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Home > Articles > Time Management Tips for CAT Preparation

Time Management Tips for CAT Preparation

Exam

Ridhima Jindal

Updated on 07th October, 2024 , 5 min read

CAT and Time Management: Time management is an essential part of cracking the CAT exam. Candidates should understand how to manage their time and how to attempt the CAT paper so that they can utilize it effectively to complete the paper in time and even attempt all the questions. With only a month left for the exam it becomes crucial to consider these skills. The candidates not only need these time managing skills before the CAT exam but also during the CAT exam.

The CAT exam lasts for 20 minutes, and each section is given 40 minutes. This may seem enough but can be risky as well if you are unable to utilize your time. 40 minutes per section means that you roughly have 1-2 minutes per question, and anything more than 2 minutes can be a potential risk to your overall CAT performance. Therefore it is not only important to understand the time management skills and the concept but is crucial to know how to use those skills.

In this article we will cover those effective time management strategies for CAT exam, CAT exam pattern, and some useful tools to help you with the CAT preparation. You may or may not follow these tips, but we suggest you at least go through them and try them. You can modify the schedule as per your suitability. However, it is important to know that the CAT exam needs to be given in a specific order and you will have no liberty to choose the section order whatsoever. So make sure that the strategy you create is worth using in the exam.

Similar Article: CAT Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme

CAT Time Management

Best Tips to Improve Time Efficiency in CAT

To ace an exam like CAT we have provided some generic and most commonly used exam tips and time management tips that one can use. Go through these tips below.

Create a well organized study schedule for each section of the CAT paper and make sure you dedicate the decided time to each section with faith.
Rather than wanting to do it all at once, create shorter plans and set SMART goals. It is better to prepare smaller parts than to cover everything yet nothing.
Take CAT Mock Tests regularly and ensure that you calculate each minute you spend solving those questions. Do not take the mocks lightly and analyse your performance strictly.
To manage your time and not rush in the last minute, always make sure to revise whatever you learnt in the day. Before beginning your next chapter or topic ensure that you quickly revise the previous one and make notes of anything you have forgotten. This way you can go back to brushing those concepts at a later stage.
When solving questions, try to note down the time you take to solve that answer. It will help you understand your speed and accuracy and the accordingly work on improving that.
In your final week of preparation avoid any new topics and just focus on your already grasped concepts and topics.
Prioritize your health and mental well-being too. Do not overstress and take timely intervals o keep your mind up and running, and always fresh to learn new concepts.

People Also Read: How to improve CAT Mock Test Performance

Sectional Time Management in CAT

The CAT exam comprises of three sections in total, and each section has its distinct identity. In this section of the article we have attempted to provide some key time management tips that can be used and you can utilize them to enhance your CAT Preparation. Candidates are therefore requested to go through the time management techniques for CAT Quant, Verbal, and DILR.

Time Management for CAT VARC 2024

Candidates can go through the below-mentioned points to formulate CAT VARC preparation strategy to ensure more attempts are made by them. Candidates should however note that to ace this section, it is necessary to work on improving reading speed for CAT Verbal since the time is limited and you cannot spend 5 minutes reading a passage.

Check the CAT VARC Syllabus Here

S.No.	Tips to increase CAT VARC Attempts	What to do?
1	Prioritize RCs	Most toppers and experts suggest that aspirants should consider solving RCs first. Out of the 24 questions in the CAT VARC section, 16 are RCs. Major chunk of the marks allocated to RCs.
2	Determine Order of Attempt	First, go through all the questions asked in the VARC section. Second, determine how to attempt the questions. Solve LRCs first then move to SRCs. Attempt VA questions in the end.
3	Fix Time to Solve Each Question	Allocate time limit to solve each question in CAT exam. Avoid getting stuck on one question for too long. Solve an RC with six questions in 8-10 minutes. Solve an RC with three questions in 4-5 minutes. Spend 10-12 minutes to solve VA questions.
4	Search for Keywords	The context of an RC can be determined in the first two paragraphs. Identify the main theme of RC. Search for keywords. Answer RC questions.
5	Formulate RC Strategy	Aspirants can select the strategy that works best for them. Classic Approach: Read the complete RC and then attempt questions. Bottoms-up Approach: Read the questions first and then read the RC. Mixed Approach: Read a bit of RC and mid-way solve questions.

Time Management for CAT Quant 2024

The CAT quantitative aptitude section can be quiet challenging for some candidates, and they often struggle to understand the approach they can use. We have covered some effective time-management techniques for CAT Quant in the table below.

Also See: CAT Quant Syllabus

S.No.	Tips to increase CAT Quant Attempts	What to do?
1	Attempt each section in three rounds	First Phase – Solve questions that you find extremely easy and are completely sure about. Second Phase – Opt for questions which you feel you can give a try. Third Phase – Go for questions that are time-consuming and would require more head pondering.
2	Divide the time accordingly	Try to attempt at least 15 to 16 questions in the first 25 to 30 minutes. Along with that, go on marking questions that you are almost sure of but require some time to solve. Attempt these questions during the second phase. And if there is yet more time left after this, go on to check the third. This methodology will only improve your accuracy and bring about a huge difference in your marking.
3	Do not spend much time on one question	CAT exam gives 40 minutes for each section. Spend a maximum of 2 minutes on one question. If you are still unable to recollect, go to the next question.

Time Management for CAT DILR 2024

DILR is often considered the most challenging section of the exam. An important question that needs to be addressed here is - "How to manage time in CAT DILR?' since the questions and syllabus in this particular section are both challenging and tricky. We have formulated some effective tips to help you manage your time in this section.

Must Read: CAT Syllabus for DILR

S.No.	Tips to increase CAT DILR Attempts	What to do?
1	Attempt Non-MCQ questions first	Answering non-MCQ questions is not going to fetch you negative marking. Instead of not punching in wrong options in MCQs, this strategy might add up to that minute difference in marks that might matter in your end percentile.
2	Leave the Questions	Leave answers which you are doubtful of. Attempting questions you are doubtful of just to complete as many answers as possible may lead to negative marking thereby lowering your entire scoring. Be sensible and quick enough to recognize the difficulty level of the questions that come at you and accordingly invest time on them as and when required or simply skip them.