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Early in GMAT prep- should I be worried about timing as yet?

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Early in GMAT prep- should I be worried about timing as yet?

by NainaL » Wed Sep 11, 2013 4:45 am
Hi,

I have taken GMAT previously 2 yrs back and got bumped at 560 but I plan to take it again. I have started preparing and its been a total of 2 weeks. I am following MGMAT strategy guides and do the respective OG questions of each guide once I complete it and also analyze my errors. At this stage is it recommended to start timing myself or I should still wait as I am working on grasping the content as of now.

I have not started working on OG quant review or Verbal review as I am saving those for my timed practice.
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by [email protected] » Wed Sep 11, 2013 11:38 am
Hi NainaL,

Right now, you should be working on learning the content and tactics necessary to crush the GMAT. Pacing is something you'll factor in down the line. As an example, for those students who plan to study for 3 months, I don't normally talk about pacing until 6-8 weeks into the process. Knowledge and familiarity come first.

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Rich
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by NainaL » Thu Sep 12, 2013 4:47 am
Thanks Rich. I shall first concentrate on content :)
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:02 am
I agree with Rich 100%. Most students focus far too much on timing in the early stages of their studies.

Does this mean you should throw away the clock during phase one of your preparation? I don't believe so. The clock is still important during phase one. The reason for this is that, on test day, your goal will be to spend approximately two minutes or less on each question in order to finish on time. To accomplish this, you'll need to know what two minutes "feels" like. Sure, there will be a clock on your computer screen during the test, but if you're checking it every five seconds to gauge your timing, then you're not devoting enough attention to the actual questions. So, during the test, you want to be able gauge your timing on a particular question without checking the clock. To do this, you'll need to train your internal clock.

So, if possible, get a watch or timer that you can set to ring (or beep or buzz or moo) after 2 minutes (or 1:45 for verbal questions). Then, when you begin working on a question, start the timer. Early in your studies, the alarm will sound well before you have had a chance to fully analyze and answer the question. That's fine. Remember that, during phase one, your only time-related goal is to get a feel for what 2 minutes feels like. You should find that, within a few study sessions, you will develop a strong feeling for 2 minutes, which you can put to use on test day.

Once you have completed phase one of your studies, you can begin working on beating the 2-minute guideline. Just remember that 2 minutes is the average time you should spend on each question, not the definitive cut-off. Since you will most likely answer some questions in well under 2 minutes, you can safely devote more than 2 minutes to the more complex or difficult questions.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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