Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time had a routine that he stuck to religiously before every race. He would look at the camera, make funny gestures, go down on his knees, make the sign of the cross, point to the heavens and then dazzle the crowd with his excruciating speed.
The fact is most sports men and women (entertainers too) have a routine that they engage in before they carry out their ‘performance’. This gets them in the zone and prepares their minds and bodies for peak performance.
Taking an exam is in many ways a performance – developing a routine before sitting one is essential for success. It wasn’t until my second to last year of high school that I recognized the importance of a pre-exam routine. Before I would do what everyone does – nervously quiz myself and those around me about aspects of the content being tested. I found that this wasn’t helpful and often left me doubtful before entering the examination room.
I recognized that I needed at least 30 minutes before the exam to be by myself – me alone and a summarized version of my notes. If it was possible I would listen to inspiring music (for me that was dancehall gospel). The first 15 minutes would be spent mentally reviewing the content that’s expected to come on the exam, if there was something that I could not recall, I would look at my summarized notes and calmly put the information to memory.
The second 15 minutes was crucial, it was here that I truly got in the zone. I would spend this time in visualization. I would envision myself successfully working through problems. Not only this, I anticipated problems stumping me and visualized how I would handle such an event. This gave me a high level of confidence as I was mentally ready for whatever the exam threw at me.
When I entered the exam room and the invigilator started to issue the exam papers, I would say a prayer and ask God to bring back to memory all I had studied and to help me to be successful. Once I finished praying I was fully in the zone – confident and primed for success.
That was my routine, it worked for me. However your routine may be different. We are all different and therefore may require varying routines to get us in the zone. If you don’t already have one, then you can spend some time experimenting until you find one that works.
Once you find it, stick to it. Don’t follow the crowd and get caught up in the frenzy of the moment. Use your routine to quite your mind and body and get yourself focused to successfully complete the task at hand.
Unleashing your true academic potential 