👉 Strategy #1: Be Proactive in Making Time for Yourself

How many times have you heard someone say, “I don’t have time for X” or “I don’t have time for Y”? We hear such statements constantly. Here’s the reality — there is time only for the things we make time for. With a demanding job, it’s important to make time for yourself and for your personal growth and development.

Otherwise, you may find that your days become occupied with the demands of your job again and again, which leaves no time for growth and results in self-stagnation. Don’t let this stagnation happen! Your first step on the path toward career progression is to create time for studying. Here are some effective methods for finding time, even when your days are tough.

👉 Strategy #2: Make Time Each Weekday Morning to Study

Go to bed early on weeknights and wake up early on weekday mornings. Get some coffee and spend two hours studying. One great benefit to studying before work is that your brain and body will be well-rested and ready to absorb new information.

There’s also something satisfying about beginning the day by doing something for yourself, something that will help you grow and that will have a positive impact on your future. By the time you get to work, you’ll have put in a good amount of study time — that’s a great feeling to have in the morning.

👉 Strategy #3: Get Some Exercise After Work

Exercise has proven health benefits — in addition to being essential for the body, exercise is just as necessary for the brain. Exercise balances and recalibrates neurotransmitters such as dopamine. Without this recalibration, it’s easy to feel stressed and anxious.

These emotions are never optimal for learning and growth. In addition, exercise substantially improves your ability to learn and process new information. Since you know all this, get some exercise after work! Go for a run, take a long walk, hit the weights, or do some yoga.

If you’re a multi-tasker, hit the elliptical or the treadmill at the gym and review your notes or flashcards during your workout — just be careful! Evening exercise is a great way to destress, leave the day behind, and prepare for a productive evening of studying.

👉 Strategy #4: Home Study in the Evening

Once you get home, take another hour or two to study. Depending on your stamina, you may be a bit tired, so, instead of starting a new topic, this study session might be better spent reinforcing what you’ve already learned.

For example, if you studied ratio questions in the morning and reviewed them during lunch, the evening may be a good time to work through several high value ratio practice problems. Once you get tired, stop studying and relax. It makes no sense to study when you’re too tired to retain information.

👉 Strategy #5: Hit the Books Hard on Weekends

Get up early on Saturday morning (5 am, anyone?) and head to your local coffee shop. Grab some light breakfast and whatever else you need — then spend the morning studying. You can cover new topics, review old material you’ve worked on this week, and run through a bunch of practice problems.

Try your best to study until lunch time. As your test date comes near, you’ll want to spend this weekend time taking full practice GRE exams. Do your best to focus for the entire test, and simulate the test environment as much as you can (no cell phone, simple calculator, no interruptions). Later, if you’ve studied hard on Saturday morning, reward yourself by doing something enjoyable in the evening. Sunday follows the same schedule. If you’ve followed this study plan, by Sunday night you’ll likely have logged as many as 30 to 40 hours of GRE study, a number that, given a few months of time to prepare, can make a substantial increase in your score.

Always keep your eyes on the prize! These few months of commitment are an investment that will pay dividends throughout your career!
Reach out to me with any questions or concerns. Happy studying!

Warm regards,
Scott