It was pouring rain. I mean like buckets of rain, and I loved it.
My mind was so clouded that the feeling of the cold rain reminded me that I was still there. I was a person. I was so done that I had trouble putting two sentences together in my mind.
I was a little worried about driving straight home. My testing center was about an hour from home.
Thankfully in the same parking lot was a Dave and Buster’s. I sat down at the bar and ate what may have been the best cheeseburger of my life, and the drank what may have been the best beer of my life. I was so exhausted and disheveled that I was happy just to have gotten across the parking lot and ordered food.
I had trouble carrying on a conversation for about three days. I had a concussion once, and it was a very similar feeling. I just wanted to sit and watch the grass grow.
I was mentally exhausted. DONE
Every email I get from someone who has just finished their exam is the same. Everyone has two things to say. “I definitely failed.” And “I can’t believe how exhausting that was.”
It’s FOUR HOURS of reading and thinking as hard as you can. We normally only practice in that setting for an hour or two max, and how often do you do even that?
When was the last time you read anything for an hour straight?
I ran a half marathon last year. I can’t imagine turning around doing full one right after crossing the finish line. I would have to do significantly more training.
You spend time learning content and practicing test questions, but you’re missing a big part of training for test day. You’re missing training your brain to focus for 4 hours.
Can you even imagine not checking Facebook or email for four whole hours???? That alone will cause you mental fatigue if you haven’t practiced.
That joke is funny because it’s true. You will have to use up some of your mental energy to resist checking your phone during your exam. Yes, it will be in a locker, but even so, your brain will keep poking you to check it. Your brain doesn’t care if it’s locked away; it’s a habit.
You need to prepare yourself for exam day. There are lots of things you can do to train. There are lots of things you can do to put yourself in the best position.
One of those is to know your key terms. If you know your key terms, it will be like slowing down to catch your breath on some questions. They will be like little rest points along the way.
And of course, the best way to learn key terms is with The Final Step.