Ok, no...I'm back!

Remember the last post? Scratch that. There will never be a "right time" to study for GMAT. This IS the right time. Just going to buy MGMAT's SC guide. I have 4 days to go through it once, since work starts 4th Jan. :-) Yey! I'm so glad to be hitting my books again! :-)

Flashcard Advice

Here's my first real piece of GMAT advice I posted on a GMAT Club thread MGMAT Math Study Tips? (thread created by user "ant700gmat")

The query:

"Hey Guys,
I’m currently in the process of studying for the GMAT quant section using the MGMAT guides.
Do you have any tips on how to better remember the concepts/rules/formulas in the guides? Any advice would be helpful..
Thanks!"

My reply:

In one word, FLASHCARDS.

While you're going through a chapter, write down notes on concepts, formulas, etc. that are new to you, or you feel you need to commit to memory cos you may forget it.
Make flashcards out of these notes at the end of the chapter, to make review easier, and also to have a handy set of notes to refer to on the move.

A tip on the content of flashcards:
Convert the concept into a question, and put the answer on the back side of the flashcard. For example, if you've just learnt that 1 is not a prime number...put down "List the first 10 prime numbers" as a question, and you'll automatically cover the concept you were actually trying to recall. The reason I feel this is a better way is because sometimes, you tend to remember exactly what was written behind your flashcard, and well...it isn't really too helpful. By making a question out of it, you're APPLYING the formula/concept in a question format, which is a much better way to learn for the GMAT! Well, according to me.

The same goes for a formula. If you want to learn the area of a square, don't write "what is the formula for the area of a square?" Instead, make a question out of it. Eg. "If one side of a square is equal to 2 cms, what is the area of the square?" It's even better if you can make a question where you first have to figure out that the quadrilateral is actually a square (it's not given), and so once you figure out it's a square, you use the formula of a square's area. It will help you remember a lot of concepts, and you can have a lot of fun with it and come up with any number of questions on your own!

And yes, it is a time-consuming process (the last few flashcards I made have actually started to look like boring "what's the formula for simple interest?")...but I think it might be worth it.

choices

Sometimes I think I want to take up courses in my higher studies so that I can write about it. And sometimes I want to take up jobs because I can write about it. :-)

What I want from work

I've been working for 6 months now, and I've realized something. I chose to beigin my career as a reseacrh analyst, assuming I would have to write reports and make presentations after analysing data and information. I chose it because I thought I would be good at it. I am a good writer, I can pick out relevant information from a avast pool of data, I can organize it in a way that is easy to understand, and communicate it effectively in a presentation too because I've been good at public speaking too. I thought such a job would bring together my strengths and I could use it, while developing "ability to work hard" skills, and do my job well. Although I haven't had to make any presentations till now, the rest of my skills have been used A LOT. And yes, I believe I've done a good job. But, now that I think of it, although the company benefits from my already dveloped skills (that maybe got a little fine-tuned at work), how have I benefited? I know the fact that the company benefits gives me a sense of accomplishment, and I've had a platform to display my skills. But, now what? Although I don't regret making this career choice, and maybe some people may think it's good to be in a job which makes most use of your strngths, I'm not satisfied anymore. I need more.
I think I've always been attracted to things I know will be a challenge to me. For quite some time now, I thought I should do somewthing that utilizes my writing and communication skills. But now, I think I should stay away from it. Mostly because it doesn't satisfy me. Because I'm not learning anything new. well, I am to a certain extent, but not to the extent I'd want. I want to get into something which teaches me something new everyday, and where there's no fixed template to work on. being someone who loves to be organized, and thrives on fixed formats, this seems to be contrary to my nature. But, MAN! I guess I don't want that at work. It seems scary to think about getting into something that has no structure, no format, but I want that! I'd LOVE that.. And yes, I want that for the rest of my life. I know I can't choose at this age what field/ post I want to work in. But, I can choose what I want from work. And I choose uncertainty. And I choose a challenge. Something that is not in my skill set already, and something that requires me to learn something new all the freaking time. Maybe this is like a normal day of work for many of you. But it's not  for me. Atleast not in this company. I should change my company. And soon. But, I'm waiting to finish my GMAT and then try applying to some of the big consultancy firms with my high score. Hmmm...I guess I'll just have to push through these last 2months. Wish me luck.