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Timing yourself

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Timing yourself

by 7OO » Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:45 am
Hi All

I began my GMAT prep about two weeks ago. I started with the Princeton Review book. I read it cover to cover, studied/refreshed the concepts, and worked out all the problems - However, I did not time myself while working out the problems.

I'm starting the Kaplan book now and I would like to begin timing myself while I work on problem.

My question is: What is the best way to time yourself?

I have a digital clock that I am going to use.
Should I do one problem, time myself, stop, correct problem?
Should I do a set of 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. problems, timed, then stop and correct?

Yesterday I timed myself on a couple of problems but I got so concered about making sure I wasn't going over 2mins. that I couldn't think with a clear mind when working out the problem (I had to read one question like 3 times!)...

Thanks!
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Re: Timing yourself

by TkNeo » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:00 pm
7OO wrote:Hi All

I began my GMAT prep about two weeks ago. I started with the Princeton Review book. I read it cover to cover, studied/refreshed the concepts, and worked out all the problems - However, I did not time myself while working out the problems.

I'm starting the Kaplan book now and I would like to begin timing myself while I work on problem.

My question is: What is the best way to time yourself?

I have a digital clock that I am going to use.
Should I do one problem, time myself, stop, correct problem?
Should I do a set of 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. problems, timed, then stop and correct?

Yesterday I timed myself on a couple of problems but I got so concered about making sure I wasn't going over 2mins. that I couldn't think with a clear mind when working out the problem (I had to read one question like 3 times!)...

Thanks!
It will be too difficult to concentrate if you try to time yourself for every question. I usually time myself for 15 questions in 1 go...

You should not be spending more 2 min on any question and 3 only if you are 100% sure you can solve it correctly. In the practice test see where you stand every 10 questions.. Then you need to catch up or slow down !
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by mayonnai5e » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:59 pm
I personally practiced in 20 minute sets - that's enough to do about 10 problems. I did this so that I could check my answers every set of 10 problems, but that was a personal preference. There are others on this forum who have espoused the practice of working 40 problems at once to really mimic the testing conditions and build endurance.

I did not follow this practice because I had to study after 8 hours of work, commute home one hour, grab dinner then study. That meant I was usually exhausted by the time I started studying and there was no way I could reasonably do an 80 minute session after all that. Sure, it's a good idea to mimic the testing conditions, but then again who takes the GMAT exam after 8 hours of work? Studying for 2 hours after 2 hours of commuting and 8 hours of work is endurance testing in itself.

I believe it's up to individual preference and circumstances. If you are not working a full time job and are not exhausted by the time you start studying, then by all means do the long sessions. If you are like me and like reinforcement that you are on the right track then you can do smaller sets. Try a few practice sets using different time guidelines and see which one you feel most comfortable with, but remember that the golden rule is 2 minutes per question.
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Re: Timing yourself

by 7OO » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:43 pm
TkNeo wrote: It will be too difficult to concentrate if you try to time yourself for every question. I usually time myself for 15 questions in 1 go...

You should not be spending more 2 min on any question and 3 only if you are 100% sure you can solve it correctly. In the practice test see where you stand every 10 questions.. Then you need to catch up or slow down !
Ah, gotcha. I'm taking a practice test tomorrow - so I'll use that method. Thanks.
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by 7OO » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:48 pm
mayonnai5e wrote:I personally practiced in 20 minute sets - that's enough to do about 10 problems. I did this so that I could check my answers every set of 10 problems, but that was a personal preference. There are others on this forum who have espoused the practice of working 40 problems at once to really mimic the testing conditions and build endurance.
I think I'll try 10 first - see how it goes. Thanks!

By the way, how many sets of 10 did you do per night when you studied for the GMAT? I, too, work an 8-hour day and I do my prep when I get home at night. I'm always exhausted, but I try to do 1-2 hours of GMAT work.
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by mayonnai5e » Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:05 pm
usually 2 - 4 sets depending on how tired i was, but i also reviewed the solutions for the previous night so i split my time between doing more problems and learning from what i had done the night before. there's no point in doing large swaths of problems if you are not constantly learning from them as you move along.
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by Stacey Koprince » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:33 pm
I tell my students to start with one question as a time when they are just learning some new material (eg, geometry). Do enough of that question type one at a time to feel comfortable with that type.

Then start putting together cross-topic sets - sets of 10 or 20 questions that aren't just geometry but are a random cross-section of topics (because you won't get 10 geometry questions in a row - you'll have to look at each question and categorize it yourself on the test).
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