How to stop worrying about your assessment while waiting for your results

Waiting for results – whether it’s for an exam or a medical test – can be a nerve-wracking experience.

It is worth remembering though, as hard and as it may sound, is that you can’t do anything about it. Instead, you could use the waiting period to let life unfold, knowing you’ve done your best.

Easier said than done, maybe. But if you’re the type of person to worry about exam failure, you can find some calm and clarity through these simple, designed for-beginners meditation exercises that anybody can perform during times of post-assessment stress.

Exercise one

1. Find a quiet space. Sit comfortably and breathe gently for two minutes.

2. The nervous system relaxes when the out breath is longer. Some experts recommend seven seconds in and 11 seconds out, but do whatever is best for you. Don’t attempt this if you suffer from asthma, heart or breathing problems.

3. Establish a ‘focus point’. It could be your breathing, your heartbeat or the sounds happening around you

4. Every time you feel your attention wavering, bring it back to this focus point.

By doing this for a minute or so a day, you build up a muscle. Whenever you find your mind being scattered or worrying, try bringing your attention back to that focus point. It can be difficult at first, but with practice, it can become easier.

Exercise two

1. Sit comfortably and close your eyes.

2. Take your attention for a tour around your senses. Focus on what you can hear. What can you feel? What can you smell? This gives you an opportunity to connect with what is happening now.

3. You can also try putting your hand over your chest or stomach to ‘feel’ your breath. Again, breathe slowly, from the diaphragm, ensuring your out breath is longer. Don’t ever force it.

This can be used whenever you’re worrying about something. It’ll reconnect you with the ‘now’, hopefully diverting your attention away from whatever is troubling you.

AAT Comment offers news and opinion on the world of business and finance from the Association of Accounting Technicians.