Most enlisted soldiers will get the joy of attending a board during their time in the Army. Whether it’s a promotion board or a competition board, the nervous feeling in the pit of the stomach is always the same. This feeling is good thing and is a sign that you are taking it seriously and want to succeed. The biggest fear every soldier has at the board is being a complete failure and missing every question asked by the board members. Knowing the worst-case scenario is the first step to punching this fear in the face.
Worst-case scenario
You walk into the board and the board members start snickering at how ate up the uniform looks, you stop in front of the president of the board and report. You completely forget to salute him. The president gives you facing movements and you do an about face in the opposite direction and the board members chuckle. You are directed to your seat and begin discussing your biography and only remember two sentences. The president asks you, “is that it?”, you nod and the board members begin asking you questions. The questions are easy but you didn’t study, you look at them with a blank stare and keep saying, “I cannot recall the answer at this time”. They roll through the questions and you finally remember that the regulation that covers wear and appearance of the military uniform is AR 670-1. After that, the president asks if you know the soldiers creed, you say no and he says get out of my board. You stand up and walk out.
THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN!
If you are reading this than you give a crap about doing well so quit thinking about how you will fail miserably. Even in the worst-case scenario you know at least one answer to a question.
Now it’s time to focus on preparing to answer as many questions correct as possible. You will not get every answer correct. The board is designed to see how you handle not knowing the answer, study as if you were going to get every question answered and you will do great.
The secret formula
I have good news, absolute failure is not common, and if a soldier puts in some sort of effort it will show. The only way to conquer this fear of failure is to start preparing now. I don’t mean prepare all day long and spend every minute freaking out about it. Just commit to spending an hour each day on working on the subjects listed in the Memorandum of Instruction (MOI). If time is limited and there is only a week or so left, than the time for studying will have to be increased.
The reason you can skate by with only an hour a day is because the studying will be focused. Focused means no distractions, you and the flashcards or study guide, that’s it! Seriously, no T.V., social media, music, noise in another room. Seek out an area that is completely silent and has no possibility of adding a disruption.
See, when you are distracted it can take up to 17 minutes to fall back into focus again and usually another distraction will sneak its way in before complete focus is acquired again. Protect this time and you will be amazed at how effective study time will become. This little secret will decrease study time and increase knowledge while providing more time to focus on other parts of the board, like preparing the uniform or writing out the biography.
Schedule it
The best way to ensure this hour a day is utilized is to schedule it like it’s the only thing you have to do everyday. If you are really committed, schedule it in the morning before anything else can creep in. This will mean getting up earlier but it’s only an hour so quit whining.
If it’s going to be scheduled for later you have to be disciplined enough to turn down anything that may try to intervene. Once you are committed it will be easy to knock out this hour of study time and move on with the rest of the day. The best part is that it’s only an hour.
The next level
If you are a real go-getter and an hour a day is fairly easy to knock out then jump the time up in 15 minute increments. Going too much all at once will usually lead to burning out and then study days will start to be skipped, the secret to the hour a day is the consistency over time that adds up.
Every situation is different and bringing the study time up to the next level may be necessary early on. The most important thing to remember is no matter how much time you have to study whether it is 3 days or 3 months, focus is the secret to utilizing your time efficiently and effectively.
Photo by The U.S. Army 
