What to do if you are not in the mood during a PT? Forum

[CACAC]

Here's the thing. I turned up the lsat proctor app, and I started to work on today's planned PT. Section 1 was LG, and I got stuck on the first game, then the second, the third, and in the end I've only finished the last one. I know something must go wrong there, since I seldom lose points in LG. Then here goes section 2. It was LR and I read and reread a lot. I think I just can't finish it whatsoever.
I guess maybe it's time for me to stop and relax. But I'm wondering what to do during the real test? You can give up at any time during your PT, but it only makes you feel worse when you are doing the real thing.
So, whether keeping doing the PT while adjusting yourself is better than having the "quit" habit which will ruin your real test?

[Li'l Sebastian]

You should only PT if your in the mindset to PT.

You're not gonna get any meaningful work in if you do. Take a break, and breathe. Then come back to it as soon as you're mentally engaged/in the mood.

[Hand]

On the real thing, just take a quick bathroom break and rub one out

ETA you can do the same thing on your PTs

[LitigatingLiar]

I guess maybe it's time for me to stop and relax. But I'm wondering what to do during the real test? You can give up at any time during your PT, but it only makes you feel worse when you are doing the real thing.

You'll be fine on the real deal. You might be burned out from studying in which case you need a break or maybe you're brain is so tired from it that it just shut off. Even if it's the later you'll be fine. That happened to me heading into December. After several months of studying I guess my mind had enough but on test day I was fine. I would have scored just fine had it not been for that third logic game. It threw me off my game and I totally bombed the fourth game and it affected my fifth section.

[landshoes]

I always just kept going once I started a PT for two reasons:

1. It was already basically burnt as a PT.
2. The mental game is important. It's worth it to have some shitty tests and realize it's not the end of the world. IME you usually get within your typical PT range--it feels harder because it's a harder test. It's important to be chill in case that happens on the real thing.

[GreenEggs]

Keep going and take the score. You won't be able to take a break during the actual exam, so don't do it in practice.

[somethingElse]

Keep going and take the score. You won't be able to take a break during the actual exam, so don't do it in practice.

Yup exactly. This happened to me multiple times throughout my studying and each time I just powered through. It is a prime opportunity to teach yourself to focus/relax a bit. Its similar to getting super anxious during a PT - if you're able to recognize what's going on (i.e. realizing you're not in the mood or really nervous) and choose to calm down and focus instead, it might very well help you on the day of the real test.

[GreenEggs]

Yeah some of my better PT scores were on those days that I just wasn't in the mood and wanted to bounce. You want to be prepping for every emotion.

[mbk271613]

I experience this all the time now that I'm studying for my second attempt in February. I never let myself stop midway because, as someone else mentioned, it's just a waste of a "fresh" resource. I just embrace the fact that I mentally "checked out" and push through--though sometimes move on to the next section right away instead of waiting for time to run out if I finished early. When I feel that way during an exam, I often take a full 24 hours off before doing blind review or anything LSAT related, since I take it to be a warning sign that I'm approaching burnout. What keeps me from stressing about these "off days" is the knowledge that test-day adrenaline makes it pretty much impossible to feel lazy or apathetic on the real thing.