How to Destress During Civil Service Exam Preparation

Stress is inevitable during exams, especially when there is too much at stake, in this case, your career and passion.

The NYC Civil Service Exams are the most competitive and challenging exams with thousands of applicants each year. In addition to the massive competition, there are many prerequisites and requirements to ace the exam.

Stress can be a great motivator to push you to be productive. However, sometimes it can quickly turn overwhelming, affecting your exam preparation in different ways such as less productivity, distractions, mental exhaustion, and forgetting things. As a result, you can’t put your full potential into the exams.

To help you prevent all that, we have listed proven tips that can help you destress during civil service exam preparation:

Eat Healthier

While preparing for exams, most students forget to eat on time, and then they binge on junk food or sugary treats. It might seem to destress you for the time being, but in reality, it’ll increase your anxiety.

A healthy and balanced diet will keep your stress levels down and give you the energy to study well.

Take Care of your Body

It’s easy to lose track of time while studying, and you remain still in the same place for the whole day. It leads to increased exhaustion, and you are unable to learn. That’s why it’s essential to take care of your body and get some physical activity done.

Even if you are extremely busy, get your workout in to relieve all the stress. Yoga and meditation are other great ways to combat the anxiety and pressure of exams. If you can’t do all this, go for a walk to relax your mind and feel calm.

Create a Routine

Creating a routine makes managing everything relatively easy. You might feel all over the place if you don’t have a checklist to follow. So before starting, create a plan that works out the best for you. Prioritize tasks according to their importance and ensure you incorporate some healthy activities.

Another exciting thing about checklists and schedules is that it makes you feel in control when you check all the boxes. Being in control can boost confidence and reduce anxiety significantly.

Set Realistic Goals

Instead of thinking that you will cover the weeks-long syllabus in two days, be kind to yourself and set realistic goals. If you put too much pressure on yourself and set unachievable goals, your stress will be at its peak during preparation.

Don’t Lose Sleep

It’s quite common to pull an all-nighter for exam preparation, one of the most common causes of stress. Your mind and body need 6–8 hours of sleep to function, don’t deprive it of that.During your civil service exam preparation, sleep on time and for adequate hours. If you can’t sleep for 6-8 hours straight, take power naps between studying. Power naps are great to boost brain health and memory. Following a good sleep schedule will automatically reduce stress and increase productivity throughout the day.

Take Healthy Breaks

Studying the whole day will do you no good if your brain stops receiving any information.

Taking breaks is as important as studying because you can’t constantly feed information to your brain; even if you do, you will most likely forget it. The best way to manage stress is by doing something good to unwind and relax.Stay Away from Social Media

We won’t recommend you go on social media and scroll your feeds while taking breaks. You may think that the harmful scrolling will take your stress away; however, it increases it.

Social media can cause FOMO (fear of missing out), which stresses you out and demotivates you to go back to studying. It is essential to take a break from your social media activities while preparing for your exam.

Use Positive Affirmations

As hundreds of people are taking the exam, most of whom can be more educated or experienced, you might feel intimidated and pressured. Positive affirmations like “I can do this”, “I will perform my best in the exam,” etc., can help you eliminate self-doubt and regain confidence.

Saying these positive affirmations each day can put you in the right mood to give your best. They are pretty effective in decreasing stress levels and anxiety.

Try Breathing Exercises

We tend to take short, shallow breaths when stressed, further aggravating it. Breathing exercises are a proven method of eliminating stress and regaining focus.

Take deep breaths, inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Do this for a few minutes, and you will notice yourself become calm. The breathing exercises will also increase your concentration power.

Believe in Yourself

Whether it is your first time or a repeated attempt, having faith in yourself is crucial to perform well in the exam. Don’t question your abilities; keep reminding yourself that you are strong and determined. Instead of focusing on the exam’s results, put your best in the present and prepare well for the exam.

Even if you were calm during the preparation, the final day could bring a lot of unwanted stress and nervousness. Good research, practice, and strategy can help you remain confident even during the exam. For that, you need a preparatory school like Civil Service Success.

About Civil Service Success

We have experienced and skilled instructors on board who have taught hundreds of civil service aspirants, most of whom are now successfully employed. By registering with our school, you can get access to expert tips, valuable insights, and prep classes for civil services.

Civil service exams are different for each job. Therefore, our services include NYC Sanitation Officer exam classes, NYS Court Officer exam prep, Suffolk County Police test, and more. You can explore our website for more information or register to get started.