Top 8 Tips to Study for the GMAT While Working

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Top 8 Tips to Study for the GMAT While Working

Do you worry about how to prepare for the GMAT efficiently without going bonkers? Let's discuss 8 practical and highly effective strategies for preparing for the GMAT while working.

Strategy #1: Commit to Your Prep

Too many people get up each day, go to work, and come home, all without ever making an investment in themselves. Preparing for the GMAT will be one of the most significant professional investments you’ll make in yourself. The knowledge and skills you develop via GMAT prep will serve you for years to come, not to mention the not-so-subtle fact that earning an MBA from a top school will advance your life personally and professionally (and monetarily).

But earning a competitive GMAT score will require time and effort, and it’s all too easy to procrastinate, using the self-justification that “you’re just too busy to study.” How often have you heard someone say, “I don’t have time for X” or “I don’t have time for Y”? Here’s the reality: there is time only for the things we make time for, GMAT prep included. With a demanding job, it’s important to make time for your personal growth and development. Otherwise, you may find that your days become occupied with the demands of your job, with stagnation resulting.

Don’t let this stagnation happen! Your first step on the path to business school is to commit yourself to preparing for the GMAT and making that preparation a priority. Often the most difficult part of any process is getting started, so once you’re “in it to win it,” you’ll already be ahead of the competition.

Strategy #2: Make Time Each Weekday Morning to Study

One smart GMAT prep strategy is to go to bed early on weeknights and wake up early on weekday mornings. When you wake up, get some coffee, and then spend two uninterrupted hours studying before work.

One great benefit to studying early in the morning is that your brain and body will be well-rested and ready to absorb new information. In addition to being fresh for studying, there is something very satisfying about beginning the day by doing something for yourself, something that will help you grow and that will have a positive impact on your future.

If you study for the GMAT early in the morning, by the time you get to work, you’ll have put in a solid amount of GMAT study time. That’s a great feeling to have in the morning, and by having already gotten in some solid GMAT prep, you’re actually setting yourself up to have a more productive day at work because you won’t have the nagging worry that you haven’t done enough GMAT prep yet. You’ll be freer to perform at your best at work, and performing at your best at work will allow you to be more productive in your GMAT prep because you won’t be worried that you’re not giving your job your best efforts.

Strategy #3: Get Some Exercise After Work

Exercise has proven health benefits. In addition to being essential for the body, exercise is just as necessary for the brain. Exercise balances and recalibrates neurotransmitters such as dopamine. Without this adjustment, it’s easy to feel stressed and anxious. These emotions are never optimal for learning and growth. Furthermore, exercise substantially improves your ability to learn and process new information.

Since you know all this, get some exercise after work! Go for a run, take a long walk, hit the weights, or do some yoga. If you’re a multitasker, hit the elliptical or the treadmill at the gym and review your notes or flash cards during your workout — just be careful! Or, while you’re running, mentally review all the math formulas you have memorized. Evening exercise is a great way to destress, leave the day behind, and prepare for a productive evening of studying.

Strategy #4: Use the Evening to Reinforce Knowledge

Once you get home, study for another hour. Depending on your stamina, you may be a bit tired, so instead of starting a new topic, you can use this study session to reinforce what you’ve already learned. For example, if you studied ratio questions in the morning and reviewed them during lunch, the evening may be a good time to work through several high-value ratio practice questions. Once you get tired, stop studying and relax. It makes no sense to study when you’re too tired to retain information.

Strategy #5: Form a GMAT Study Group

One great way to fit in quality time with the people important to you is to share common objectives, and then work together to meet those objectives. If you have friends or colleagues who are thinking about business school and preparing for the GMAT, convince them to begin preparing now. Then, form a study group in which you all meet a few nights per week to study together at a coffee shop or each other’s homes. This kind of group study is a great form of multitasking because it allows you to continue enjoying your all-important social network while preparing for the GMAT.

Strategy #6: Hit the Books Hard on Weekends

Get up early on Saturday morning (5 a.m., anyone?) and head to your local coffee shop. Grab a light breakfast and whatever else you need, and then spend the morning studying. You can cover new content areas, review old material you’ve worked on that week, and run through a bunch of practice questions. Study until lunchtime.

If you’ve studied hard on Saturday morning, reward yourself by doing something enjoyable in the evening. Then follow the same schedule on Sunday. If you’ve followed the GMAT study schedule I’ve laid out so far in this article, by Sunday night, you’ll have logged as many as 23 hours of quality GMAT study. Over a few months, that number can result in a substantial increase in your score. Always keep your eyes on the prize! These few months of commitment are an investment that will pay dividends throughout your career!

As your test date nears, you’ll want to spend some weekend time taking full-length practice tests. Focus for the entire test and simulate the test environment as much as you can (no cell phone, no calculator, no interruptions). Regardless of whether you’re using your free hours on the weekend to learn new material or sit for practice tests, you should take that time seriously, avoid distractions, and put in your full effort.

Strategy #7: Be Flexible With Your GMAT Study Schedule

During the GMAT prep process, it’s important to be flexible with yourself. Things are going to come up, and some weeks will be busier than others. For example, maybe you need to stay late at the office each night one week, or maybe your boss tasks you with a time-consuming project that has you working on Saturday and Sunday. The key is to expect in advance that you will have these lower-productivity GMAT prep weeks from time to time and not to let them derail your plan.

Remember, your success on the GMAT will be measured by what you do often, not what you do from time to time. So, as long as you’re adhering to your GMAT prep schedule most of the time, you need not worry about what happens from time to time.

Don’t get locked into an “all or nothing” mindset. The last thing you want is to become anxious that you’re not getting in enough GMAT prep during a given week. That anxiousness will make the time you do spend studying less effective.

Keep yourself on track and stay accountable to yourself and your goals, but be realistic and flexible, too.

Strategy #8: Reward Yourself

Let’s face it: GMAT studying will take up much of your time and energy each week. If you stick to a schedule, hopefully you will be studying for at least 18 hours each week. On top of a full-time job, that much studying certainly can take a toll. So, every so often, reward yourself for a good, consistent stretch of studying.

Perhaps for two weeks in a row, you have stuck to your GMAT study schedule by the letter of the law, studying every day, Sunday to Monday. After those two weeks, perhaps you could use a day off from studying. Use that day off to do something fun or relaxing. Meet up with some friends, go to dinner, go to the movies. Do anything that will give your head a rest from GMAT studying, so you can come back refreshed and ready to go the next day.

Good luck studying, and reach out to me if you have any questions or need any more specific advice.

Warmest regards,
Scott