rolling with the punches

[ghostdog]

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I m having a hard time letting go after an exam.

For example i had a final last week and i still don't know how I did. I've been stressing about it and would i pass the class, etc. However I had a quiz that was 10 percent of my grade Monday but over the weekend I kept feeling down about the last test. I ended up staying up way too late the night before, getting sick, and bombing my quiz with stupid mistakes . I mean real stupid--I wrote the right answers on my booklet but the answers i marked didnt include the right answer. wtf? too tired to focus i guess.

luckily its only 10% and the class just started, so I can make it up. But the above scenario happens all the time, beating myself up and stressing.


I just want to know, how do you guys do it? how do you move on right after an exam is over, and focus on the next thing--especially if you don't know how you did or you didn't do as well as you wanted?

any advice would be appreciated. I'm not a gunner, I just want to pass and focus on now not the past.

 

[FrickenhugeMD]

alcohol usually does the trick for me

 

[mjl1717]

If you are Rolling with punches you are doing good.... I see people in this field recieve mostly body shots with an occasional jab to the head.. Usually they lethargically get up with a lot of eye blinking if they are knocked down..

 

[leahmaria]

Honestly, I had a somewhat similar problem (staying focused on/worried about exams after they were over w/), and what I ended up doing was making a list after the test of the questions that I got wrong/thought I got wrong. I allow myself some time after the test (that night) to look up answers, and then I just have the list, so I have an idea of how I did on the test. (Obviously, I occasionally don't remember all the questions I struggled w/ and I end up including some questions on my list that I thought I got wrong and I actually end up getting right, but I'm normally somewhat close).

I started this after an anatomy exam last year that I thought I did terribly on...I kept thinking up of questions that I got wrong, so I finally decided to write them down so I could stop worrying about them. Turns out, there weren't all that many questions that I got wrong...I just kept thinking of the same ones over and over again--I ended up getting a 90% on that exam, and there I was, all worried for nothing!

So, I get some friendly teasing about keeping a list, and my friends can't believe that I can remember so many of the questions, but it really keeps me more sane after a test. And I'm more prepared for the score when I do get it back.

 

[Abilene85]

I wallow in self-pity for a few hours, then try my best to stop thinking about it, realize that there's nothing I can do once the test is complete, and make it my mission to do my best on the next task and not let a potential mess-up mess me up even more. My motivation to forget about the first test mostly comes from my refusal to let it lower my grade even more by distracting me on the second test.

 

[cpants]

Try to change your mindset to a feeling of freedom after the exam. Spending a long time worrying won't change your last performance and can only hurt your future performance. There is nothing you can do once the exam is taken. Your job is to relax, recover, and, once you take a break, start preparing for the next task.

 

[confuse]

That's exactly what I do. I wrote down all the questions that I'm not sure and look them up afterwards so I usually know what my grade will be right after an exam. It doesn't help me in terms of judging how well I do compared to the class since all of our exams are graded on a strict curve, but it helps me judge internally how well I applied my knowledge. If I study hard and all of the questions that I missed are ones that I would have missed anyway, then I'm happy. If I made many stupid mistakes, then I kicked myself for an hour or two and get right down to work so I can prove on the next exam that I'm better (though I usually end up making stupid mistakes on every exam 🙄)

Honestly, I had a somewhat similar problem (staying focused on/worried about exams after they were over w/), and what I ended up doing was making a list after the test of the questions that I got wrong/thought I got wrong. I allow myself some time after the test (that night) to look up answers, and then I just have the list, so I have an idea of how I did on the test. (Obviously, I occasionally don't remember all the questions I struggled w/ and I end up including some questions on my list that I thought I got wrong and I actually end up getting right, but I'm normally somewhat close).

 

[OncoCaP]

I m having a hard time letting go after an exam.

For example i had a final last week and i still don't know how I did. I've been stressing about it and would i pass the class, etc. However I had a quiz that was 10 percent of my grade Monday but over the weekend I kept feeling down about the last test. I ended up staying up way too late the night before, getting sick, and bombing my quiz with stupid mistakes . I mean real stupid--I wrote the right answers on my booklet but the answers i marked didnt include the right answer. wtf? too tired to focus i guess.

luckily its only 10% and the class just started, so I can make it up. But the above scenario happens all the time, beating myself up and stressing.


I just want to know, how do you guys do it? how do you move on right after an exam is over, and focus on the next thing--especially if you don't know how you did or you didn't do as well as you wanted?

any advice would be appreciated. I'm not a gunner, I just want to pass and focus on now not the past.

Do something you enjoy ... give yourself the time you need to shift gears. Maybe exercise. See a movie. Shop. Spend time with friends. Study a little bit less. When it comes to studying the new material, you might want to study the most interesting parts first and as you get back into your groove, go back and pick up the more mundane parts. You are learning the important skill of how to deal with stress.