Boost Your Test Scores With the Hard to Easy Start Technique
Exams can quickly drain your focus and mental energy, so it’s best to get rid of tricky things first. This ultra-simple approach to taking tests can help reduce stress and improve test scores.
In her book Mind for Numbers, Barbara Oakley recommends the Hard to Easy Start technique to anyone who has difficulty taking tests. Here’s what you do:
- Start with a really hard question – like an essay question or what you usually find at the end of a test – and work on it for a few minutes.
- Once you run into a mental obstacle, shift gears and start working on simpler questions like multiple choice and true or false questions .
- Whenever you have a spark of motivation or a good thought, come back to tough questions.
Now continue this process until your test is complete. This method prevents you from wasting time when you get stuck, and it works well for your brain, which can only focus on difficult tasks for a certain amount of time before it needs a break. As you move back and forth, you allow your brain to recharge as it continues to solve a problem in the background.