Nervous For The Bar Exam? Here Are Five Tips To Calm Your Nerves!
Nervous For The Bar Exam? Here Are Five Tips To Calm Your Nerves!
Worrying about the bar exam might be worse than the exam itself! Before you sit for the bar, you will run a gamut of emotions, with nervousness being one of the primary ones. So, if you are nervous for the bar exam, here are five tips to help calm your nerves for exam day!
Nervous For The Bar Exam? Here Are Five Tips To Calm Your Nerves!
1. Don’t engage with people who heighten your stress level.
If you are really nervous for the bar exam, the last thing you need is someone who compounds how you feel. Overbearing or anxious friends and classmates will only negatively affect your mindset.
So, if you find interacting with certain people only makes you feel more anxious, try not to engage with them. Avoid joining their study groups, and stay away from their social media pages. By avoiding these triggers, you can more easily control your own feelings.
2. Channel your nervousness into being excited for the exam!
It’s impossible not to have some emotion about the bar exam, and in most people that translates to nervousness. However, this does not have to be the case. Nervousness and excitement are so inextricably entwined in our minds that it is possible to change nervousness to excitement. Read this blog post to see how this can actually help you score higher on the exam.
3. Find a healthy outlet for your nervousness/stress.
Sometimes, nervous energy just needs an outlet. So, find an activity that you can channel it into. For many, exercise is a great stress reliever because it helps relax the mind and allows the body to use up nervous energy.
However, if you are nervous for the bar exam, don’t think you have to start suddenly running or lifting weights if that is not your thing. Many people also find hobbies like knitting, crossword puzzles, and reading to be good outlets for stress. Find what works for you, and make space for it every day,
4. Develop a study schedule or to do list for each day.
Many people who are nervous for the bar exam find developing a bar exam study schedule really helps reduce their stress. A schedule allows you to both control what you cover in a day, and tick things of a list once you complete them.
This will help you see how productive you are, and stop you from thinking you are not making any progress in your studies. Structuring your day will also help you avoid feeling overwhelmed, which is a root cause of nervousness in many people.
5. Have a post-bar exam event to look forward to.
For some people, this might be sleeping for a week straight. For others, they might travel or plan some kind of post bar exam vacation.
Whatever your goal, have a post bar exam event to look forward. Having something really positive after the bar exam can take some energy away from nervousness and redirect it into anticipation. Then, instead of constantly worrying about the exam, you will be able to channel at least some of that emotion into excitement for your plans afterward.
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