When do you start timing the problem sets?

LCMama2017

Hello - I am studying the CC and was wondering when do we start timing ourselves when we do the problem sets after each section. I haven't been timing myself and taking my time answering the questions sets and then I BR. Thx.

AllezAllez21

I never timed myself. I think it's better to do the questions correctly and analyze them deeply than to rush. You should get plenty of practice on timed work by doing proctored PTs.

btate87

I used a stopwatch counting up on individual questions (never a full problem set) to help me gauge which question types might need to be revisited sooner. I would only consider doing that if you know it won't make you feel rushed, though. You definitely want to take your time and thoroughly understand the questions as you go at that early stage.

joycool9567

uhmm... really? I never time myself on BR. But I always time myself when I first tackle any question sets. I think it is important to get the right timing or kind of a sense that lets you notice maybe this is taking too long. Especially pattern of reasoning/ flaw and formal logic I think timed exercise is integral. Without timing, I think it is easy to think "I'm good with this type" or something like that...

AllezAllez21

@joycool9567 Ultimately, it just depends. The risk of always timing is that you feel rushed and you end up reinforcing bad habits. That being said, you're right that developing a sense of timing is important. So people just need to sort of gauge how much timed practice they're getting.

For me, I had a lot of time to study and I ended up doing over 35 timed, proctored PTs, so I never needed to worry about getting more timed work in. If you can't fit in so many PTs then it certainly could be valuable to do some timed drill work now and then.

samantha.ashley92

I begin timing myself once I can get most of the "hard" (4/5 difficulty) questions right in a section. I use a stopwatch, rather than a timer. This just helps with my anxiety, since you can't really run out of time. Technically, it is also more similar to what your strategy will be on test day. You're going to have a clock, not a count-down.

keets993

I don't think you have to/should time problem sets, just keep doing them untimed like you are now. It's better to put in the work and understand the fundamentals now and worry about timing later (like practice tests). Especially since some questions, for whatever reason, can take a long time and then you become painfully aware of that fact that it's taking you so long to solve the question and lose focus on actually trying to solve the question.