Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Exam coming: relax (and study, then relax again)

That's the advice William James gave his Harvard students over a century ago. It holds up.


How to prepare for an exam: relax

If you want really to do your best in an examination, fling away the book the day before, say to yourself, “I won’t waste another minute on this miserable thing, and I don’t care an iota whether I succeed or not.” Say this sincerely, and feel it; and go out and play, or go to bed and sleep, and I am sure the results next day will encourage you to use the method permanently. William James, “Gospel of Relaxation"

If you’ve been up all night cramming, in other words, good luck. You’ll need it. But if you’ve been diligent, have steeped yourself in the subject all semester long, and either went out to play or to an early bed the night before, your luck will be the residue of design. You’ll do fine. Relax.

But don’t try too hard to relax.
It is needless to say that that is not the way to do it. The way to do it, paradoxical as it may seem, is genuinely not to care whether you are doing it or not.


Care later. On exam day just show up and do your best.

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:40 PM CDT

    People do tend to overthink test or quizzes. We all try to cram in every last bit of information we can and end up stressing ourselves out when we should just lay back and relax. If you are studying for a test it is good to look over a few things but chances are you wont remember what you are trying to drill into your brain the night before a test

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  2. Grayson Holley2:07 PM CDT

    Section 13
    Don't procrasinate and make it relaxing. Thats the key!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cody Maness Section 117:27 AM CDT

    Cramming tends to not work because the brain cannot hold all of that information into long term memory. The material will also be quickly forgotten a few days after the test even if you remember it for the test the next day.

    - Cody Maness Section 11

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    Replies
    1. exactly. It's good to keep in mind that the reason we are here is not to receive some letter on a piece of paper but that our ultimate goal is to receive an education. 11

      Delete
    2. Section 11:
      This is very interesting and makes so much sense.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous11:40 AM CDT

    I find that if I cram a week before the test, then just review for that week, I still feel confident because I am studying, but also feel calm because I already know the information. sec 11

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  5. I find that I do the best on tests when i study up until the night before, and the night before i just clear my mind and do other stuff
    Section 11

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Section 11:
      I do best that way too, the night before I still am tempted to study though. Resting the night before can get rid of any test anxiety for the most part.

      Delete
  6. I try to take a slow and steady approach to studying by looking over the material in short study sessions over the course of a few days. Less stressful for sure!

    Section 13

    ReplyDelete

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