4 Everyday Decisions That Affect Your Skill Testing Performance
Upskilling has become a buzzword. It may have started overwhelming you since people use it repeatedly in professional circles. More employees undergo skill testing and certification to remain relevant and surge in their roles. It consumes time and effort, but the rewards are tangible.
Consider this: What will happen if you fail to perform adequately on a skill test despite putting in the effort? It can mean wasted hours and expenses and cause you the mental anguish of failure. However, not doing well on skill tests does not depend only on your professional or academic caliber.
Here are four decisions we make every day that can potentially impact your performance on skill assessments.
1. Do You Get Enough Restorative Sleep?
The 4 AM club has pushed many of us into sleep-deprived mode. Influencers on Instagram persistently post videos of their productive morning routines that cover everything from a workout to a satisfying breakfast and bullet journaling.
However, few go to bed early enough to be up ridiculously early. Late working hours and time for social activities push bedtimes. The pressure to rise early to belong to an abstract club causes a sleep debt that affects our cognitive abilities.
A recent BMC Public Health study found that seven hours of sleep at night can reap optimal cognitive benefits. It also reported that a short nap can be advantageous in reducing the risk of cognitive impairment. The relationship is U-shaped, wherein too little or too much sleep can work against ideal mental capabilities.
If you have not been following healthy sleeping and napping habits, the impact can manifest in your testing performance. Wavering focus and concentration are the side effects of sub-optimal rest. Improving sleep conditions through a white noise machine or a new mattress can enhance the quality of your rest.
2. Which Foods Do You Pick up at the Supermarket?
Less-than-ideal eating habits are pervasive in this age of stressed-out, time-starved lifestyles. We often pick up convenience foods from the supermarket, many of which have preservatives and additives. The list includes items like cereals, cookies, and refined breads.
NPR reports that ultra-processed foods like these can make you susceptible to health problems like obesity and colorectal cancer. They can also increase the risk of compromised mental health, aggravating depression and anxiety.
Mood disorders make it tough to concentrate on the task at hand, affecting your performance in the workplace. For example, anxiety can make it daunting to do well on tests administered in proctored settings.
Food contamination has become a serious problem as some reputed brands have received ire for harmful chemicals in their products. In recent years, news reports have revealed issues in even baby food, which should meet the highest levels of safety.
The toxic baby food lawsuit aims to make manufacturers accountable for metals like cadmium and mercury in packaged products. Unsafe levels of such minerals can impair neurological development and cause behavioral problems.
You can increase your intake of brain-friendly foods to see improvements in physical health. For example, fresh vegetables like carrots and cucumbers can be healthy snacks when paired with a favorite dip.
TorHoerman Law notes that items like crackers, cereals, and fruit juices are especially notorious among processed foods for infants. Interestingly, these are also items with excessive sugar and little health benefit for adults.
3. How Much Exercise Do Your Mind and Body Get?
I don’t have time to exercise. It is a regular complaint in workplaces. Many employees struggle to use the office-subsidized gym for lack of time and motivation. Heavy lifting aside, many people don’t practice even lighter exercises like walking and jogging.
Harvard Health Publishing confirms that exercise boosts thinking and memory. Moderate exercise over six months can boost specific brain regions that improve cognitive skills. Besides walking, tai chi is an exercise closely connected to brain power. The ancient martial art uses focused movements to encourage you to memorize new patterns and movements.
Deciding to engage in mental exercises also has clear-cut benefits for skill testing. For instance, you can practice sudoku, word games, and crossword puzzles. Healthline recommends focusing on neuroplasticity, i.e., rewiring your brain to adapt to changes around you. You can achieve this through enjoyable pursuits like playing the piano or creating art.
4. Do You Stay Open to New Developments in Your Field?
Finally, ask yourself how you tackle this daily decision: Should I explore something new or stick to the traditional solution for this task?
In workplaces, we confront challenges that newer technologies can solve more astutely. Staying open to fresh developments will help you learn skills that lead to career development. On the other hand, shutting yourself to unconventional opportunities that lie outside your comfort zone will lower your valuation.
Take artificial intelligence as an example. AI has revolutionized many fields, from marketing agencies to agricultural forecasting. The AI Jobs Barometer by PwC showed that AI skills can bring you a 25% wage premium due to improved productivity and value to the company.
Professionals can fine-tune the relevant skills for their domain through certifications, seminars, and industry events. On that note, you might consider switching if your current job does not satisfy you creatively. We might see a job as a source of income, but years spent in stagnancy can make us stodgy and dull our mental faculties.
A bad test score can be dampening. It is reassuring to know that a lot goes behind that score, much of it not directly linked to your abilities but your lifestyle choices. Accepting that conscious everyday decisions can accrue professional advantages will help us excel in our job roles.
