![\"Manhattan](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2018\/09\/create-gre-problem-log-quant-chelsey-cooley.png\")
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Having a GRE problem log is like having a budget: sort of a pain sometimes, but much smarter than the alternative. Skeptical? Check out <\/span>this article<\/span><\/a> first\u2014then come back here when you\u2019re ready to roll. <\/span><\/p>\n Are you a gel-pen-loving bullet-journal enthusiast? Or would you rather something plain but practical, like a nice Excel spreadsheet? Your GRE problem log won\u2019t work at all if you don\u2019t write in it or look at it. A GRE problem log can be in any format that lets you record information in an organized way. <\/span><\/p>\n Some of us are natural self-analyzers. Some of us would rather just skip straight to the action. It\u2019s okay if your GRE problem log is very simple. An elaborate problem log is great too. What matters is that you choose something that won\u2019t feel like a burden. <\/span><\/p>\n At the heart of it, the point of a GRE problem log is to <\/span>remember what you\u2019ve learned <\/b>and to <\/span>help you learn in the future<\/b>. There are all kinds of little \u2018aha\u2019 moments that come from doing GRE problems: keeping a problem log makes sure those moments are recorded rather than vanishing.<\/span><\/p>\n With that in mind, here\u2019s the world\u2019s simplest GRE problem log: <\/span><\/p>\n The best takeaways are <\/span>general<\/b>. When you do a problem, you\u2019re not going to see that same problem on your actual GRE. So, recording exactly how you did that specific problem is a waste of time. Your goal is to glean ideas from that problem that you could use on <\/span>other<\/span><\/i> problems. <\/span><\/p>\n The best takeaways remind you of not only what to do, but <\/span>when<\/span><\/i> to do it. Try to record not only which actions you took during a problem, but also how you knew what to do. <\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a problem from the <\/span>5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems<\/span><\/a>: <\/span><\/p>\n If <\/span>y<\/span><\/i>\u22600, what percent of <\/span>y<\/span><\/i> percent of 50 is 40 percent of <\/span>y<\/span><\/i>? <\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick solution:<\/p>\n What percent of 100 percent of 50 is 40 percent of 100? <\/span><\/p>\n And here are some great takeaways: <\/span><\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to redo every single problem, or even every problem you missed. The best problems to redo are the ones that were <\/span>right<\/span><\/i> at the edge of your ability level. Don\u2019t bother with the ones that were ridiculously hard, or the ones that you missed for a silly reason (although you should still write those \u2018silly reasons\u2019 down.) Redo the ones that you know you could get right with just a bit more studying. <\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s some more information you may want to include in your GRE problem log: <\/span><\/p>\n You might not include this information for every single problem you do, but it can be useful for some problems! <\/span><\/p>\n So, you\u2019ve created this GRE problem log, and you\u2019ve started filling it up with Quant problems. Now what? Twice per week, on the same days every week, read over your GRE problem log. On one of those two days, just reread it and look at your takeaways. On the other day, redo some or all of the problems you\u2019ve decided to redo, and record whether you got them right this time. With time, you\u2019ll find yourself thinking about lessons learned from old problems when you\u2019re doing new ones\u2014and that\u2019s exactly what you need for test day. ?<\/span><\/p>\n See that \u201cSUBSCRIBE\u201d button in the top right corner? Click on it to receive all our GRE blog updates straight to your inbox!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Chelsey Cooley<\/a> Having a GRE problem log is like having a budget: sort of a pain sometimes, but much smarter than the alternative. Skeptical? Check out this article first\u2014then come back here when you\u2019re ready to roll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,474284,921840,421,6,7,9,733445],"tags":[1362431,1362514],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-11977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-challenge-problems","category-current-studiers","category-gre-prep-2","category-gre-quant-2","category-gre-strategies","category-how-to-study","category-math-gre-strategies","category-study-tips-2","tag-gre-problem-log","tag-problem-log"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11977"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11998,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11977\/revisions\/11998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11977"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=11977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Choose a format that inspires you.<\/b><\/h4>\n
2. Light, heavy, or in between?<\/b><\/h4>\n
3. The world\u2019s simplest GRE problem log…<\/b><\/h4>\n
![\"Manhattan](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2018\/09\/cc-79-image-1.png\")
<\/p>\n4. Not all takeaways are created equal.<\/b><\/h4>\n
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![\"Manhattan](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2018\/09\/cc-79-image-2.png\")
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![\"Manhattan](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2018\/09\/cc-79-image-3.png\")
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5. \u2018Do it again?\u2019 <\/b><\/h4>\n
6. Taking it up a notch…<\/b><\/h4>\n
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7. Take it up two notches.<\/b><\/h4>\n
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8. Now what?<\/b><\/h4>\n
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\n![\"Chelsey](\"https:\/\/cdn2.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/11\/chelsey-cooley-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Chelsey")
<\/a>\u00a0is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/i><\/b>Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master\u2019s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170Q\/170V on the GRE.\u00a0<\/em><\/i>Check out Chelsey\u2019s upcoming GRE prep offerings here<\/a>.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"