as a product manager for both high school and graduate school apps, i’ve talked with over 200 magoosh students who are studying through our product. in almost every conversation, students talk about one challenge in particular: time management.

time management means two things:

1. finding a way to focus on studying during a busy day
2. staying on-pace while doing a practice session

it is no secret that students have a lot to do besides study. they are already in school, or at jobs, and so it is challenging to make time for studying. magoosh has amazing content that will improve your test score, but in order for it to be effective, you have to carve out the time and stay dedicated and motivated to do so.

creating time to study

pomodoro is productivity technique that has been around for decades. it was invented by an italian student who used a tomato shaped kitchen timer to time himself in 25-minute increments as he studied. (the name is actually a derivative of tomato.) in the past few years, several apps have come to market capitalizing on this technique by enabling the user to set 25-minute segments of time, and then encouraging them to take a break afterwards.

i started using a pomodoro style app called tide a few months ago and fell in love. it was easy to use and made me aware of how i spent time at work. i tend to concentrate and be ‘in the zone’ for about 2 hours straight, and then burn out by the end of the day. the app encouraged me to really stay focused for 25 minutes and then take a true break for 5 minutes. by the end of the day, i had a similar level of energy that i had earlier in the day. it was mind blowing.

adapting the pomodoro technique

when our team started to think about new apps that we could build for our act magoosh students, a pomodoro-style app became one of our favorite ideas. we built the idea into a prototype as a very basic countdown timer and called the feature “study mode”. students liked it, but wanted something more visual. so we found a design for a circular timer ui that is as mesmerizing as it is effective.

we also decided that 25-minute increments were fine for one-off study sessions or staying focused at work, but studying for a standardized exam is different. students need to stay focused for the full duration of the exam-section.

so, we designed the timer to countdown from the time that you would get on that exam section, much like a mobile exam proctor.

increasing study timer’s accessibility

we also decided that this app would be useful for all of our students, not just high school students. gre, gmat, mcat, toefl, lsat and ielts students all also want to stay focused and on-pace during their practice sessions. so, we created timers for all of the exams that we currently support. when you first open the app, we ask what tests you are interested in studying for, and then we display those exam options on your home page.

we also included a “general study” option, which is the traditional 25-minute pomodoro style increment, for when you want to read or study outside of a practice session. it is also great for staying focused on work beyond studying for your standardized exam!

in true pomodoro style, we also included a prompt for a 5 minute break after each study session. research shows that taking breaks helps you stay fresh and focused for longer. we don’t want students to burn out as they study. studying should be a marathon, not a sprint, and so we are happy to support this best practice of taking breaks through the app.

after completing a study session, the app tells students “take a stretch break, we will save your seat ;)”

focusing on the user

finally, i realized that just timing an exam section only addresses the first part of time management: staying focused on studying for a set amount of time. it doesn’t help students stay on-pace. this is one of the biggest challenges for students. often, while studying, students will leisurely answer questions, and then when they get into the test center, they become very stressed by how quickly they need to move in order to finish the section.

to address this challenge, we added a question counter in addition to the timer. as the timer counts down, the questions count up, giving the student exactly the amount of time per-question that is allotted. of course, you can take a little more time on one question and a little less on another, but the question counter gives you a general sense of if you are on-pace, or not.

we are excited to share this app with our students and get their feedback. we already have a few “advanced” features that we’d like to include in a future iteration, and are looking forward to hearing how else we could improve the app to make it even better for our students. 

the post study timer: test prep stopwatch app by magoosh (ios only) appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

*disclaimer! you can’t fully prepare for the act in one day, and we would never suggest that! but you can learn how to be ready to do your best on the test tomorrow morning, and that’s what this guide is for!

step 1

• if you aren’t familiar at all with the act, take a few minutes to learn what is tested on the act and how scoring works (for example, you should know that there is no penalty for wrong answers, so make sure you answer every question.) watch the introductory videos for each exam section (english, math, reading, science, writing) in the study page of this app.

step 2

• watch these act-specific strategy lessons to help you learn how you can use clues on the act to pick up extra points on the math and science sections:
• science: using key terms
• math: backsolving (algebra), vics – picking numbers (algebra), assumptions & estimation (geometry)

step 3

• learn the rules of commas, semicolons, colons, and em-dashes. you can find lessons on these under english: punctuation. the english test includes dozens of questions that involve punctuation rules. if you can brush up on your punctuation, you can easily pick up several extra points. if you are a punctuation-master, watch a few lessons on magoosh act on the concepts you do need to review.

step 4

• check out our act math facts and formulas post and refresh yourself on some of the common math formulas you may have forgotten!

step 5

• make yourself a “cheat sheet” of final reminders you can glance over the morning of the exam. this can include things like “watch out for run-on sentences!” and “the area of a trapezoid is (base 1 + base 2)/2 * height.”
• review the list of test-day tips below and pack your bag.

test day morning!

• on test day, don’t do any last minute prep! do some light exercise, eat a full breakfast, and give yourself plenty of time to get to the test center. don’t forget your #2 pencils, calculator, watch, drink, snack, admissions ticket, and photo id.
• review your list of last-minute pointers before you go into the testing center so that you can walk into the test feeling confident!

complete list of test-day tips

make sure you have these things with you:

• admissions ticket (print from actstudent.org)
• photo identification (crucial! you will not be admitted without it. check acceptable forms of identification here.)
• several sharpened soft lead no. 2 pencils (the old fashioned wooden kind; not mechanical.)
• a permitted calculator (did you know that using a ti-89 is the most common reason students are dismissed from the act? check the list of prohibited calculators here.)
• extra batteries
• a watch to pace yourself (you can’t rely on the fact that the test room will have a clock.)
• eraser
• pencil sharpener
• healthy snacks (see below)
• a water bottle
• an outfit with layers (your test room may be too hot or too cold. it is rarely just right, goldilocks.)

go to bed early.

make sure you are giving yourself a solid night of sleep. for most teenagers, this is 8-9 hours. figure out when you need to get up to be completely ready and at the test center stress-free and work backwards from this time to figure out when you need to go to bed. if you can’t sleep, though, don’t force it. get up and do something else and try again in a half hour. don’t lie there agonizing.
 

wake up early and do some physical and mental exercise.

go for a jog; do some jumping jacks. waking your body and mind up is crucial. read some articles from the newspaper and focus on finding the main idea. try a couple math problems. avoid the urge to do any last-minute act prep, but it is important that your brain is warmed up for the test.
 

eat a healthy, long-sustaining breakfast.

i like granola, fruit, eggs and veggies. drink coffee only if you are used to it. don’t try it now if it is new. if you are like me, you will get crazy jitters.
 

bring a cheat sheet.

not that kind of cheat sheet. but i recommend bringing an “act strategy cheat sheet” that you can review before the test and then tuck safely away in a bag. this should include the most important reminders you’ve learned from your test prep such as “don’t forget to watch out for comma splices!” and “make sure to stick to a pace of 5 minutes per passage on the science.” having a last-minute review list can help you remember that you are, in fact, prepared and you do, in fact, got this.
 

don’t lose your cool before the test.

libraries or cafeterias full of arriving test-takers are generally not good places. you could cut the nervous energy with a knife. so many anxious students fretting about whether or not there will be a comparison reading passage or quizzing each other on logarithms. or even worse, the kid leaning up against the wall who looks like he could care less. of course, eventually you need to check in, but if you get to the test center early, by all means, pull out your headphones, blast your favorite pump-me-up music and hang out outside. you’ve done too much preparation to let these other students shake your confidence.
 

keep your focus during the test.

a surefire way to not get the score you want is to constantly pay attention to the test-takers around you. how does that girl in front of you answer math problems so fast? why can’t that kid stop tapping his foot? try to stay in the zone and focus on your particular strategies. everyone is different, and what these other students are doing is irrelevant. and it should go without saying that you should avoid any temptation to peer at your neighbor’s answer sheet. cheating is not a risk you want to run here. and he’s probably wrong anyway.
 

eat on your breaks even if you aren’t hungry.

your brain needs fuel just like the rest of your body, even if your nervous stomach doesn’t think so. and the last thing you want is to let a perfectly good snack break go to waste only to regret it later when your stomach is howling halfway through the science section. fruit is great test fuel: the natural sugars help give you energy. make sure to have something with protein too, like a handful of nuts. many of my students swear by peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or trail mix with chocolate for the perfect combo of sugar and sustenance. don’t forget the water!
 

reward yourself.

you worked hard for this, and no matter how you think the test went, afterwards treat yourself to something you enjoy. you need the mental break and relaxation. but as important as an after-test reward is, i think that what is even more important is rewarding yourself during the exam. no, you can’t whip out a cookie in the middle of the english section, but give yourself mental pats on the back when you catch yourself doing something right. so many students beat themselves up during a test for what they think they are doing wrong. put a stop to this destructive mentality and instead congratulate yourself when you find yourself doing something right: sticking to your pacing or recognizing a grammar error you’ve missed before. it’s a long test and a positive attitude is crucial!

the post 24-hrs before your test appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

looking for high quality act test prep that will review the fundamentals and go deep on the core concepts that you need to know for the act?

look no further: we have put our top act lessons in a super sleek, new and free video app. you will have access to over 80 lessons on english, math, reading, science and writing on your iphone or android. never before have so many of magoosh’s lessons been made available for free and been available on-the-go.
 

act test prep in your pocket

each video is 3-12 minutes long. they are perfect to listen to during your commute, in between classes or while exercising.

 
we put our energy into creating an app that is very easy to use and that loads quickly. the navigation is simple and the videos play immediately. this lets you use most of your study time actually learning, and not clicking through an app or waiting for it to load.
 

improve your score with the video lessons

the app includes act lesson videos from our expert-crafted test prep lectures. lessons span introductory topics to advanced concepts and include information on the test format and study strategies.

the magoosh act lessons are engaging and effective. they help you understand the underlying concepts that are tested on the act so that you can answer questions with confidence. the act covers a lot of content from grammar that you may have learned several years ago to trigonometry, which you may still be mastering. with over 80 lessons, you will be able to review the topics that are most relevant to your study needs.

thousands of students have improved their scores with magoosh’s act lessons and test prep.
 

let us know what you think!

want to give us feedback on our app? we love hearing from students who have used our apps. in fact, we often use your responses to help us identify new features and decide our strategy for product development. if you’d like to let us know how you think we can improve our app, be sure to download and watch a few lessons first, and get in touch with us here.

more free act apps from magoosh

looking for our free act flashcards app? it is a great compliment to this prep app.
 

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