How’s all my GAMSATers going?

(Places, you say? Excellent.)

Today, we’re talking about time management.

Not in terms of GAMSAT prep though – but actual test-taking.

Why Bother With Exam Time Management?

Exam time management is probably one of the highest pay-off tips you can implement immediately:

It’s always possible to lose marks from misinterpreting the stimulus material or miscalculating questions.

But to leave marks on the table from rushing questions or blind-guessing, due to running out of time, are the most tragic, because they are entirely preventable.

And rescuing these time-poor marks has got to be the easiest way to increase your GAMSAT score.

The Principle of Time Management

There’s a saying that being early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable. The lesson from this saying is that you don’t even want to be just on time – you want to be early. The reason being if you aim to be precisely on time, you are betting that everything will go your way:

• You don’t take way too long on the toilet before leaving
• You don’t miss the bus
• There won’t be a massive queue at the busstop
• The bus won’t be late
• Nothing holds up the bus
  • Frail people
  • Pregnant ladies
  • Disabled people
  • Drunk people
  • People wanting directions
  • People who can’t find their swipe-card or money
• There won’t be a traffic jam (like, not even a single one)
• ALL the lights will be green
• There won’t be a crowd when you get off, so you can run at full-speed, all the way,  to the right building
• Your cardio fitness is up to the task
• You know exactly where you’re going
• There’s no queue at the elevator
• The elevator comes exactly on time
• You don’t totally die running up the stairs
• The door’s not locked
• And so on…

That’s a lot of ducks that need to line up in a row.

And it’s really easy for one factor to fall through, and suddenly you’ve missed the deadline, and start considering the best excuse on your way, like:

My cat choked on his furball, and I had to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on him, but I couldn’t reach his chest since he was too long. And yes my cat is really sweaty, which is precisely why you can see my man-boobs through my shirt – yes siree.

Yes, and Exam Time Management?

Similarly, there are deadlines associated with exams, namely the time when the examiner announces “Put your pencils down”, then turns a blind eye as you blaze through the rest of the questions.

Seriously though, if you expect to wing it, and finish the exam precisely when “time is up”, you’re really expecting the exam to go without a single hitch, like:

• Not getting stuck on any questions
• Not having to re-read the stimulus material
• Not accidentally skipping a question when you’re shading-out the MCQ sheet
  • Note: If you skip a question, like fill in Q32 in Q33’s spot, Q33 and onwards will almost certainly be wrong (other than those you get right by sheer luck)
• Not having to go to the toilet
• Not having any moments of anger, frustration, confusion, stress, fatigue, and any other issues – and being at peak performance for the entire exam

Chances are, the exam won’t go absolutely perfectly – then you’ll be out of time with unanswered questions.

That is why, you should be aiming to finish your exams early, so you have extra time that you can use to:

• Go to the toilet without totally rushing (and getting it everywhere) (ewww)
• Drink from your water bottle without choking (and dying)
• Check your work
• Sink a few extra minutes into that bullshit question you really want to get right (it’s a matter of principle, you dig?)
• Faff around/nap/contemplate the mysterious ways of the universe
• Leave early without the crowd
  • Yes, you can be that guy/gal that people think “Are they sure they didn’t miss any pages?” as you catwalk out like The Shit

The lesson here is: Finish the exam early, and have a plan for how to do this.

The List You Want

I’ve sat plenty of exams before the GAMSAT – and I have never run out of time.

Most of my time management strategies have been second nature to me, but I’ll break it down for you in the following $19.95(!) installments:

1. Exam Progress Schedule: Schedule Your Time
2. Doing Things In Bulk
3. Highlighting Questions
4. Managing Individual Questions

Ask The Readers

What other exam time management strategies would you recommend?

Want Loads More Tips and Strategies? Check out the FastGAMSAT ebook pack on the homepage! (Yes, that’s Snarksy on the cover) ( ^ΦдΦ^) Draw me like one of your French girls, Willeo.