Test Anxiety and Procrastination

Do you tend to put things off until the last minute? Are you more likely to pull an all-nighter than you are to spend a couple of hours studying at the library every day? If so, it should be no surprise that you're reading articles about how to manage test anxiety. Procrastinators have more trouble with severe test anxiety than people who study regularly over time.

Here's the hard truth - to shake test anxiety, you need to stop procrastinating now. Here are some tips:

Set a timer. One of the best ways to beat procrastination is to head into your kitchen or use your cell phone and set a timer for 15 minutes. Then go! Make yourself study until the timer goes off, with no other activities allowed. It's only 15 minutes - we all can do anything for that long, right?

Use a calendar. Pull out your day planner or cell phone calendar and make a schedule for yourself. If you have several weeks before the exam, plan to study for a reasonable timeframe every weekday. Then keep that appointment as you would an important meeting at work or with the doctor.

Start the day with a list. Have you ever climbed into bed at night, wondering where the day went when so many tasks remained undone? Right before bed is the perfect time to make a list of what you need to do the next day. Consult your calendar, especially if you have been using it to plan study times. Then put the list in a place where you'll see it. When you wake up in the morning, you'll know exactly what needs to be done.

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