20 GMAT questions to keep you sharp

Pop quiz! Do you know what the best way to keep your mind sharp ahead of the GMAT is? Never let the GMAT get too far from your thoughts. Just to be clear, this is not a greenlight to study constantly or to cram. Both of those activities will actually hurt your performance and breaks are essential to a healthy brain. What I am saying is that you need to keep yourself in the GMAT mindset outside of your regularly scheduled testing times. How do you do this? I recommend quizzing yourself throughout the day on simple things that you do on a regular basis. Doing so will improve essential mental math skills necessary for success on the quantitative section. Additionally, you will also improve your reading comprehension and grammar skills. Here are 20 questions that you can ask yourself throughout your day to keep you alert and ready for testing.

Quantitative:

1. If I am 25 miles from my interstate exit and I am driving 75 mph, how long do I have before I reach the off ramp?
2. If a gallon of milk costs $3.29, and my glass can hold 8oz of milk, how much am I paying per glass?
3. A shirt that you want to buy is $15, but there is a 15% sale. What will the shirt cost at the register?
4. Is it a better deal to buy 5lbs of beef for $25 or 3lbs of beef for $15?
5. If I have a full tank of gas, and my car’s tank holds 12 gallons, how far can I drive if I average 25 miles per gallon?
6. I know that it takes me 45 minutes to write a report, 3 minutes to answer an email, and 1 hour to finish a spreadsheet. I also have to study for two hours for the GMAT. Assuming that I have to write 4 reports, answer 20 emails, and finish 3 spreadsheets on top of GMAT prep, how many hours do I have to work today?
7. If a dozen eggs costs $2.15 how much does each egg cost?
8. The staircase in my apartment has 24 steps until it reaches the ground floor. If I take the stairs up and down three times a day, how many steps have I climbed?
9. If I lose 20% of my paycheck to income taxes, and I am paid $3,000 per month after taxes, how many dollars to I pay in income tax each month?
10. If my shower has a flow rate of 2.1 gallons per minute, and I shower for 8 minutes, how many gallons of water have I used?

Verbal:

11. Were there any grammatical errors in the sentence that I just read?
12. What assumptions must be true for the editorial writer’s article to also be true?
13. What was the governor’s core argument in his speech?
14. What logical devices is the writer using to make his point?
15. Does this word have any synonyms?
16. Is the argument made by the writer supported by their claims?
17. Are there any punctuation errors in the article that I just read?
18. What were the key facts and claims to the advertisement I read?
19. Does this word have any antonyms?
20. What does this word mean?

Feel free to edit and change these questions to make them meet your needs and specific situations. However, constantly challenging your brain to think about the information that it receives is a surefire way to keep yourself sharp and prepared. I have found that if I quiz myself periodically throughout the day that I am more productive during my prep time. There is no need to ask yourself questions constantly, but try to squeeze a few of these questions in every day. You will be surprised by how much it helps you improve your skills.