Need an innovative advice/idea for consistent preparation

This has been my problem too for a very long time and still takes conscious effort not to discard one-hour pockets of time (and waste them) just because I have the predisposition that "I'd better save this valuable material for when I have a larger chunk of time"...

The only panacea I have found is (very un-innovative) - to have a "plan"...

Meaning solely: Planning the SEQUENCE of thinks to learn.

Now, the "trick" that works for me is having 3 planned sequences (threads):

1) One for the large chunks of time that I will have - practice tests, etc.

2) One for smaller chunks of time, but in a "comfortable" learning environment - i.e. "I have 30 minutes only, but I have the materials before me, pen, paper and can comfortably reads, write, jot, solve, etc."

3) One for unpredictable pockets of time (with lesser quality), when I do not have all the materials before me, but carry a single preparatory item with me (such as flashcards, some fellow test-taker's shared notes, secondary/tertiary material that I would not spend my "best" time on, etc.)

(My fourth thread is actually listening to audio files, that I have prepared myself - when cooking, washing dishes, commuting, doing what you do in the morning, jogging, etc. - no other way to really learn during that time. The only time I have to worry about this "sequence" is when I actually put the audio files on my audio player...)

Now, this may turn out to be not such good advice, but it does work for me - just have these 3 sequences for these 3 types of clearly discernible situations.

It may not look too consistent, but neither all study time is made equal, nor all prep materials are made equal... and this is why it works for me.

I hope this helps!

Good luck!

Yes, I start the day by reading 2-3 articles from my Business Week subscription on the train, then take my iPad out and try to do 5-10 SC/CR questions during lunch.

I have also stopped reading free newspapers like the London Evening Standard, since the quality of writing doesn't seem to aid me in my GMAT quest. I usually save those when I know that my concentration span is deteriorating.

I find that it is easy for me to absorb information just before sleeping. I was reading an article about the earthquake in Japan last week just before sleeping and the 2nd day I could recall stats/facts etc.

The TED talks on the iPad app are also quite good. There was this talk about compassion in the business environment by Google Engineer Chade-Meng Tan and how compassion can also benefit modern businesses.

I honestly think you need to make your own motivation. What motivates someone else, will not necessarily motivate you. Why don't you google motivational posters and put one up on your wall? Makes as much sense as someone telling you to do 30 minutes versus 4 hours versus 10 hours. You need to wrap your own head around the topics, not someone else's study plan/guide etc

Just a thought, not trying to be mean,

EDIT: or put up pictures of the bschools you want to apply to?

Thanks for all your replies, the main crux of this post was to know about people with similar preparation issues got out of it.

@Wishbone: What you had mentioned is absolutely correct, but there are so many stories worth inspiring in this forum, hence finding out a similar story to get self motivated

@thetiming: Thanks for your ideas, I finally found one with similar problem.