Reward yourself from time to time with positive activities

How can you do it? Besides taking frequent breaks, that is! It's good to start by rewarding yourself from time to time.

Hyderabad: So you are completely immersed in your preparation for the upcoming State government recruitment tests. If studying continuously and making use of every waking minute of your day is your idea of a ‘great preparation’, think again. All work and no play makes anyone dull. In order to retain (and recall) as much information as you’re reading or revising every day, you also need to give your mind and body the much-needed rest and time to rejuvenate.

How can you do it? Besides taking frequent breaks, that is! It’s good to start by rewarding yourself from time to time. For instance, when you feel that you’ve grasped a particular topic that you were finding extremely difficult to master over the past few days, you can reward yourself by taking a longer break and indulging in your favourite activity such as watching the ongoing Asia Cup cricket match, binge-watch 3-4 episodes of that series you’ve been putting off or treat yourself to your most favourite dessert.

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Similarly, you can utilise your break time to indulge in alternative activities. You can play a round of that multi-player mobile game with your friends. If you’re in the habit of reading, keep aside the syllabus books for a while and pick up a racy thriller. If you enjoy cooking, whip up a tasty snack for yourself. Indulging in activities other than just studying will help you unwind better and feel reenergised to get back to the task at hand with a fresh mind/approach.

If you’re among those who feel very stressed about exams and worry about preparation, then try to distract yourself in a creative way. But, if you keep trying hard to forget about that difficult chapter or the low score in your mock test, remember it’s only going to make it that much harder to forget it. Instead, try to engage your mind on something positive and creative. For example, you can look at a painting and try to separate the colour scheme the artist employed. Or, you can try solving a crossword or sudoku puzzle with complete attention. Or, you could even try to read/watch a murder mystery and see if you can catch the killer before the detective does.

These little things can act as positive reinforcements and will help your brain to work wonders.