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Help! I'm moving at an absolutely glacial pace.

greggreg Alum Member
edited December 2016 in General 50 karma
Here's my problem: I'm moving at an insanely slow pace through the 7Sage material. How slow? I'm taking at least four times longer than the time estimates on most sections. And often much, much longer than that.

Some context: I got a mid 150s diagnostic with a clear weakness in LG. I'm scheduled for the June sitting.

The source of my problem is two fold:

(1) I'm taking crazy copious notes. I'll watch every substantive video at least twice, pausing frequently, to transcribe the content on paper in my own words. I'll print out any written material and read through with a pen and highlighter before watching a video.

(2) I'm not moving on until I'm absolutely confident with the material (LR so far). I do drills from the Cambridge books on relevant material (MP/MSS questions so far) and blind review most questions. I take forever! I have taken upwards of 30 minutes to review my thought process on one question. If you do the math, this means that some days I will have reviewed as little as 10 questions, including the time it takes to initially test myself and to watch the 7Sage videos / read discussions after my self review.

Is it normal for studying to move this slowly? If not, what should I change?
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Comments

  • SprinklesSprinkles Alum Member ⭐
    11542 karma
    On the contrary, this is the best approach to achieve mastery! Often times, people are either flying through the material not gaining an ounce of knowledge or jumping around the lessons trying to find silver bullets to achieve their target score faster. This doesn't seem to be your case and that's something you should be proud of. It seems to me you understand the value of not moving on until you're fully confident in the lesson(s) and you have your drills to prove it. Keep doing what you're doing! You'll go places.
  • SprinklesSprinkles Alum Member ⭐
    11542 karma
    @greg said:
    (1) I'm taking crazy copious notes. I'll watch every substantive video at least twice, pausing frequently, to transcribe the content on paper in my own words. I'll print out any written material and read through with a pen and highlighter before watching a video.
    Taking notes is something I do too! I find myself not even referring back to them often but just the idea of writing down what you're learning can help so much later on when you begin PTing/Drilling. Don't overthink it though!
  • SprinklesSprinkles Alum Member ⭐
    11542 karma
    Honestly, you should change your title to "This Is How You Should Go Through The 7sage Curriculum, Dammit!" lol, ok I'm outtie.
  • greggreg Alum Member
    edited December 2016 50 karma
    @montaha.rizeq said:
    On the contrary, this is the best approach to achieve mastery! Often times, people are either flying through the material not gaining an ounce of knowledge or jumping around the lessons trying to find silver bullets to achieve their target score faster. This doesn't seem to be your case and that's something you should be proud of. It seems to me you understand the value of not moving on until you're fully confident in the lesson(s) and you have your drills to prove it. Keep doing what you're doing! You'll go places.
    Thanks! I just hope I finish this before June, hah!
    @montaha.rizeq said:
    @greg said:
    (1) I'm taking crazy copious notes. I'll watch every substantive video at least twice, pausing frequently, to transcribe the content on paper in my own words. I'll print out any written material and read through with a pen and highlighter before watching a video.
    Taking notes is something I do too! I find myself not even referring back to them often but just the idea of writing down what you're learning can help so much later on when you begin PTing/Drilling. Don't overthink it though!


    Yes! That's exactly why I take notes as well. I retain information so much better when I write lessons down in my own words. The most recent exception, however, are these damn logical indicators.
  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage ⭐ 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27902 karma
    @greg said:
    Is it normal for studying to move this slowly?
    Only for top scorers;)
    @montaha.rizeq said:
    Honestly, you should change your title to "This Is How You Should Go Through The 7sage Curriculum, Dammit!"
    Agreed!
  • jknaufjknauf Alum Member
    1741 karma
    @montaha.rizeq said:
    On the contrary, this is the best approach to achieve mastery! Often times, people are either flying through the material not gaining an ounce of knowledge or jumping around the lessons trying to find silver bullets to achieve their target score faster. This doesn't seem to be your case and that's something you should be proud of. It seems to me you understand the value of not moving on until you're fully confident in the lesson(s) and you have your drills to prove it. Keep doing what you're doing! You'll go places.
    This is huge right here. It sounds like you are doing what you need to do. My first priority after finishing the CC was untimed LR sections. I really attribute this to why I usually do not have timing issues at present. To me, untimed LR sections from tests earlier then the 30s was super beneficial. Taking the time to really zero in on the questions by breaking them down to their logical bare really helps solidify the comprehension of the questions. JY reiterates time and time again how similar all the LR questions are to each other, and by breaking them down you will really start to understand that.

    A good analogy would be attempting to run the mile. If you are going from the couch to running the mile, you probably won't be able to do it. But, as you build up strength, by improving little by little each day, you will eventually be able to finish the mile. However, just because you can finish the mile, doesn't mean you can finish the mile in time. But as you keep improving your core strength and conditioning, you will get faster and faster at running the mile.

    Some people recommend trying to finish an LR section in 30 minutes to prepare for the inevitable 35 minute section. I wouldn't recommend this until way later in your prep. If you are trying to run the mile in 10 minutes but are preparing by trying to run it in 5 minutes, before your core strength and conditioning can even run it in 10 minutes, your muscles are going to give out and you're going to fall on your face lol

    It will definitely be useful towards the end of your prep when you have solid understanding of the fundamentals and questions types.

    It sounds like you're doing great though @greg keep up the good work! Speed will come with time!
  • SprinklesSprinkles Alum Member ⭐
    11542 karma
    Solid solid advice @jknauf
  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    23929 karma
    @greg said:
    (1) I'm taking crazy copious notes. I'll watch every substantive video at least twice, pausing frequently, to transcribe the content on paper in my own words. I'll print out any written material and read through with a pen and highlighter before watching a video.

    (2) I'm not moving on until I'm absolutely confident with the material (LR so far). I do drills from the Cambridge books on relevant material (MP/MSS questions so far) and blind review most questions. I take forever! I have taken upwards of 30 minutes to review my thought process on one question. If you do the math, this means that some days I will have reviewed as little as 10 questions, including the time it takes to initially test myself and to watch the 7Sage videos / read discussions after my self review.

    Is it normal for studying to move this slowly? If not, what should I change
    Seems like you're just being thorough! If the notes are helping - keep doing it! But if they are "crazy copious" it almost sounds like you don't think the time you're putting into them is worth it? I could be wrong though. If so, keep doing whatever is working and change whatever isn't.

    However, you might be drilling too much while going through the CC. How many questions/drills are you doing from the Cambridge packets after a lesson? I suggest saving the Cambridge packets for extra-drilling if needed, or for during your PT phase. Just do some questions the Ultimate + package includes and review them with the corresponding videos. Do questions until you feel comfortable and are getting them all correct. But don't just drill for the sake of spinning your wheels. You don't need to master every question type before moving on in the curriculum.
  • Bonethugs52Bonethugs52 Free Trial Member
    9 karma
    @jknauf
    A good analogy would be attempting to run the mile. If you are going from the couch to running the mile, you probably won't be able to do it. But, as you build up strength, by improving little by little each day, you will eventually be able to finish the mile. However, just because you can finish the mile, doesn't mean you can finish the mile in time. But as you keep improving your core strength and conditioning, you will get faster and faster at running the mile.

    Some people recommend trying to finish an LR section in 30 minutes to prepare for the inevitable 35 minute section. I wouldn't recommend this until way later in your prep. If you are trying to run the mile in 10 minutes but are preparing by trying to run it in 5 minutes, before your core strength and conditioning can even run it in 10 minutes, your muscles are going to give out and you're going to fall on your face lol
    ... I .... I... I just... *slow clap*
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