustomed to the test situation, the less anxiety you can have. In particular, exam practice and exam strategy.
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Have better exam strategy - this can make up 40-60% of your performance; tests aren't just about your knowledge and application. You need to perform and need to work smart more than you work hard.
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Think strategically - if you're thinking strategically, you know how to score the most marks. You need to do this in seconds and be able to make quick decisions
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Revise intellegently - there's a smart and effective way of revising, and then there's the hard way of revising; know what works for you
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Meditation - something like 15 minutes at the start of the day
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Be in the state of flow - I refer it to being "in the zone"; it reduces mind chatter and puts your energy where it needs to be; you can more or less train yourself to get into this state in 2 minutes (I take about 5)
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Do a practice paper the morning of your exam - do a few practice questions to get your brain into gear and wake yourself up
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Learn from other people who have done the same tests and got high grades in them; there's a quote in there about how the intelligent learn from their own mistakes, but the wise learn from the mistakes of others
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Talk to people about it; usually from those who have done the test and have achieved good results from it
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Focus on the first 3 metres in front of you; anxiety can be about the repercussions after the test as opposed on the test; if you can't focus on the test, the negative reperucssions are more likely. At any moment in time, you can only focus on what's in front of you (not saying you should not keep your eye on the prize, but if you can't overcome the obstacle in front of you, you can't get to the prize)
I think it's key to appreciate that if you have done absolutely everything in your power and knowledge (as well as actively looking for these answers), you should appreciate that you have done your best and there's nothing to regret (if you haven't, then there's plenty to regret and be anxious about) e.g. if the test is to move a mountain and you have done all you could to look into the problem but still you can't think of any way to do so, then you have done all you could (nothing to regret).
The other thing you should also need to do is to keep things in perspective i.e. don't make mountains out of molehills. If the test isn't absolutely critical to everything in your life, then it's not critical to everything in your life.
Intellectucally, the state to bring out the best in you tends to be when you're most calm, where you can think the most clearly and are the most aware. Anxiety puts you in fight or flight mode, and that would narrow your awareness and frame of mind.
The only one who can understand you and take care of you, is you, yourself
So you must take care of yourself.
Do you mean that you always rush through a test for fear of running out of time? Or is it before the test.
