I think you'd already taken a great step by recognizing how your mind and body feels when you're getting ready to skate. Sometimes you are mentally ready, and sometimes you aren't. And part of what makes a great skater is to be able to turn a time you aren't mentally ready around so that you are.
There are some generally recommended strategies, but I think it does take some practice to find what works for you. This is an area in which I think I've made some progress this year, so I'll share with you what I've found works for me.
- Prepare the night before. I get my tights and dress together, cover up clothes, a change of clothing, whatever my day is going to look like, get that stuff ready in advance. I even lay out all my hair stuff, makeup and shoes. I don't want to be hunting for anything in the morning, or feeling like I've forgotten something.
- Eat what you normally eat before skating. Your body is used to it.
- Get ready in plenty of time. I make sure I have time to warm up a little off ice, go to the bathroom, reapply lipstick and get my skates on. I like plenty of time, but not too much time. It's a balance
I kind of like having someone tell me, "It's time to get your skates on now."
- Don't watch others. I wish I could watch. Some people can. It's not that I get intimidated by what they've done, I just am not as focused as I need to be if I'm watching other people skate. Some people like to listen to music. I've never tried it and probably won't.
- Visualize. I like to spend time while I'm waiting for my turn to skate, facing a wall, going through what I'm going to do. I may move my body through it a little too. I'm picturing a good routine, imagining my music, thinking about how everything feels.
- Take stock of your surroundings. When you take the ice, stroke around for a second, present, smile, you don't have to rush to your spot. Note what you're feeling, and then try to go to where you need to go mentally. I like to look around a little at anything I might be curious about, such as who the judges are, or where my friends and family are in the audience, so that I can then FORGET ABOUT IT. I don't want to be wondering about this stuff while I'm skating.
- When I take my starting position, I think about taking advantage of having the ice surface to myself and making the most of it. I don't think about people watching me as I skate, in fact I almost have a feeling of going inside of myself. I haven't quantified this before, but I think I like to skate as if I were giving my dream performance in a place where no one's watching. Like I'm skating on a frozen lake nestled in the mountains in a National Park. I want to perform wonderfully to honor my setting, but it's just me there. I can't think about what others are seeing, but that doesn't mean I don't perform it.
- Bend your knees. After a terrible exhibition I had earlier this season, I texted my friend, complaining that the ice felt hard. She texted back, "When ice is hard, bend knees more. Old Confucian proverb." It was a silly thing, but it's stuck with me. Whenever I find myself start to trip, I think about settling into my knees and before I know it, skating feels normal again.
- Take one element at a time.
- Remember to enjoy yourself.
- When you go to bow at the end, stop the way you always stop. Seriously. If you haven't practiced it, don't be fancy. You will trip. (Or at least I do.) I sometimes even trip if I have practiced.
Those are just some of the things that have worked for me. They may apply more to competing than testing, but some apply to both. Good luck on your test and make sure to let us know how it goes!