Engaging in leisure activities during gmat prep

Question

Hi All,

I have been preparing for gmat for close to a year now along with a full fledged job. I am in the final leg of my prep wherein I am revising the topics before jumping on to mocks. I daily spend around 2 hrs during weekdays and 4-5 hrs during weekends for gmat prep, sometimes more. Once a week on weekend I go and play cricket for around 3-4 hrs in the morning and then come back and study. Am i wasting my time by playing or studying 2-3 hrs during morning and not in evening. My family constantly asks me how long will you keep studying and why don't you give the exam by focusing on only your job and studying and not doing anything else.

Please advice if i need to change something in my study schedule.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  kreel11 ,

Although you're in the best position to take a call on this, I'd think that focusing only on prep could actually hurt a test taker's performance (burnout), especially over a period of (as in your case) close to a year.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Some exercise may be helpful. May be worth considering how you are performing on your Official Mocks.

bb · Answer

Most people get better results if they treat GMAT as a sprint rather than a marathon. The mental prep required for a high score requires significant focus and keeping a lot of small details fresh in your mind. That favors shorter but more intensive preparation such as three or four months. Going beyond six months you were likely to burn yourself out and lose due to memory loss some of the initial learnings.

I spent three fairly intense months studying for my test and it definitely took a toll on me. I took the test when I realized that I could no longer improve my score and I started to hate it. I did not take it because I reached my score but because I could no longer improve my score if that makes sense. Otherwise I would’ve been studying for a very long time and I feel some people do the same thing.

I would recommend perhaps having one day off when you’re not feeling guilty not studying for the test and exercise would be great if you can fit it in. I would also warn you that studying for four hours after work is questionable value. At least I could not study after work. I would eat and I could focus for maybe five minutes and in my mind would wander and I just could not do any productive work. I had to shift all of my schedule to be done early in the morning which meant waking up at six and then studying for a couple hours. I would do flashcards and study notes during the day just reviewing what I learned earlier and then at night I would read fiction books. I would do no studying at all after 9 AM in the morning basically

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ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi kreel11,

I think what you are doing is great. Taking breaks to get your mind off the GMAT is totally OK and will help avoid burnout. So, I would not change a thing.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi  kreel11

Given your prep time, I think that should be okay. However, taking a few mocks should give you a fair idea if you prep demands more time from you. All the best!

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Engaging in leisure activities during gmat prep

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