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25 Jul 2019, 15:01
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Friends,
This is my coming out and admitting to the world, that I have a chronic fear of timers. Timers, whether hidden or visible, the sheer idea that it lurks around terrifies me, freezes me up. I take 20-30 seconds just to unfreeze and snap back into the real world and to focus on a question at hand. This is especially true when I am working on a problem that I am unfamiliar with. I also find myself pushing into picking an answer hastily in fear of running out of time and get the answer wrong. Based on my self-assessment, 'the chronic fear of timers' is a big reason why I am bad at standardized tests. When I took my first GMAT mock test, I scored a 40 in Quant. 60 hours (of Quant), many concepts later, in my 2nd GMAT mock test my score improved by 2 points to 42. When I reviewed all the questions I got wrong, I was able to solve 98% of the questions correctly (no timer of course but I solved them pretty quickly too). While reviewing, I was baffled by the kind of questions I got wrong in the second mock test. Quant is my forte (I have almost always scored 100% in Math in School, College etc) and I know my concepts are strong enough to score at least a 49 if not 50 or 51. I've used Quant as an example only because, my concepts are very strong in Quant, unlike Verbal. I've been working hard in Verbal as well. The fear of timers is pretty section agnostic. My GMAT exam is coming up in 60 days.
Any tips, ideas, real world experiences, stories of how you had the same fear and overcame it, are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
This is my coming out and admitting to the world, that I have a chronic fear of timers. Timers, whether hidden or visible, the sheer idea that it lurks around terrifies me, freezes me up. I take 20-30 seconds just to unfreeze and snap back into the real world and to focus on a question at hand. This is especially true when I am working on a problem that I am unfamiliar with. I also find myself pushing into picking an answer hastily in fear of running out of time and get the answer wrong. Based on my self-assessment, 'the chronic fear of timers' is a big reason why I am bad at standardized tests. When I took my first GMAT mock test, I scored a 40 in Quant. 60 hours (of Quant), many concepts later, in my 2nd GMAT mock test my score improved by 2 points to 42. When I reviewed all the questions I got wrong, I was able to solve 98% of the questions correctly (no timer of course but I solved them pretty quickly too). While reviewing, I was baffled by the kind of questions I got wrong in the second mock test. Quant is my forte (I have almost always scored 100% in Math in School, College etc) and I know my concepts are strong enough to score at least a 49 if not 50 or 51. I've used Quant as an example only because, my concepts are very strong in Quant, unlike Verbal. I've been working hard in Verbal as well. The fear of timers is pretty section agnostic. My GMAT exam is coming up in 60 days.
Any tips, ideas, real world experiences, stories of how you had the same fear and overcame it, are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
25 Jul 2019, 15:34
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The fear of timers, clocks, watches and other time instruments is a known phobia. Do exams and other worldly demands unfairly penalize people who unfortunately suffer from these phobias? Perhaps yes and that can be a discussion for another "time" (pun intended).
Since we cannot change the world overnight, here are some research-supported help suggestions.
1. A phobia can be partially mitigated by repeatedly exposing subject to source of phobia.
2. Exposure to source of phobia can be he helpful if the exposure occurs gradually and consistently.
3. As long as the phobia is not completely debilitating, the above methods could be useful.
4. Practice with timers in your other day-to-day activities. E.g., brushing teeth, cooking, washing dishes, etc.
The grand concept is to gradually become comfortable with timers. Only "time" will tell! Good luck!
Posted from my mobile device
Since we cannot change the world overnight, here are some research-supported help suggestions.
1. A phobia can be partially mitigated by repeatedly exposing subject to source of phobia.
2. Exposure to source of phobia can be he helpful if the exposure occurs gradually and consistently.
3. As long as the phobia is not completely debilitating, the above methods could be useful.
4. Practice with timers in your other day-to-day activities. E.g., brushing teeth, cooking, washing dishes, etc.
The grand concept is to gradually become comfortable with timers. Only "time" will tell! Good luck!
Posted from my mobile device
25 Jul 2019, 15:41
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I am sorry to hear about this issue. It is going to be impossible to avoid the time concept but you do have a few options/ideas:
1. Obvious one - practice with more timers and train your mind some resilience to them. I think this may be the best idea to never ever ever take/solve any questions without a timer. I would try it for just 1 week and see what difference it would make. I would not worry blowing it at first and just let it go and see how fast you solve questions. One of my best Practice GMAT test scores was when I turned off the timed mode and did not worry about the timer at all (I finished early). No timer is not realistic but it illustrates the concept that the timer is a part of the pressure and makes the test more difficult. It is more difficult for everyone because of the timed conditions, just much more so for you.
2. Medication - also easy but not so good perhaps. I know some folks have taken over the counter pills to sharpen their mind (e.g. Red Bull) perhaps there is a way to do the opposite and dull it a bit? I am not suggesting it as the first choice though.
3. Request a medical waiver to get 1.5 or 2x the time? If the first option is not working, and before going to meds, perhaps you can have a doc evaluate you? This information will be used to administer your test and give you a med waiver but it won't make its way to the school or adcom. They won't know that you took the test in a different timed condition.
4. How is your GPA? If this is as serious as you say, you will have a bit of a harder time getting a high GMAT score but it is possible to explain your anxiety and possibly lower score by presenting a strong GPA.
Best Regards,
BB.
1. Obvious one - practice with more timers and train your mind some resilience to them. I think this may be the best idea to never ever ever take/solve any questions without a timer. I would try it for just 1 week and see what difference it would make. I would not worry blowing it at first and just let it go and see how fast you solve questions. One of my best Practice GMAT test scores was when I turned off the timed mode and did not worry about the timer at all (I finished early). No timer is not realistic but it illustrates the concept that the timer is a part of the pressure and makes the test more difficult. It is more difficult for everyone because of the timed conditions, just much more so for you.
2. Medication - also easy but not so good perhaps. I know some folks have taken over the counter pills to sharpen their mind (e.g. Red Bull) perhaps there is a way to do the opposite and dull it a bit? I am not suggesting it as the first choice though.
3. Request a medical waiver to get 1.5 or 2x the time? If the first option is not working, and before going to meds, perhaps you can have a doc evaluate you? This information will be used to administer your test and give you a med waiver but it won't make its way to the school or adcom. They won't know that you took the test in a different timed condition.
4. How is your GPA? If this is as serious as you say, you will have a bit of a harder time getting a high GMAT score but it is possible to explain your anxiety and possibly lower score by presenting a strong GPA.
Best Regards,
BB.
