The largest national-level joint entrance exam for MBA – CAT 2021 is around the corner and it is very natural for students preparing for the CAT exam to be under stress. The CAT 2021 exam is scheduled to be on 28th November 2021 which is only a few days away. As the exam approaches, CAT aspirants, especially those appearing for the first time, must be under immense pressure to perform well. Several reports, journals, and surveys have been published on the impact of stress on students’ academic performance. It is a proven fact that taking a lot of stress before the exam can highly affect students’ mental & physical health and hamper their performance.
Examination stress should be dealt with wisely as it may cause your long time efforts and hard work to go in vain at the time of the exam. The MBA entrance exams like CAT and SAJEE (St. Andrews Joint Entrance Exam) play an important role in the career of students who want to pursue an MBA. It may prove to be a turning point in the lives of many students as this exam holds great value for students seeking admission in the most prestigious MBA institutes. Thus, to help students overcome stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights before the exam, we will discuss 5 effective ways for stress management in this blog.
1. Stay Motivated & Have Faith in Yourself
The first step to everlasting success is to believe in oneself. When it comes to dealing with stress before your CAT 2021 exam, the first thing you must bear in mind is that you have come so far and you have the capability to go further. Keep yourself focused on your ultimate goal and remind yourself every day why you have been working so hard for so long. When you start feeling anxious or burned out, you can watch motivational lectures available on the internet to boost your spirit. It is very natural for one to feel unprepared or under-confident before the exam but you must fight those thoughts and shift your attention to something that motivates you, be it reading, talking to a friend, or watching a video.
2. Schedule & Plan Your Preparation
Planning and strategizing your CAT preparation can not only help you complete the syllabus in time but also enables you to stay stress-free just before the exam. Since planning and scheduling is an important part of management, it would be beneficial for aspiring MBA students to incorporate proper management strategies into their lifestyles. Plan each day and try to follow the schedule. We suggest students not get overwhelmed by studying continuously for long hours. Make an estimate of the time left for the exam and the remaining topics to be prepared and accordingly strategize your study plan so you can timely cover all the topics and avoid stress.
3. Make Time for Recreational/ Relaxation Activities
You might be putting in the maximum effort now that the CAT 2021 exam is just a few days away. Students tend to spend days and nights studying before the exam and that can exhaust them on the day of the day and hamper their performance. Therefore, it is important for students to take out some time off their study schedule to relax and relieve stress. One of the most effective stress buster techniques is to practice meditation or Yoga. Meditation can help you stay focused and relaxed. You can also spend some time exercising or working out in the gym. Another way to de-stress before the CAT exam is to spend some time out in the open air. You can go out for a walk when you feel overwhelmed or when anxiety starts building up. It would help you regain your composure and clear your negative thoughts.
4. Get Good Sleep to Stay Calm & Composed
One of the biggest mistakes that students make while preparing for the CAT exam is that they sacrifice their sleep to study. Research shows that sleep deprivation can lead to a lack of concentration and focus. Getting enough and good sleep is of utmost importance for students preparing for the CAT examination as this examination evaluates students on the basis of their ability to reason. To be able to reason to the best of their potential, students must be in a calm and composed state which can be attained through a good sleep cycle. Moreover, peaceful sleep is considered to be one of the most effective stress-management techniques. Getting good sleep can reduce stress to a great extent and enable students to be in a good state of mental health. Thus, it is advisable for CAT aspirants to take proper rest and maintain a good sleeping cycle.
5. Don’t Solve Mock Papers at the Last Moment
Keep your last-minute preparation as light as you can. It is highly advisable to not solve mock papers or start with any new topic at the last moment in order to avoid unnecessary stress. If you set out to solve any mock or sample paper a night or two before the exam and get stuck on a question, it will make you lose your self-confidence and give way to self-doubt which would put you in an extremely stressful condition. Instead, you can do a revision of the already studied concepts and go through the questions that you have solved earlier. Starting a new topic at the last minute is a very bad idea as you might not be able to cover it properly and that would only build pressure. It’s better to trust your preparation and stay as positive as you can during the last few days left for the CAT 2021 exam.
Conclusion
Stress is something you will have to deal with at several important phases of your career and you must never let it overpower you. CAT 2021 exam plays a significant role in paving the career path of the students who wish to pursue an MBA and which is why students tend to overdo themselves while preparing for it. With the above-mentioned techniques, students can deal with stress that engulfs them before their entrance exam.
Students who are constantly worried about their future and want to take admission to a renowned MBA institute can opt for St. Andrews Institute of Technology & Management, Gurgaon. SAITM provides the best-in-class MBA program to students and gives wings to students’ big dreams. SAITM’s MBA course is finely structured to provide students with a top-notch quality education. You can visit SAITM’s admission page to get more information.