Category: EPPP Study Tips

Sometimes the best way to succeed at a task is by studying the mistakes we want to avoid. At TSM we talk a lot about the habits of successful students, but it can sometimes be helpful to pause and consider the habits of bad students…and how to avoid them.

PhD student Stephanie Allen has compiled a helpful list of 8 bad habits that unsuccessful students typically exhibit. Her list, which can be read at the Oxford Royale Academy, identifies the following eight areas that are often characteristic of poor students. Continue reading →

Have you ever felt that you didn’t want to begin a task until you were ready to do a really good job? Have you ever put off beginning something because you lacked confidence that you could measure up to your own expectations?

If so, then you probably know from experience that there is a strong link between perfectionism and procrastination.

If so, then you probably know from experience that there is a strong link between perfectionism and procrastination.

Procrastination is a topic we’ve been exploring at the TSM blog during the past few weeks. Before continuing this discussion, it may be helpful to recap the ground we’ve covered so far in this series.

Recap of Procrastination Series

In Part 1 of this series, I showed evidence that the longer you wait between graduation and taking your EPPP, the greater your likelihood is for failure. I drew attention to the fact that because of memory decay, those who waited an average of 4-5 years between graduation and their liscencure exam had an average failing score of 493.60.

In Part 2 of this series we looked at some of the factors that lead a person to procrastinate, in particular the feeling of being overwhelmed. I offered some specific steps you can take for beginning your EPPP practice even when you feel overwhelmed.

In today’s post we will continue this discussion by looking at the relationship between procrastination and perfectionism.

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In my last post I shared research showing that waiting too long to prepare for the EPPP could directly diminish your likelihood of success. We saw that because of “decay theory”, your optimum time for taking the EPPP is as close to graduation as possible.

In this post I wish to continue that discussion by looking at why we procrastinate and what you can do to avoid it.

Are You Overwhelmed?

One of the factors that often motivates us to procrastinate is a sense of feeling overwhelmed. For example, you consider all the EPPP prep necessary before the exam, and the thought of it makes you feel utterly exhausted. “How can I possibly learn all of this?” you think. “I don’t even know where to begin!”

These types of feelings lead to procrastination. When we are overwhelmed by a job we need to do, the tendency is for us to put it off and delay making a start. However, if we wait until something has become urgent to tackle it, then we no longer have the luxury of attending to it at a convenient pace. The project we have delayed to begin then becomes all-consuming and pushes other things out.

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Earlier this month, I gave some big-picture advice about how to know when you are ready to begin studying for the EPPP, and also how to know when you are prepared to actually take the exam. Suppose you have gone through the various items on my check-list and you conclude that you’re finally ready to take the EPPP – what then? What can you do on the actual day of the test itself, to make sure you are adequately equipped do put in a winning performance?

Don’t Cram at Night – Get Plenty of Rest

Let’s begin with what not to do. Don’t stay up the night before cramming. You have nothing to gain by tiring yourself out with anxiety and sleep-deprivation, but much to lose. We have observed before that lack of sleep can cause the mind to slow down, and may even result in causing one to forget crucial material.  Hence, prior to your exam, be sure to get plenty of sleep. This focus on getting plenty of sleep should begin two or three nights prior the exam, since the night directly before is probably going to be a bit restless.

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Success on EPPP day, like success in other areas of life, doesn’t just happen. Rather, success arises from being familiar with the task before us, identifying and seizing control over those things in our life that we can actually make a difference over, and having a successful preparation plan and schedule. In such a way, we can set ourselves up for success in our EPPP preparation.

The first step to being prepared is being honest with ourselves.  We can set ourselves up for success by having a realistic and achievable study schedule that allows us the time necessary for thorough preparation.  Then we need to be committed to giving ourselves the best in each step of our journey to EPPP success.

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