There are various things one can do to beat exam stress, like the ones listed below.Siliconindia has put together a five-point agenda that can help make the road to CAT a little bit easier on the nerves. From praying to God, meditating, to eating the right food and what to expect on the big day — read below for a quick-fix.

Be positive and be brave. Do not center your life around the result. There are three distinct phases for a competitive exam. First, the ‘preparatory phase’, which in this case could be a year. Second the ‘approach phase’, when you are very close, say a few weeks before the exams. The third is ‘the day of exam,’ when you give all that you have in those few hours in the examination hall or in this case an online test. Many times, because of the fear some of the aspirants cannot do well on the day of the exam. With CAT, an additional level of frustration too can creep in if the person appearing has made attempts before.

Testing your wits: The exam is a test of wits and you are running against time and that is why all mock tests try to grill it in you that ‘time is precious.’ There is no short-cut to practice. Even if you have a very high IQ, you still need to go through the practice sessions religiously. Be rest assured that if you have worked hard, results are bound to be positive. If you have worked diligently, taken the right material for practice sessions, attempted sufficient number of mock tests, there is nothing to fear. You will move ahead in life and that too, ahead of others. Avoid a crash study course, because it can generate a lot of stress. Make it a point to take a short break in between study sessions. Remember, in a competitive exam, not only is ‘how you perform’ important, but also how others perform. Because at the end of the day, it is all relative.

Be positive: Give your best shot and be positive. Anyone who takes this test is a serious contender for a top b-school. He/she would have prepared by going through rigorous study material and undergone many mock tests. These tests are usually tougher than the final CAT exam just to raise the bar purposely. This should make your final exams appear a little easier and that would help on the D-day. As they say ‘the more you sweat in peace the less you bleed in war.’ And at the end, you have to be positive. Go for a walk with a friend and take a mental break. During the walk, talk about everything else except exams. This helps immensely. Please do rest before the examination day. About 8 hours of sleep will definitely help. Another important tip is not to discuss questions just before the exam. It again confuses your mind more than anything else.

Beat stress: The best way to beat stress is by taking things as they come. Beating stress is essential if you want to deliver a peak performance. In the ‘Emotional Intelligence’ domain this attitude to face life is what makes the difference between a winner and a loser. Since all of you are in the few days before CAT, you are feeling that pressure and anxiety, which builds before. You have to fight fear. You have worked hard for so long for this exam and a good score is important but there is a fear of failure. “What happens if I can’t crack it?” is what goes on in your mind all the time. You don’t fear the exam, you actually fear the result. If some how you are not so ‘attached’ to the result the fear will go away. In fact, anxiety may not build at all or at least will be less in intensity.

Attitude and perception: By saying ‘be brave’ you can’t become brave but giving stress a little less importance, can be a great help. It’s okay if you don’t get in an IIM or a top college. It will not be the end of the world. It is not at all that you will never make a decent living? I am from an IIT but do you think a handful of my batch mates are the only ones who are driving good cars and making money. Remember only a few thousand go to these institutes, but the world goes on. You have worked very hard, given your best shot and that is all that you can do. In case of public speaking, I always advise a simple thing: Stand on the dais and think that you are addressing a bunch of dodo’s. And I have seen, it works very well. Therefore, it is important to remove the cause of fear rather than fear itself. If you keep programming your mind with ‘perform or perish, do or die’ you will always generate anxiety. Having said that, I must caution, that it doesn’t mean you don’t work hard and don’t prepare for the examination. You work hard, do your best and don’t worry about the results. If you can’t make it to the best B-school you can always find a place in some other institutes which will give you an opportunity to do well in life.

Breathing techniques: CAT aspirants, like other exam takers may get very anxious and lose their appetite. It is important that you have three square meals every day- even if you have to force yourself to eat. Do not miss breakfast. Don’t change your style of studying. There are guys who study in groups and some study alone. Changing your style a few weeks before exam can generate unnecessary stress. If you practice meditation and yoga, please continue during this phase. If you have not done yoga or meditation, you should simply do deep breathing a few minutes at an interval of five to six hours. This helps in relaxing. A simple relaxing technique, which you should make part of your life, is a derivative of  vipasana. Sit in a quite place, close your eyes and switch off the lights and cross your legs, or lie down. Now just breathe normally and concentrate on your breathing. Watch the breathing activity as you breathe in and out softly. Concentrate as your breath touches the nostrils as you breathe out. Your breath is a little warm. As you breathe in your breath touching inside your nostrils is cooler. Keep doing (observing) this for ten minutes. It is so effective that some of you may fall asleep. This works like a sleeping pill. This is the best relaxing exercise I have ever known.