Tip for slow readers

Question

For anybody out there who has difficulty keeping up, I have found it helpful to adjust my sleeping time to 9pm~4am. This allows me to get a few solid hours of reading in before 8am classes kick off, which turn means the difference between walking in partially prepared instead of groggy from pulling a late nighter. Problem is, I tend to get sleepy in the late afternoon and have a tough time keeping my eyes open once the sun begins to set (earlier and earlier over here in the sleepy Northwest).

R.E.D. · Answer

This happens. Try to use 10pm~5am - this seems a very good time for sleeping, you are not going to bed too early, and you still have sufficient time in the morning. And you can keep your eyes opened until 9pm.

pelihu · Answer

How are you going to go out every night if you go to bed at 9 or 10? :lol:

Actually, I have a serious point. Preparing for and doing well in class is just 1 facet of business school. Another very important facet is recruiting - after all, would anyone be at b-school if they weren't looking to improve themselves professionally? Anyhow, a lot of important stuff takes place later in the evening. Cocktail hours and dinner with recruiters are the obvious concerns, and you want to be at your best during these hours. Also, networking with fellow classmates in a casual setting is probably really important as well. I think the only real solution is just to cut out sleep as much as possible.

kidderek · Answer

How about a power nap after lunch? A little siesta always helps, the only problem is oversleeping. I usually sleep on my commute home from work and I feel so refreshed when the train pulls into my stop.

GMATT73 · Answer

Therein lies the dilemma. We can't go to class unprepared yet we also need to be able to schmooze with all the other VCapitalists and consultants during the after hours. 

As for getting in "face time," I have been attending events for the first hour or so, then I covertly sneak out the back door when nobody's looking. I just can't stay awake after 9pm anymore.

The good thing about waking up early is that I can also get one or two workouts in at the IMA, where, believe it or not, some of my classmates like to socialize at 6am!!

pelihu · Answer

A nap is a great idea if you can find some time in the afternoon. They help a lot. I wish there was a place on campus where I could put my head down for a while.

sm176811 · Answer

Yeah I stay abt 5 mins from Kellogg. I usually go back and take a few power naps during the day! Helps a lot!! However, I wonder whether I can do the same in winter!

3underscore · Answer

Study lounge sofas and Statistics class seem popular sleeping grounds for my classmates.

johnnyx9 · Answer

Everyone in school is sleep deprived, and it seems like everyone has cough/colds. In any given class at any given moment, five people will be coughing simultaneously. 

It's all good though, I'm sure sometime around the spring of 2009 things will slow down and we'll all be well rested and healthy again.

Tip for slow readers

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards