souvik101990 wrote:
imoi wrote:
Hey everyone,
Need some advice here.
I am currently studying for GMAT and am aiming 740+ (damn you oxford). Unfortunately I only have a month to get the exam out of my way. I only study quant because my verbal is in the 80-90s all the time and my quant has never been above 70, so I set priorities.
I got the 5 guides from manhattan and basically what I do is
wake up 5-30 to 6 and study for 2-3 hours
go to work
come back and study form about 7 till 11/11.30. Then bed. Then about 20hours over the weekend.
My issues is that I now can't fall asleep. Or if I do I wake up due to my brain solving some equation (wonder where he gets them). Can someone share any advice on how to turn the brain off before sleep? I can afford like a 30-40min break before sleep and I am currently trying to read some fiction, which works to fall asleep but I still wake up easily and am tired in the mornings. Also tried wine - same effect.
Please don't write that I should stop doing that much math or that it is better to spread out GMAT over 3 months. I know all those things, I just don't have a choice - I need to nail it and my math is bad.
Any foods I should eat / avoid in the afternoon? Has someone tried mediation? And what's your take on sleeping pills - are they worth it? or bad idea? Any experience / advice would help a lot! Thanks!!
CALM DOWN
You just said you are going to study 6-7 hours every day on weekdays and 20 hours on the weekends. That's not just unhealthy for your GMAT score, but for your personal life in general too. Studying for that long will only get you too exhausted to actually use your cognition in the test. Also, GMAT can be done in a month too. That does not always relate to that disproportionate number of hours on math.
Please be cautious before making such a plan.
Turning the brain off before sleeping: this is being anxious (probably from all the hours spent on numbers and math). Try and relax. Run before you go to sleep. Physical exhaustion often leads to a great sleep.
Sleeping pills/meditation/food: Dude, just do what you normally do to stay healthy. Eat good food, that cleanse your system (fruits and leafy vegetables are great choices), bananas for the potassium. Meditation is good but it does not seem to work for beginners. (Feel free to try, and it may help with the insomnia). DO NOT take sleeping pills unprescribed. See a doctor if you have to.
Also, please don't seek medical help from people who are not professionals.
Just wanted to say thanks for this - I did actually set a limit of 11pm after your post and started running after. This solved sleep.
May I ask - you mention that GMAT can be done in a month. I just finished
MGMAT's 5 math books, sat a practice test and am on 690. I checked the question range for quant and for first time ever they all were in the 700-800 range (usually I get a mix of 600-700 and 700-800) - something I find pleasing. Still my quant was 68%, and I guessed a lot during the test to keep up with the time so in general I am disappointed.
To summarise my math problem: I know how to solve 99% of questions, but no way can I nail it in 2min. Some questions take me 30m to review after I finish the test, how can I nail them in 2? What should I focus on to get my math above 90%? Right now I am trying everything from flash cards, to long explanations to trying more problems. Any advice at all?