CAT-2024: Be ready for the 3-hour physical challenge

At this stage of your preparation, the thoughts that dominate the mental make-up of most students relate to their preparation (strong/weak areas, percentile scores and mock performance). In the middle of all this, you often forget one critical aspect of preparation: being ready for the 3-hour physical challenge that CAT is. Remember, it is not only a mental battle but a physical one too and you need to make sure you do everything possible to be in the best shape for the examination.

Be ready for the 3-hour physical battle!

Part-1: Take care of your body and health
In part, this is homily that I am issuing here but I must do what needs to be done. Three things that you should immediately commit to:

• Eating healthy: make sure your system is in the right place for the next one month.
• Exercise: make sure you take walks and light exercise that freshens you up (and also does not drain all your energy).
• Yoga and meditation: it is vital to be mentally calm at this stage. This is something that can be forgotten but can make a huge difference to the final result.

Part-2: Study in 3-hour spells and take mock tests
The second aspect of physical preparation is to possess the ability to concentrate for 3 hours. In this era of social networking and instant gratification, it is extremely tough for us to cancel the noise and focus even for a few minutes. How would we focus for a 3-hour period? Well, you need to develop this habit and the ability to shut out the noise for 3-hour segments. The best way to do this is to practice in 3-hour sets and develop the patience as well physical stamina to outlast the exam.