Test day time management for Step2CK

[Captopril]

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Hi guys, I have my CK on Tuesday. I took Step 1 eons ago, so I forgot how I managed the test-day clock for that exam. I was wondering if anyone had a good layout for how to divide the blocks. I already know to skip the tutorial.

I was thinking to do 2 blocks at a time, with progressively increasing breaktimes:

Block 1
Block 2
::15 min::
Block 3
Block 4
::20 min::
Block 5
Block 6
::20 min::
Block 7
Block 8

Do you guys think this is feasible? I don't want to find out mid-test that this setup has basically made me burnout.

Prompt replies are appreciated, since my test is about 48 hours away!

 

[PistolPete]

Sounds good. I've had classmates do that and it worked well for them.

I will probably do 5 minutes minimum in between breaks. Probably 5 min break between 1 and 2, then 5 between 3 and 4, then 20 min for lunch. Then block 5 and 5 minute break, block 6, 10 min break, block 7 10 min break and then block 8.

 

[Captopril]

Sounds good. I've had classmates do that and it worked well for them.

I will probably do 5 minutes minimum in between breaks. Probably 5 min break between 1 and 2, then 5 between 3 and 4, then 20 min for lunch. Then block 5 and 5 minute break, block 6, 10 min break, block 7 10 min break and then block 8.

Awesome, thanks for the reply. I was considering 5 min refresher breaks btwn blocks, but I feel like 75% of that time is spent checking in and out of the room.

 

[greg1184]

That is the best way to manage your time. I regretfully took a long lunch in the middle of step 1 and struggled to stay awake with a "food coma.". For step 2 I took your scenario and ate an apple or banana between each section. I held up great.

 

[Captopril]

That is the best way to manage your time. I regretfully took a long lunch in the middle of step 1 and struggled to stay awake with a "food coma.". For step 2 I took your scenario and ate an apple or banana between each section. I held up great.

Who's scenario are you referring to? Mine with the sets of 2 blocks? Or PistolPete's with a break after every block?

 

[greg1184]

Who's scenario are you referring to? Mine with the sets of 2 blocks? Or PistolPete's with a break after every block?

Yours.

 

[Captopril]

Yours.

Oh ok, awesome. I guess I'll try it out, and if it feels too exhausting towards the end, I'll do some quick calculations to split up my break time

 

[PistolPete]

Well, I was going to spend the 5 minutes at the station without actually checking out, but on second thought, I'll probably try Captopril's approach.

 

[shivasHeroLike]

i plan on skipping the tutorial to add 15 mins to my break time for a total of 1 hour.
I'm also streaky test taker and don't wanna get slammed/discouraged after the first block to which it may dictate the mood for the rest of the day..
so i'm gonna take breaks every block regardless to reflect, self pep talk, & motivate myself to kill the next block...

so here's my strategy:

block1
5
block2
5
block3
5
block4
30 mins Lunch Break
block5
5
block6
5
block7
5
block8

 

[psychked]

i would agree with breaks after every block. but instead of having a long break for lunch. progressively increase break time before the final few blocks. i would suggest snacking on high glucose sort of stuff (like pieces of chocolate) every break throughout, along with sips of coffee and water. that will kill the hunger and give the brain the glucose it needs. where i tested for step1 check in check out took 2 minutes tops.

 

[Vergie]

I took quick 5 minute breaks during each block to ease my mind a bit. reading hte long stems wears you out imo. It might be worth it to keep going if you're "feeling the grove" but I didn't because I was scared I would get 10 questions in and my brain would shut down.

I had a little container of fruit, a protein bar, and a pepsi I got from walmart that worked pretty well for me. Also, make sure you at least test the audio in your headphones.