如何高效备考（如何偷懒）
yaoyao的考试经验分享：一战760 M50 V44
There’re plenty of thoughts on determination, test taking strategy, and elaborated methods on studying for each section. I’d like to contribute some thoughts on some neglected areas, on efficiency and other factors involved in the whole preparation process. In short, how to be lazy,
Don’t run out of steam
Yes, it's a noble thing, but you are looking at an even more difficult application process ahead, the MBA program that you've worked so hard to get into, and should definitely excel in, and finally, years of a high maintenance career, the purpose of all these hard work. What I want to say is, work hard, but also work smart. This is only the beginning of a long marathon, don't spent yourself and run out of steam before you make it to the first refreshment station. Spend some time and really think hard about these questions. Where do you want to go? What are you really going to use your GMAT scores for? And how much can you sacrifice at this stage?
Every investment comes with a cost and the price tag of the GMAT isn't small by any measure. Keep in mind how much your loved ones is giving up, how much your work (job or school) is suffering and NEVER lose sight of the big picture. The preparation stage is much like the actual test. You’ll have many difficult decisions to make throughout, and you don’t always have time to do everything at your leisure. Maybe you haven’t stabilized your error rate to that ideal number, maybe you still feel a little shaky about miscellaneous grammar rules, but sometimes you must move on to the next battle or you’ll lose the war in the long run. You won’t be able to take all the time that you’d like with future exams in school, and certainly not with deadlines at work. Do the best with the time and resources that you’re given and there’d be no regrets.
There hasn’t been a lack of “my girlfriend/family is upset because I’m studying too hard for the GMAT” problems. Of course, they can always try to be more understanding, more patient, and supportive of you in achieving your dreams, but again, this is really a marathon and the end is no where in sight. The more successful you become, the more obligations and responsibilities you’ll get. If you can’t even figure out a way to make it work with an exam, how can you expect things to improve as you get busier treading down this path? Like your future employees, your loved ones need to be constantly motivated, encouraged and fueled to be able to run along with you as well. Think about what works. Maybe you can take a day, half a day, or even just an hour off. Put your books away and really focus on them. It could mean the world to them and really keep them going. Maybe you can pick up a card on your way back from the library, scribble some nice words and hand it to them. Why wait until it’s all over? Let them know that you appreciate their help. You can never have too many thank-yous.
Again, things will only get more complicated from here. 明天从今天做起, find a way to keep yourself energized, keep the people closet to you happy and still achieve the result that you want. It’s the only way for you to survive business school, where you’ll have classes and more exams to ace, professors and TAs to impress, hundreds of people to network with and recruiters to talk to. Not to mention years of deadlines, overlapping projects and all the customers, bosses and colleagues with whom you’ll be acquainted at work.
Don’t stick with one plan
This is a great segue to my second recommendation: make a plan but do NOT stick with it. Given that none of us make our first study plan knowing much about our weaknesses or about the GMAT, and given that our skills are constantly evolving as we become further along in our study, we must periodically re-evaluate and modify our plans. Work can get busier and maybe you don’t feel as bubbly one day verses another. NNs are NNs because they found out what works for them, at each stage of their preparation. Your plan might need a couple reworking as well before you get there. Mine certainly took a good beating.
I’ve seen quite a few questions about what to use as study material. You know yourself best, and if not, you’ll learn your strength and weaknesses before anyone else does. Why ask and depend on someone else’s judgment? All the materials are available on CD so download all the ones you’re interested in, skim through a page each and get a feel of what they’re all like. If you still can’t decide, just pick one! You can always switch back and forth and as many times as you’d like. Nothing works for everyone, so you might not find what others recommended beneficial for you at all. Take all advices with a grain of salt.
I want to talk a little more about strategies. I’m a big advocate of focusing on your weaknesses first, but only to the point where they don’t hinder you anymore. I think it’s much easier to improve your weak areas to the point of adequacy but making the last mile will take much much more. After all, these are your weaknesses for a good reason. Spend time on it but still allocate enough time for other parts. Unless you have copious amount of time to pour over each minuscule detail, don’t waste time arguing for pages and pages. You’re just wasting yours and someone else’s time. Again, GMAT preparation is a lot like taking the actual test, where you have to complete a ton of work within a limited amount of time. Sometimes you have to just make a choice and move on or else you'll lose in the long run. Time is ticking so do what you need to do and don’t look back.
Business world is forever changing and you need to be alert and be able to adopt, constantly. Have a vision, make a plan, but also develop a quick mental reflex where you can adjust quickly and decide what’s best based on the latest information. GMAT is only the beginning, there are much bigger battles ahead.
Don’t let your efforts go to waste
That brings us to my next recommendation. Don’t just work hard but work smart. Be creative in your study routines, approach from different directions and make each minute count. GMAT is extreme difficult to conquer by working through thousands of different questions. Instead, you need to grasp its essence and really be on the same wavelength. Don’t waste time and blindly work through questions after questions but really stop and think hard so you get the most out of each one.
Now, some people would say “gosh, I know exactly what the answer is after reading the leading word,” but that’s not the point, is it? Can you list some reasons why the “best” choice is indeed better than the others? Can you find something new each time? If not, try approaching it from different angles. For example, in addition to the usual path of working through the SC questions and eliminating the choices, I put together a list of the “correct versions” of the sentences, without the choices. I found that really helpful because reading through them helped me focus on the correct expressions and enhance my 语感.
Keep your notes centralized, categorized and concise. They should be the only thing you have to look over day before the test and capture the essence of your days and weeks of hard work, so that all the efforts you spend won't go to waste and everything you learned won't fade away as time goes on.
Don’t be TOO lazy
Know your limits
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原文引自：
https://forum.chasedream.com/dispbbs.asp?BoardID=34&ID=180156
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