How Daily Habits Can Sharpen Your GMAT Mental Math
Most GMAT students today are in their 20s or 30s. Many in this age group have grown overly reliant on technology. From phone calculators to search engines, we often outsource basic thinking to our devices. While convenient, this habit can slowly erode some of the essential skills needed for strong performance on the GMAT.
The good news is that this issue has a simple solution. Start doing everyday tasks without relying on technology.
When you are at a restaurant, do not use your phone to calculate the tip. Estimate it in your head. Figure out 10 percent, then double it or adjust it. With just a bit of practice, this becomes quick and natural.
At the grocery store, try calculating a 20 percent discount or adding up items mentally before reaching the register. These small exercises build comfort with numbers and improve your number sense.
If you are following a recipe and need to find half of three fourths of a cup, do the math yourself. You already have the tools to figure it out. This kind of thinking helps reinforce fraction and ratio skills that are directly applicable to GMAT Quant.
Try memorizing facts you would normally look up. You do not need to Google the slope-intercept equation or the formula for compound interest. Memorize them. Store them in your mind so you can access them quickly when needed.
Make an effort to remember things like phone numbers instead of storing them instantly in your contacts. With some practice, memorizing a 10-digit number becomes easy. Your short-term memory can handle it, but you have to train it.
Also, make sure your multiplication tables are sharp. If you need help, buy a deck of flashcards and go through them until you can answer each one immediately and correctly. Then go through the deck again. Fluency in basic math is crucial when solving GMAT Quant problems quickly and accurately.
Lastly, never use a calculator when studying for the GMAT. You will not have one on test day, so you should not use one during practice either. Instead, develop your ability to calculate by hand. Learn to estimate. Learn to simplify. Strengthen your brain.
The more you rely on yourself instead of your phone, the more skilled and confident you will become. These changes may seem small, but they add up and make a big difference when it matters most.
Reach out to me with any questions about your GMAT prep. Happy studying!
Warmest regards,
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep
