Alright, you LSATers, it’s a week before game day. You’ve given yourself one last pep talk. You know your route to the LSAT testing center. You’ve woken up way earlier than seems appropriate for the past month. You know where you’re eating breakfast before the exam and you’ve got some warm-up questions ready to go for the morning of. It seems as though nothing could go wrong. And yet, some people still manage to screw things up. To prevent you from encountering such a fate, I’ve compiled a brief but handy list of things you should NOT do the week before the LSAT.
1. Don’t burn yourself out.
If you haven’t totally mastered a technique at this stage of the game, spending a couple extra days freaking yourself out isn’t go to help. It’s going to hurt. Probably not “hot poker in the eye” hurt, but maybe “testicles on a handrail” hurt. The point is, pain will come. You should absolutely continue to practice so you stay in game shape, but you want be fresh on the day of the race (and yes, I mixed that metaphor on purpose).
2. Don’t get out of your routine.
Do you normally work out on Fridays? Fantastic. Go work out. Do you usually sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing? Do that. Do whatever it is that you’re used to. This will have a two-fold positive effect (for the price of only one fold, and we’ll waive shipping and handling!). Firstly, you will maintain your sanity through the comfort of the everyday. Secondly, you will distract yourself from all LSAT-related musings and thus avoid cold sweats. Trust me, it’s a good thing.
3. Don’t take sleeping pills (unless you already take sleeping pills).
Remember that bit just a moment ago when I told you not to step out of your routine? Think of this as a sub-category of that advice. You may be worried about your ability to get to sleep the night before the test or even during the coming week. The worst thing you can do is down a couple Tylenol PMs before heading off to bed (unless you always do it, in which case you’ve got much larger fish to fry). You’ll be groggy. You won’t be sharp. You’ll drink more coffee than you should. You’ll be jittery and unfocused. You’ll have to go to the bathroom A LOT. None of this works in your favor. Bet you didn’t think sleeping pills could lead to all that, huh?
Lastly, I want to remind everyone out there, first-timers and retakers alike, that nerves are 100% normal. If you aren’t nervous on LSAT test day you either took prescription medication or you don’t give a crap. Neither one will redound to your benefit. Use your nerves. Allow the adrenaline to block out everything except the LSAT in front of you and you’ll be just fine.
