"Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."
From time to time during a private GMAT tutoring session, I notice a new student rushing through the practice problems I present to her. Invariably, because she is rushing, she gets a disproportionate number of these problems incorrect, despite the moderate difficulty level of the problems. I ask the student to self-assess what’s happening. I tend to hear the following answer: "I’m having a really big problem with time; I just can’t seem to get through all of the problems on the test in time, so I’m trying to increase my speed so that I can finish the test in the time available.”
Ah, speeding up in order to complete the test in time — the kiss of death for so many students. Arguably, the time limit per question is one major source of the GMAT’s difficulty. It’s quite common for students to be anxious about the time constraints, and time and pacing must certainly be considered while preparing for the test. However, the way in which a student prepares for these time constraints can make or break her GMAT score.
For example, think of how this student is attempting to handle time. Her strategy is to barrel through questions as quickly as possible despite the stark reality that her accuracy is suffering badly. She feels that if she just continues to push harder and faster she’ll somehow miraculously begin to muscle her way to more correct responses while also finishing on time.
As a result of this spurious strategy, not only is the student not earning a higher score, but she is also now missing questions that she would have otherwise answered correctly had she taken more time and been more careful. Thus, her score is actually dropping below the level at which she should be scoring. In addition, and perhaps arguably even more destructive to her score, she’s training her brain to work sloppily, hastily, and carelessly. The test is designed to trip up people who are reacting without analyzing.
This “run and gun” strategy directed at beating the clock is especially characteristic of students who are new GMAT study. Here’s the bottom line: not only do you need to finish the test, but you also need to record correct responses to a significant number of the questions. It does you no good to finish the test on time only to mess up on 70 percent of the problems. If your goal is primarily to finish the test, just sign up for the test and click through each question randomly – surely you’ll finish in the allotted time. Of course, you can forget about earning a good score.
The Navy SEALs’ motto goes, “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” In other words, “slow” leads to error free; “fast” leads to mistakes. Carpenters have a saying, “Looking it over twice saves doing it twice.” Careless workmanship, rushing through a situation or problem, is a sure way to produce shoddy work that will need to be done over. Instead, move carefully but deliberately and with strategy and disciplined purpose (slow is smooth) to maximize your chances of success. If this strategy is good enough for elite warriors and master builders, perhaps this is also a viable strategy for beating the GMAT.
So, then, how do students studying for the GMAT increase speed, while also improving accuracy? In the early days of studying, students need to focus on finding the correct response to each question by mastering the material, not on answering questions in two minutes (or any other preset time constraint). In fact, when students first begin preparing for the GMAT, I recommend that they pay no attention to timing. Paying attention to the time during the early days of studying only causes unnecessary anxiety and retards progress.
The best way to gain speed is to know the material very well! So keeping your focus on content knowledge is really your first priority. The better you know the material, the fewer mistakes you’ll make; the fewer mistakes, the faster you’ll work your way through each problem. There is no way around this reality. All the tricks, tips, and strategies in the world won’t help you much if you haven’t gained a solid understanding of the material.
Happy studying!
