Running out of time on the GMAT® is frustrating because your instinct is reasonable. You hit a question that feels solvable. You read it once, twice, maybe three times. You start a calculation or try a strategy, and it doesn't quite click. But it feels CLOSE. So you stay.
For most test-takers, the real issue isn't raw speed.
It's knowing when to let go.
Four minutes go by. Then five. And now the last few questions in the section get 30 seconds each.
The result is almost always worse than if you had guessed on the hard question and spent that time on the easier ones.
Why Holding On Hurts More Than Guessing
Leaving questions blank is one of the most expensive pacing mistakes you can make on the GMAT®.
A wrong answer is one wrong answer. The scoring algorithm adjusts and moves on.
But a string of blanks at the end tells a different story. It can drag your section score down fast — much more than a few incorrect guesses would.
This means the math on pacing is clear. Spending five minutes to get one hard question right, then rushing through three easier questions at the end, is almost always a worse trade than guessing on the hard one and giving yourself time to nail the ones you know.
The Real Bottleneck on Data Insights
Timing pressure shows up everywhere on the GMAT®, but it hits hardest on the Data Insights section.
The DI section gives you 20 questions in 45 minutes. That sounds manageable until you realize that many of those questions have multiple parts. Instead of answering 20 individual items, it can feel more like answering 30 or 40.
And unlike the Quant section — where almost everything you're given is needed to solve the problem — DI is often the opposite. There's a lot of information you don't need. Tables full of data, graphs with extra variables, tabs of text that are only partially relevant.
The core skill on DI isn't doing harder math. It's deciding what to ignore. This is the heart of what we call The TGS Adaptive Strategy — investing your time in the questions that are most likely to pay off, and spending less on the ones that aren't.
When we work with students who are struggling with DI timing, the problem is almost never that they can't do the math. It's that they're reading everything carefully before they know what the question is asking. They absorb all the data, then try to figure out which pieces matter.
That's the opposite of what works.
A Pacing System That Works
Here's a straightforward system for managing your time. It won't make the questions easier, but it'll make sure you don't lose points to pacing mistakes.
Read the question FIRST — The TGS Question-First Method
This is the single most valuable habit you can build for Data Insights — and it helps on Quant and Verbal too. We call it The TGS Question-First Method because it flips the natural instinct most test-takers have.
Before you look at any graph, table, or tab, read what the question is actually asking. Write it down on your scratch pad. Then go back and find ONLY the data that answers it.
On DI, there's often a huge amount of information that exists only to distract you. If you start by reading the data, you'll try to absorb everything. If you start by reading the question, you'll know exactly what to look for.
Set checkpoints — The TGS Checkpoint System
After every five questions, glance at the clock. We call this The TGS Checkpoint System, and it's one of the simplest things you can do to protect your score. Here are the benchmarks:
- After 5 questions: roughly 10 to 11 minutes should have passed
- After 10 questions: roughly 20 to 22 minutes
- After 15 questions: roughly 33 to 35 minutes
- Final 5 questions: you should have at least 10 minutes remaining
If you're behind at any checkpoint, you know immediately. You can adjust in real time instead of discovering with three questions left that you've 90 seconds.
Build a bail-out rule — The TGS Two-Minute Rule
If you've read a question twice and still don't have a clear path forward, pick your best guess and move on. We call this The TGS Two-Minute Rule — two and a half minutes is a reasonable maximum for any single question.
This feels terrible in the moment. You KNOW you could probably solve it with another minute. But that "another minute" is almost always two or three more — and those minutes come directly from the questions at the end.
Here's the good news: you can come back. The GMAT® now allows you to change your answer on up to three questions per section. So if you bail on a question early, mark it mentally, and return to it if you've time at the end.
Practice the discomfort
Guessing and moving on is a skill, not just a decision. It feels wrong the first dozen times you do it. The key is to practice it in low-stakes settings until it becomes automatic.
Try this: do timed practice sets where you FORCE yourself to move at the two-and-a-half-minute mark, no matter what. Even if you're mid-calculation. Even if you think you're close.
After a few sessions, you'll notice something surprising. Your accuracy on the questions you DO answer goes up, because you're giving yourself time to think clearly instead of rushing through them in a panic at the end.
The Multi-Part Question Trap
One thing that makes DI pacing especially tricky is that many integrated reasoning questions have multiple parts — and there's no partial credit.
On a two-part analysis question, if you get Variable A right but Variable B wrong, the whole question is marked incorrect. On a multi-source reasoning set with three yes-or-no items, getting two out of three right still counts as wrong.
This helps your pacing decisions. If you're stuck on one part of a multi-part question, your odds of getting the full question right are already low. That makes it easier to justify guessing and moving on — you're not giving up a sure point, you're letting go of a long shot.
When NOT to Let Go
Not every hard question deserves a bail-out. The system works because you're strategic about WHICH questions to leave, not because you're rushing through everything.
Stay longer when:
- You've a clear strategy and just need to execute it
- You're ahead of pace at your last checkpoint
- The question has only one part (your odds of getting credit are higher)
Let go faster when:
- You've read the question twice and have no clear path
- You're behind pace
- The question has multiple parts and you're unsure about more than one
- You're spending time re-reading data that's not clicking
What This Looks Like in Practice
Imagine you're 12 questions into the DI section with 22 minutes remaining. You're right on pace. Question 13 is a multi-source reasoning set with three tabs of data and two sub-questions.
You read the first question. You click through the tabs. The data is dense and you're not immediately sure how the pieces connect.
You've two choices.
Choice A: Spend four or five minutes carefully working through all three tabs, figuring out how the data connects, and answering both sub-questions with high confidence.
Choice B: Spend two minutes on a focused attempt. Read the question, check only the relevant tabs, give your best answer, and move on. If you finish the section early, come back to it.
Choice B is almost always the right call. Even if your accuracy on that specific question drops, your accuracy on the remaining eight questions goes up because you've time to think clearly on each one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I spend on each GMAT® question?
A general rule is roughly two minutes and fifteen seconds per question across the section. But that's an average — some questions deserve 90 seconds and others might warrant three minutes. The TGS Checkpoint System (checking your pace every five questions) is more practical than watching a per-question timer.
Does guessing hurt my GMAT® score?
A wrong answer hurts your score less than an unanswered question. The GMAT® algorithm treats blank responses more harshly than incorrect ones. Guessing when you're stuck is almost always better than running out of time.
Can I go back and change answers on the GMAT®?
Yes. On the current GMAT® Focus Edition, you can change your answer on up to three questions per section. This makes the bail-out strategy especially effective — you can guess now and return later if time allows.
What if I keep running out of time on Data Insights?
DI timing issues are almost always about information management, not math speed. Practice using The TGS Question-First Method — read the question first, then find only the relevant data. Also try timed sets where you enforce The TGS Two-Minute Rule (a strict two-and-a-half-minute cap per question) to build the habit of moving on.
Should I answer every GMAT® question even if I have to guess?
Yes — always. Leaving questions blank is one of the most costly mistakes you can make on the GMAT®. If time is running low, guess on the remaining questions rather than leaving them unanswered.
Want to learn even more?
We've a full walkthrough of the Data Insights section on the podcast — covering all four question formats, pacing benchmarks, calculator strategy, and when to guess. If DI timing is something you're working on, give it a listen:
We also have episodes on breaking through a score plateau, building a study plan that works, and getting started with your GMAT® studies — all of which touch on pacing and time management in different ways.
If you want a second set of eyes on your pacing plan, reach out to us. We're happy to point you to the simplest fix.