First Hour: Initial Peak

The first 40 minutes of CAT are when your brain is freshest. Especially if you’ve warmed up beforehand, your neurons are firing, comprehension is fluid, and anxiety hasn’t hijacked your decision-making. But this state is temporary, unless you know how to sustain it. And most people miss out on sustaining.

Enemy Is Cognitive Fatigue

Cognitive fatigue is mental bandwidth running out; decision fatigue, reduced focus, and declining working memory. Your brain starts skipping steps and second-guessing itself. You know those silly mistakes, misreading a "not," marking the right option on rough and a different one on screen? Yeah, those bloom in hour two. 

And no, it’s not just you. It’s biology. Your brain consumes a lot of glucose while doing problem-solving tasks. After about an hour of intense focus, your mental energy begins to drop, especially if you’re not trained for endurance.

Second Hour: Real CAT Begins

DILR is sandwiched between VARC and QA for a reason. It’s the section where your logic muscles have to work overdrive without concrete formulas to fall back on. You have to read between the lines, build sets from scratch, visualize patterns, and all of this under the ticking clock.

Your mental sharpness is already dented in the first 40 minutes, and if you haven’t practiced full-length mocks, this is where it hits: I can solve this set, but not right now. That’s an endurance problem.

The Accuracy-Confidence Spiral

Here’s what makes things worse: the mental spiral. You mess up one set. You check the clock. You start questioning your judgment. You panic-click a few MCQs. And with every moment, your accuracy drops, not because you’re incapable, but because you’ve mentally stepped out of the exam. 

How Do You Fix It?

You won’t magically improve your stamina by just “being determined.” Here’s what you need:

1. Mock Like It’s War!

Stop taking mocks like a hobby. Before every mock, simulate exam day, no phone distractions. Start at the same time as CAT. Because unless you train your mind to push through 2 hours of pressure, it won’t.

2. Train the Transitions

Most students don’t mess up the sections. They mess up the switch between them. VARC → DILR → QA isn’t just a sequence. It’s three different mindsets. Practice that switch in your mocks. Pause after VARC and ask yourself: “Am I still thinking about that RC?” You can’t keep humming the last song when the next one’s started.

3. Endurance Is a Skill

If your accuracy drops after an hour, it means your focus muscles aren’t trained yet. Read more long-form content. Sit for 90 minutes without switching tabs. Build your mental attention span in layers, just like you build physical stamina.

Conquer Your Tired Mind.

The CAT doesn’t reward brilliance. It rewards those who can stay sharp the longest. So next time you notice your accuracy crumbling mid-mock, don’t just blame the question. Zoom out and Breathe. The final score isn’t just a reflection of your knowledge; it’s a measure of your mental fuel tank.