So when I am not teaching a masterclass, I am a taxi mom on the weekends.

On this particular Saturday, I had taken my kid to her swim class. It was a 30-minute instruction on swim laps, strokes, and a few diving in the end. Through the one-way mirror glass, I watched my child swim laps around the pool. She was graceful and precise. With every stroke she exerted, she builds strength and positions her arms and legs to act in a certain way. It was peaceful and beautiful to watch. My A-ha! moment for this post came.

And you are now thinking, “What does this have to do with my CIMA prep?” But bear with me, I am getting there.

Much like my child’s arms and legs, our brains are muscles that we can train to think in a certain way too.

We drill our brains to reason sensibly and logically, looking at all the angles of an issue…the same way my child taught herself to place her arms in an angle as she moves the water out of the way. We coach our brains to process thoughts swiftly and smarter…the same way my child kicks her feet like scuba fins to push herself forward faster.

Okay, so maybe it’s easy to physically work out with arms and legs, but how do you exercise the brain to do “swim laps”?

Here’s where the practice mock exams come in. The mocks will present issues and incidents affecting your pre-seen company. You are then prompted to consider and evaluate the situation. You are also given the chance to provide recommendations on how to resolve the problems.

You swim your first lap when you take your first mock exam. You swim the second lap when you take a second mock. You swim your third….well, you get the picture. Each mock will present you with a different scenario each time. However, the thought process on arriving with the answers stays the same.

Key factors to note when doing these exercises:

1. Time yourself. Do the mocks exactly like you would under exam conditions.
2. If you do badly at first, notch it up as experience. Learn from your mistakes.
3. Self-assess yourself. Find out what your obstacles are and tackle them.
4. If you subscribe to marking and feedback, heed the marker’s advice and incorporate it into your process.

Similar to any exercise regime, the only way to make it work is to put in the time and do it often and regularly. Training the brain will be no exception. If you are ready to try your first mock, why not sign up for a free mini-mock?