BURN OUT

Question

Hello,

I haven't even given the test yet and i am burned out. I have been studying 20 hours a week for the last 3 months and i am just tired. I can't keep staring at the monitor for more than an hour , sometimes my mind completely goes numb and have no idea what i am looking at. That is why i never read e-books and even in office if i have to read something lengthy i'll take a print out.

So what should i do, how do people keep on studying for 9 months ? Where does the stamina come from ? By now I am horrified every time i learn something new, i think "oh no another thing to remember/memorize."

KyleWiddison · Answer

I can see why you are burned out - 20 hours a week is a lot of hours to be studying. Have you taken any practice exams? Do you know what kind of progress you are making or how close you are to your goal?

I recommend taking a break for a week or so and not thinking about the GMAT at all. Then come back with a study plan based on where you are now and where you need to be to reach your goal...

KW

Hnoorshn · Answer

Yes, i gave a practice exam two months back. Got a 450, after one month of studying. It was the first time i had seen DS, CR, SC, RC and probability questions. But i really don't think i have made any improvements. Yesterday i decided to go back to the Quant section after studying verbal for 45 days and lo and behold i had forgotten the volume of a cylinder formula. My mind went completely blank.

KyleWiddison · Answer

Yeah you need to take a little break from the study and reset your plan. You should be working on both quant and verbal simultaneously so you don't lose ground on any area. What study materials are you using?

KW

KW

Hnoorshn · Answer

Kaplan , Math Refresher
Kaplan , Math Workbook
Kaplan Premier

OG 2016
OG Verbal Review
OG Quant Review

Manhattan Foundations of GMAT verbal
Manhattan Geometry
Manhattan Word Problems
Manhattan Inequalities

Veritas 12 books + On demand Course

e-gmat SC course.

The saddest part is that i have read both Veritas and Manhattan Geometry books and still ended up forgetting the formula.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Hnoorshn,

To start, for anyone who want to know a bit more about the 'backstory', here is a link:

gmat-6-9-month-plan-600-score-205795.html#p1575797

If you really have been studying this much over several months, then you probably ARE 'burning out.' Considering you've given yourself so much overall time to study, I'm curious WHY you're doing so much work every week? It's not necessary and you're not facing a looming deadline, so you might want to ease off this pace. To that end, you should probably take a few days off and relax a bit. When you're a bit better-rested, you should take a FULL-LENGTH CAT and then report back with your scores.

Since you'll have to spend 4 hours in front of a computer on Test Day, you really have to work on building your endurance in this regard. Studying for hours on end out of books will NOT train you to properly face the physical and psychological aspects of working through the Official GMAT.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Hnoorshn · Answer

Cause of the first Practice Test score. Before giving my first Practice test i was absolutely fine but after getting a 450 i felt i wasn't trying or pushing myself hard enough. So i decided to study at least 20 hours a week. For me the CAT test didn't help at all , it just made me feel like i didn't know anything.

KyleWiddison · Answer

Here are a few points to keep in mind as you create your study plan. Quality is more important that quantity. As you have already realized it's possible to put forth a lot of effort without much progress to show for it. Also, start with a foundational approach by working first from those foundations books you have. It's not enough to simply read through the books - you need to make sure you are understanding the content. Work through the problems and make sure you are getting them right. Make notes of the key concepts, formulas, etc that you need to remember. Stay balanced between quant and verbal to keep yourself sharp. As you are working through the content, complete the OG problems that correlate with that content area. After you have made the rounds on all the content areas, complete a practice exam to see how well you are performing and determine your areas of weakness. Once you have determined your areas of weakness you can go back to the content and review it again.

KW

KW

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Hnoorshn,

When you posted your original plan (to potentially study up to 9 months), that amount of time seemed excessive. Since you had so much time, the logical idea was that you could really pace yourself and slowly build up to your goal score; you'd also have the luxury of spending time on any specific categories that were giving you trouble. Your response to your first CAT score was seemingly to ignore all of the plans you had laid out and try to do way too much work way too quickly. If you're not able to keep the proper perspective while studying "your way", then you might want to invest in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led) - that way, you can follow a more structured timeline and (hopefully) not 'burn out' again.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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