Study Schedule
Let’s get started!
In this section we’ll take a look at how to efficiently use the time you have to study over the next 30 days. The goal of the study schedule is to help you plan your preparation to make the best use of your limited time. I will keep everything simple, short, and easy to digest. Information overflow is never efficient or effective, and reading a lot of words doesn’t mean that you are absorbing what you need to know.
I recommend allocating 3-4 hours a day for your GMAT studies if possible. I studied four hours a day when I was preparing for the GMAT, and I strongly recommend that you also try to study four hours a day. Of course, this might be unrealistic with your current job and other commitments. But try to spend at least three hours a day studying. With only 30 days to prepare, this intense study is necessary. Decide on how much time each day you can spend studying and set aside a fixed period during the day for this. You should be studying roughly at the same time each day to help you stay focused and on schedule with your study plan. Use a timer to make sure that you put in the amount of time that you have committed to.
What Else You Need
1) Official GMAT Guide. Try to practice with official questions as much as possible. Although questions from other sources may be good, using the official questions will:
• Help you understand exactly what to expect on test day.
• Help you focus on real questions from past exams by reducing information overflow.
I see little value in trying to emulate these questions or to create “GMAT-style” questions here when you can get authentic questions directly from the source that creates the actual GMAT questions. Instead we will focus on planning your study schedule and on what you need to learn and how.
I recommend the three official GMAT books for practice questions, and reference various questions from the Official Guide for GMAT Review throughout this book.
You should get the first one. Then, decide whether you need more practice and get the other two.
• The Official Guide for GMAT Review (includes access to 50 online Integrated Reasoning practice questions)
• The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review
• The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review
2) A notebook, preferably one with a calendar. This is one of the most important tools that you will use throughout your preparation. Find a notebook that is easy for you to write in and easy to carry around, as it will be central to your studying. Make sure to get a notebook that you like because you will spend the entire month with it. It will also be the most important test preparation material that you bring to the test center on test day. I recommend that you find a larger notebook so that you can write clearly; a larger notebook will also be easier to read.
3) A timer. This serves two purposes:
• Measures your test taking time;
• Keeps you on schedule with your study plan and makes sure that you are putting in enough hours both studying and getting rest.
4) Relaxation tools. Books, video games, TV/DVD/Blu-ray, hot baths, etc. Anything that can help you relax within 30 to 60 minutes. You will need some kind of entertainment tool to help you relax during this one month. Non-stop studying without taking a break will result in diminishing returns on your efforts. Get yourself a relaxation tool as a reward for completing sections of your preparation.
5) Determination. Determination. Determination! The GMAT is not easy, and even if you have all of the help that the world has to offer, you still need to put in the hours studying for it. Starting today for one month, all of the non-fiction books that you read should be related to the GMAT, and the only information that you absorb into your head should be related to the GMAT. Don’t plan on having much of a social life for the next four weekends, turn off your cell phone and give up social media! This will be one of the toughest months of your life, but then anything worth doing requires a struggle, and at least this method is a short-lived version of GMAT pain!
You will live and breathe the GMAT. You will get tired and feel stressed. But when you come out of the test center one month later, you will thank yourself for making these sacrifices. Committing yourself to prepare for the GMAT this month will be one of the best investments that you make in yourself. A high GMAT score opened a wealth of opportunities for me, both in terms of career and self-growth. And it can do the same for you!
Everyone is different and so should his or her study plans be. To customize a study plan for you, I have structured the book into several parts. You will jump back and forth among chapters and study according to the study plan we create together.
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK FROM THE FIRST PAGE TO THE LAST!
Follow the instructions and study accordingly. Go for it!