Obviously you can’t skip every single annoying question. You’d have most of the exam to do after your first time through. When you make the strategic decision to work a crazy RAP question rather than skip it, it is vital that when you are done with it that you let it go. The brain will continue to work on a problem it doesn’t think is solved, distracting you from new problems you are trying to solve.
Have you ever had a streak of wrong answers? That’s oftentimes why. So when you finish that ridiculous RAP problem that doesn’t really feel finished because you still aren’t even sure what they were asking you, take 30 seconds to let it go. Here’s how. Put down your pencil, sit up (or lean back) in your chair, close your eyes, and take three deep breaths in which the exhalation is twice as long as the inhalation. Inhaling for three counts and exhaling for six is ideal. If the time it takes stresses you out, inhale for two counts and exhale for four. Open your eyes, pick up your pencil, and move on. It will take you less than half a minute and increase your ability to focus on the questions coming – which will earn you more than that half-minute back.
By the way, this breathing approach will help calm you in any situation, not just RAP questions. It’s a great thing to do when they are droning on about instructions. This article does a good job of explaining physiologically why it works and how to incorporate this as a stress-reducing practice.