The road to exams?

In the dead darkness of the night my phone glowed to life. My student texted me. All I could read with sleepy eyes was: “sir… muje kuch samaj nai aaraha”,  with a few crying emojis. I  got what the poor fellow was feeling. Exams were around the corner and he was not well prepared. The fear overpowered him. This situation is faced by most of the students while preparing for exams. After this incident I decided to pen some tips for effective preparation. Here are some:

Follow your Syllabus: Know your syllabus by heart. This is the first step to your effective preparation. One must be sure what is to be read and what not. Never leave any topic from your syllabus, no matter how easy or unimportant it seems.

Target based study:This is the heart of the process, so listen carefully! suppose you are traveling at night and have to cover 100 miles. Do the headlights of your car light up the entire distance or just a few meters ahead? Dear student, did you get my point? You cover only the distance which is visible ahead of you. And yes, you must not be concerned about the whole road. Similarly, your vast syllabus must be completed in small chunks.

Divide your syllabus into small realizable targets, depending upon your capacity to study, and time fixed. Every day try your best to realise your target. A consistent approach like this shall accumulate with time and your titanic sized syllabus shall be done like a ride in a shikara. Moreover, human brain is a dopamine driven machine.

Dopamine is a neuro-transmitter that keeps you motivated. whenever you complete a target, dopamine is released as a reward to motivate you for further task. Now, if your targets are too big, it shall lead to a double damage. First, you won’t be able to hit the target. Second, it will lead to anxiety for the lack of reward which is of course the dopamine.

So be sure you make small realizable targets. Understand, the pressure that most of the students accumulate during preparation of exams is due to their faulty process of study. In short, small, and consistent efforts based upon realizable targets.

Avoid Distractions: Remove all the distractions from your immediate environment. Keep your phone in a cupboard or in another room while you study. Social media sites must be avoided or at least the use should be as less as possible for it kills your concentration, and takes away your focus. Keep in mind, focus is the key as it all takes a focused mind to study effectively and productively.

Self Belief: Dear student, “it is good to be a proton than electron”- Be positive and believe in yourself. Belief is the essence of a successful person. Belief can make mountains move. Whenever you feel low in life, say loudly, “ I can do it, God is with me and I will tide this storm. Never say foul words out of frustration as words are energy that you send into the universe.

Always utter positive sentences for whatever you say your brain registers and it sinks deep into your subconcious mind only to be manifested through your conscious mind later on. So be careful with your words, they return to you and affect your life. You must have heard “shub shub bolo”. It is true. Whatever you say, whatever you believe shall come to you. Don’t lose hope nor be sad.