Strategy for Excellence - A Student's
Guide
Sukanta Kumar Bhatt
Motivation:
Around fifteen years back, while graduating, I used to feel why so many of my friends - who were bright students, performing so badly. They were slipping down and down with no sign of anchoring. And also I saw a few who were not so good started doing very well. Now when I go to my native I meet many of them. We sit, sip tea and talk. And at times the silent moments come. Then I hear - “Life is funny and few are lucky. Why else I am here like this? See that stupid who used to copy from me doing so well now!”
You can feel bitterness very deep inside and feel sad. I used to wonder why did it happen like that, really why?
I experienced life as a student, as a teacher, and as software professional. I saw a lot of success and failures. I became aware of a lot of methods, discussed the experiences of a variety of people and read a lot. And now after experiencing some life I feel I can answer some of them. As a teacher when I used to share some of my experience at times, students used to say Sir, You remember the other day you said so, I am back on track. That’s the turning point in my life. I felt good, as I know the pinch of failure. And then I thought I should share it with you all. It is a success strategy, a guidebook. If it helps you, even a little bit, I would feel my efforts worthwhile.
Sukanta Bhatt
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my
sincere thanks to VIT students who provided a very valuable feedback. I hope it
helps them and their friends.
Contents
1. Objective
1.0 Think of your problems
1.1 What is Luck Factor?
1.2 Clarity is the key
2. Strategy.
2.1 Perception
2.2 Beliefs
2.3 Motivation
2.4 Organization
2.5 Study Technique
2.6 Recreation
2.7 Review
3. Action
3.1 Starting a significant day
3.2 Work and enjoy
3.3 Recreation
3.4 Creative evening
3.5 Blissful rest
4. Review
4.1 Timeframe
4.2 Progress monitoring
4.3 Corrective Measure
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Chapter 1. Objective – Look for the horizon
Most
of us spend our life as it comes. We just float with the wind. When things
happen that we like - fine; otherwise we simply blame it on luck. For some of
us it is smooth sail. And for many it is a struggle with the unknown - as it
comes. Usually we are vague about our problems. We do think for sure. But I
feel we think mostly about problems that does not concern us. Like how stupid
that friend behaves, why he acts smart, how lucky is she, that fellow is so
corrupt, he does not help me and so on. Issues
like that are not primarily your problems. And somehow we keep holding
these thoughts and waste all the time.
Also some of us try to remain just busy, busy with anything. I usually hear – I can’t sit idle. I have to be busy. But mostly the activities that one involves with are trivial rather then important. They don’t improve the quality of our life niether lead to any goal. Only the person feels good that he is doing something and get tired. These kind of
activities has no direction and goal. It only responds to the immediate – like TV, chit-chat, cleaning, fiction, fantasy,
studying without thinking, emotion and so on.
1.1 Luck
Another
very prominent aspect is luck factor. Many of us think that some are lucky so
that they are doing great things. And we wait for it. We also see that some who
are not really lucky but still produce good result again and again. But we
don’t think much about it. How will it look if we sit quietly and think - can
it be different? We know that one can’t be lucky all the time. Then how do some
people produce consistently great performance? It certainly consists something
else than mere luck. Luck comes after all our efforts. JULIUS CEASER said: Men at times are masters of their faith, the
fault lies not in our stars but in ourselves.
1.2 Develop clarity
about your objective.
Think about your problems, things that you want to do. The most important
aspect, when you want to produce good result, is a clear objective. Sit down
for an hour and write down all your problems need to be solved, the things that
you feel, things you want to do, things you are expected to do. This could be
the most important one-hour investment in your life. Recording on paper our resolves reminds us to budget time ans
resources.
Once you have put your thoughts on paper, many a things get clear by itself. Now identify three/four from the list that you think most important for you this year. These are the top priority items. These are the items you are most committed to, most excited about. Also keep two items significant in next two three years. Like what you should be doing in this year and what in two, three years. Think a little more about the objectives and see how do you feel.
As a student you would like to score high marks. Also you should have strong oral and written communication skill. A strong positive attitude and a pleasant personality will make a lot of difference. And finally you should be enjoying what you are doing. This should lead to an excellent student and a bright and happy career. The more you become clear of your objectives, the more you will feel energetic and confident. And then it is easy to concentrate on action. Because once you are clear it will force you to act. If you observe the lazy ones never really want to be clear of what to do.
Make a list of skills and
items that you must possess to achieve your goals. And find out what is holding
you back?
Exert your personal power and discipline. It seems there are only two pains in life: pain of discipline, and pain of regret. And discipline weighs in ounces while regret in tons.
I recollect whenever I make a list of things to do I do most of them. A reminder is always there in the mind, which forces you to act. You need a method that encourages you, motivates you, actually helps you spend the time need, so that you are doing important things and avoiding crises.
Life will pay any price you ask it !
Chapter 2. Strategy - An
efficient plan is job half done.
Once you have a clear objective, a goal, you should have a
strategy to achieve it.
2.1 Perception
Perception is our
fundamental view of ourselves and how we relate to the world. This is the way
we unconsciously communicate with ourselves. They are significant for our
success or failure. It is very helpful to review how we see others and
ourselves. You must have observed faces – some happy looking, some gloomy, some
very aggressive and some withdrawn. This is the result of the perception.
Since we have a goal, we must have the right perception to achieve it. As we perceive, so we behave. Particularly be aware of the negative ones. Things like I’m a failure, I’m no good at maths. I’m hopeless will force us to behave like one. Fight it out. Find examples that go against these types. Do small assignments to prove these perceptions wrong. And then highlight the positive results. Slowly you will have positive ones in place of negative. And it will boost confidence tremendously.
You must have heard – Our team lost in the dressing room itself. When we think of failure, it automatically reduces
a dead show. The body language tells it clearly - Flight or Fight. Flight shows you in a poor light. And all love the fighter types – the ones who will give a fight even in the darkest of the time.
2.2 Beliefs:
Belief the doorway to excellence. We all have one or the other kind of beliefs. Sometimes we are aware of it, and many a times we are not. Some of them empower us whereas some others disable us. We have to be aware of it. When the negative thoughts arise some kind of things come to mind. For example while giving a talk to a new crowd thoughts of failure comes to mind. This is because unknown is attached with fear. We could replace this the thought when we gave a great speak. So next time we have to face the new crowd, the success image comes to mind. You can do a lot of similar tricks to overcome negative thoughts. You must also have heard how even very old people walk miles in hilly roads in a pilgrimage. It is the power of belief. That’s why it is said - belief can move the mountains. When you start believing in your goals, day by day, slowly it will be set deep inside you. And then you will feel that you can achieve your goal. If your believes in negative then it will consistently deliver message to your nervous system and they signal the brain to produce negative results.
Our beliefs become part of our habit. Habits are powerful factors. Breaking deep habits such as procrastination, impatience and finding fault with others involves much more than a simple will power. Lift off takes a tremendous effort. But once airborne, you can feel the freedom from laziness and other distractions. Trust yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself how will others believe you!
2.3 Motivation:
Think of how some people manage to go for a walk everyday. They also must be enjoying lying in the bed. There must be something behind it. They must be communicating themselves very positive. All of us get motivated by one thing or other. Something’s naturally motivates us. Be aware of what motivates you. It may be a friend who is doing very well, a scientist, your parents, money, and biography of a great man or something else. It is a very good method to keep your spirits high. Another effective way for motivation is your imagination. Imagine your ideal day, the day your goal is achieved. And try to visualize as clearly as possible. This feeling could be a great motivation factor for you.
To achieve your goal you have to be motivated in a consistent basis. Things will not work if you are motivated initially and then everything evaporates, To be successful one has to keep the motivation consistent. So you have to keep the environment that motivates you. Once your are motivated you will work hard. Hard work produces wonders. Given two people of approximately the same ability and one person who works ten percent more than the other, the latter will more than twice outproduce the former. The more you know, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more you can do; the more you can do, the more the opportunity - it is very much like compound interest. Knowledge and productivity are like compound interest. Work, steadily applied, gets you surprisingly far.
2.4 Organization:
Everyone is uniquely equipped to do whatever she/he wants.
The way you organize yourself makes all the difference. And it takes discipline and efforts to
achieve it.
* Resources
You need books, an encouraging group of friends, which is very important. I believe, in the student life, the friends’ circle has a tremendous influence. Since you are with them day by day, they will have immense influence on you. Avoid wrong company as it would take you away from your goal. You also need some mentors like your teacher, family members, and friends. They not only encourage you, but also help you to see your thoughts clearly, keep you in track, and push you at times.
* Time management
You also need to plan when and how long in terms of time. If you speak to your seniors, parents, you will see time just passed - years, months. Recollect the time when you finished a book. How did it happen? You must have read it page by page, line by line, word by word. It comes to very minute details. And you spent second and minutes in it.
Catch the Minute. I think this is the real trick. Students plan in days, weeks for a chapter. Since there is no fixed time in the plan it mostly fails. But if a little is taken at a time, say 5 pages at 8 am then it is easy to meet the target. Deal with the minute. Be aware that you spend 7 hours in the college and 17 more outside! Develop an attitude to use the minutes in college and out side. And see what difference it makes.
TV, Newspaper, gossips can wait - not your creative urge, not your daily plan. Jump-start and be ruthless in execution. Slowly it will become a habit - a very productive one. Be definite in what to do in a day. You will see how life changes, mind behaves, body behaves, and energy abundants.
Personality Defects:
There is a feeling with some of us that some are angry by nature. But it is not so. It is an expectation contrary to the one available. Anger is misdirected. You should follow and cooperate rather than struggle against the system. You should look for is the positive side of things instead of the negative. You need to learn to use yourself. I think you need to know how to convert a situation from one view to another, which would increase the chance of success.
Procrastination:
This is postponing things for tomorrow. Be very clear - there is no tomorrow. While planing fix a particular time when you are going to do a job. Don’t plan to do it just today. You won’t do it. If you decide a time for the work and don’t do then a feeling of guilt will come and force you to act.
Self-pity:
This is a very dangerous thing. And many fell a victim to it. They always tried their best but things didn’t work out because something else! Don’t try an excuse or explanation for failures. Don’t try and kid yourself. Try to be honest to yourself. If you really want to be a first-class student you need to know yourself, your weaknesses, your strengths, and your bad faults. Many of us have a tendency to blame the system for everything. Slowly it becomes the excuse for our failures. You hardly achieve anything by that approach. It is a poor workman who blames his tools - the good man gets on with the job, given what he’s got, and gets the best answer he can. And it’s much more satisfying and rewarding!
Ego:
Don’t be a victim of ego problems. By realizing you have to use the system and studying how to get the system to do your work, you learn how to adapt the system to your desires. Or you can fight it steadily, as a small-undeclared war, for the whole of your life. You will get lot of admiration for spoiling your career courageously!
Victims of Mood:
The
idea of called moody is very stimulating. There is a certain stigma in saying -
I am moody. Deep down we want to be moody. In that way we have excuses for not
doing a lot of things. And then we say - I am moody. Not in mood. This is one
of the most destructive characteristics. One can be productive if he is in mood
or not. Try to use yourself for your objectives. You can control your mental
activities and behavior. Music can play an important role in changing your
mood. One student says – I used to have a
link with a particular song and a particular situation serving as an anchor. I
attach memories with songs. Whenever I hear those songs I get I get motivated
and charged. Also the movie Terminator inspired me to go for Electronics in
engineering!
Unable to tell NO:
I remember so many times I wanted to stay back and study but could not say so to my friends asking me out. This can be very harmful. We feel embarrassed to say NO. We feel it is rude to tell no. But it is your time and there are things you are responsible to do. You have an objective. Just say it once politely. You may say - Oh, I would love to come along, but I am sorry. I got things to do. May be next time. Say no, which is pleasant, and nonapologetic. You will feel a power in saying no. This will also save you from breaking your schedule. A clear sense of direction, a burning YES for things towards your goal makes it possible to say NO to other things.
We are always saying No to something. If it isn’t to the apparent, urgent things in your life, it is probably to the more fundamental, highly important things !
Campus Blues:
Campus
life is fun. No responsibilities, no problems. But don’t be a victim of rosy
dreams. Tomorrow or later you have to go out. And this is all the time you have
to prepare for life outside. You have all the time in the world here and not a
worry. What more is necessary to go for your objectives. You are likely to feel
lot of emotional highs. Keep in mind - it is body chemistry. And have to go
through it. You are no exception at that age. You are likely to feel very
strongly about another person of opposite sex. There is nothing wrong with a
feeling. Only you should be able to handle the feeling. Too many times the
feeling takes over everything else. It captures the person, all his/her time,
all the imagination and rational thinking. Then trouble starts. Many students
have spoiled their blooming career to these feelings. What can you do?
First be aware of the feeling and accept that it is natural. Don’t fight it out. At the sametime don’t put it on your head. Don’t fuel it with more imaginations. This is usually the reason for things going out of hand. Desires not fueled dies down naturally. Keep your goal in focus. Remind yourself that you are working towards an objective, which is your first priority. Pray your feelings to help you to achieve your objective. Once the feeling gets your attention it will help you in turn! This way you can turn a new situation to your advantage.
There is also a very interesting method to handle compulsive habit, like
fear, fantasy, headache or something else.
Think that you have put the compulsion or the headache in a balloon. And
the balloon is going up and up. It goes very high and bursts. All the
compulsion scattered and vanished in the sky. And then you are free of it. It
certainly reduces the intensity of the problem. Small tricks does wonder. Here
is a confession from a young friend of mine – Why didn’t you tell me before ??? When I look back, sometimes I feel I
didn’t enjoy life. I know life needs sacrifice. To gain something I had to
loose her!
2.4 Study Techniques
As a student you will be studying a lot of time. This is the most important aspect of a student life. A major part of your time will be spent reading books. You will be reading a lot of books. Unfortunately most have no technique to read a book. They just read as and when they feel like. And so it might feel good while you are reading, later very little is retained. So it is very important that you have a sound technique so that you understand and retain the most.
Primarily a student is expected to read, listen, understand, think, retain and finally reproduce. You will be getting information through reading and listening. And this will convert to knowledge when you think about what you received. That could be yours for a lifetime. So we should have an effective study method for such an important process.
Reading a Book:
Here is a time tested simple method you can try and experiment with:
1. First scan contents, flip randomly, and look at pictures, diagrams, and tables. Don’t go to details first and loose the essence.
2. Read preface - this gives the authors thoughts and approach to the book. Once you become aware of it, you can understand the authors thought process. This in turn makes thing easier to understand.
3. Read introduction - Here you will get an overview of the book. Many a times we keep on reading and slowly feel lost. With the introduction in mind, you will always have a sense of direction.
4. Think how is a book written? Think of a chapter. Each chapter must have a central idea, concept. And to explain it, there will be many small ideas. These all are organized as chapters. So each chapter will deal with one or two ideas. Each chapter is trying to say something. Visualize it.
There are three types of visualization. Some do it as pictures; some do it through logic; and some other visualize through a feel. Find out what is your dominant style though you will be using all to some degree. Once I came across a student who was struggling to visualize an electric circuit. He said – “I could not visualize the circuit for a long time. Then he thought let me sit on an electron and travel in the circuit. What all do I see? And then everything became so clear! And I never forget it. Develop your own way to relate and remember things. It may be funny but does help to recollect ideas. Like relating to the head while reading set theory!
5. Plan to read only one chapter at a time. Now start reading slowly. As you read the first chapter try to see the central idea. What new concept is used in it? Mark it with a pencil or write it in the border. This will help you to recollect the whole chapter later. At the end of section one, you know the concept or definition that is introduced. Stop. Think about it. Try to relate it to something you already know. In this way you will learn more than what you read.
I remember a friend of mine saying - “I had a lot of subjects to clear.
I read slowly and thought about what I read. Slowly I could see so many similar
and related concepts. Sometimes I saw a similar concept in a different subject
as well. It felt very familiar after that. Initially it felt slow. But then I
don’t have to spend much time on advanced topics. Either I have already thought
about it or it felt very easy. During examination type it was very easy to
recollect. I scored very well. And the best part is I still remember them after
ten years!”
6. Solve the problems at the end - it tells how much you have absorbed, what you are clear and what not. Based on that you can go back to the chapter and read again to get more. Analyze the problem. Search all the possible solutions and use the best one. If no direct solution is available, keep all the available data, formulas in front of you. Keep what has to be found as well. Search for connecting formulas and slowly it leads to the required solution.
7. At the end of the chapter try to recollect all the concepts. Since you already have marked them in the border, it is easy and takes very little time. Try to correlate the ideas and identify the central theme. Think what the author must have thought of them. Think in terms of questions and try to see the answers.
8. Take a break before you go the next chapter. While starting the next chapter, always recollect the first chapter. The more you recollect the more you will keep the things in the long-term memory. In this way things will get refreshed in the memory and make it easy to understand the new chapter. Try and see how this totally changes the learning process. It is fun.
Note: You are likely to read in the old style after a while. So practice consciously for a few weeks until it becomes a habit. It will be slow initially. Don’t get impatient.
Learning in the
classroom:
Learning
in the classroom is very different. There are so many people. There are
disturbances. Somebody, your teacher is out there in front speaking. He has his
own style of explanation, expression and speaking. There is lot of things to
distract your attention. At the same time many things you can learn which are
not immediately available form the book. For example - a different approach
some applications, some real life relation. Also you can feel the points getting
stressed - so you retain for long. Students ask questions - opening new areas
for attentions, focusing important points.
You have to prepare in advance to get maximum advantage from classroom. Many students say they remain focused in the class when they have some idea beforehand what will be taught in the class. And when they read the chapter and come to the class they find very easy to go along with the class. A sense of participation comes. Teacher pays attention to them. It feels good. And you understand much better. Try it out.
Another vey important point is – asking
questions. Most of us have many a questions to ask, but rarely do. And slowly
loose feeling of involvment with classroom teaching. And mostly it is the fear
of looking silly that stops one from asking a question. But if you want to
learn more and clear your doubts – better be a fool and silly than ignorant.
Cost of ignorance is much more than that of looking silly. Jump start to ask
questions. For once don’y give a damn to what others think. Do it because you
think it makes sense to ask a question. Once asked feel the power of the
achievement. You just have to do it once to experience the feeling of freedom.
Then you would love to attend classes and think in new direction. As a bonus you
will see the class following their fool – you !
Important Thoughts
Time:
Always keep sometime in a week to think what you are reading. What is the meaning and application of what you read? How they are going towards something bigger. This helps in getting a much wider perspective about the subject. So you can discuss and talk about it more comfortably.
Examination:
This is the primary method of evaluating what you have done. Many a times it is the only method you have to face. So it is absolutely important to understand examination process.
Writing an Exam. :
Most of us have to face a very strange situation - very impersonal. A person who has never taught you is likely to set the question paper for you. It is also possible that he has not taught that subject for a very long time. So you can imagine what kind of situation you are going to face. But then it’s better to accept a fact of life. Be ready for certain uncertainties about the type of questions. It could be very much in pattern or very different. Keep some margin in preparation. Think what a very different examiner might set.
Evaluation of your
answer script:
This is another aspect of examination process. A person, who has never seen you, heard about you, is going to evaluate you based on what you have put on paper. In fact it is more than that. The person will have his own beliefs, background and evaluation method, which you may not be aware at all. Besides, his job is very difficult, if proper justice has to be done. It needs intelligence, understanding, patience and time. And in today’s life every one has shortage of time. One has to do so many things and in-between lot of actions has to be squeezed. Your paper evaluation could be one of them!
And your years work is evaluated in what time? Any guess? I think 20 minutes is maximum what you must be getting in general.
So the answers have to be correct. But that is not enough. By now you must have realized the importance of presentation. You must present it so well that he will look at what you’ve done with a little interest, read it, and say, yes, that was good. Don’t try to irritate the examiner. What does irritate him? First, if he has to decode the handwriting. It is very bad. Write clean. And next - presentation. Don’t answer 1a and then 8c. He has to go back to the question paper to find the right question. Also the marks for that question. Most get irritated with this. The best way to find what irritates the examiners is to evaluate your friends test answer script.
Seminar
This is another aspect of student life. Some time or other you have to give a seminar. It’s good - your are speaking and others have to listen. If you recall, in a talk, only some papers are remembered and most are not. Did you ever think why? You want to give a highly technical talk - fandu talk. But most of the time the audience wants a broad general talk and wants much more survey and background. The speaker names a topic and dives into the details he knows - mostly only he knows. Audience rarely follows.
You
should paint a general picture, say why it’s important, and then slowly give a
sketch of what was done. Then a larger
number of people will feel good. Else you will receive a lot of yawning, few
dozing as well. Also remember a little humor to get the attention. It really
helps.
2.5 Recreation: Recharge yourself
Recreation is as important
as study. This not only helps to remove the toxic deposits from the body, it
also recharges you. Find out the type, like games, athletics, walking, which
you like and are available to you. Spend an hour or two in it. You may also
like to involve in things like dramatics, sketching, music and so on. Only see
to it that you don’t get carried away in it. You have a goal. This too should
help you to achieve your goal.
2.6: Review:
Nobody is correct the first time and all the time. An effective method usually evolves over a period of time.
It is very important that you evaluate your work every week. It is really worthwhile to spend time on it. Returns are many. Check what all you planned for the week and how much you achieved.
Every plan has three parts: Beginning time, Middle time and End time.
Beginning time is when you attack everything with zest. At the other end, end time is usually that frantic period right before a deadline when you (ironically) do your best work because you turn off your self-censors in a mad rush to get the project out the door. By contrast, middle time represents the lazy summer afternoon. Here interest, motivation and values seem to slip out the window as you underestimate the rope you have left. Most plans fail during middle time.
Depending upon your personality and upbringing, there are many cures for middle time, ranging from ruthless, massive action to having a set period each day in which the work will be done. The most useful is to chart progress on a daily basis, dividing up the objectives so that there’s very little visible middle time, but lots of beginning and end time. You can also use competition to compress middle time.
Think in terms of what you have learned today. How good an investment you have done today towards your goal.
Chapter 3. Act - Action is
what makes things happen.
As you know A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND-MILES MUST BEGIN WITH A
SINGLE STEP.
Action is what brings success, produces results. There is no quick fix to success. I personally struggle with old ineffective habits. But the struggle is worthwhile. There is no such thing as failure. There are only results. Most of us programmed to fear to a thing called failure. Many of us have flunked a test, suffered through various frustrations. The successful people, when they work on and it does not work, they have a learning experience. They take some new action and produce results.
Heard of Kentucky Fried Chicken! Colonel Sanders was a retired person with a fried chicken recipe. That’s all. He had a small restaurant. He thought of selling his recipe. He drove around the country, kept changing his ideas and knocking at doors. And received 1009 rejections heard no 1009 times. And then someone told YES. Rest is history
Successful people have a consistent, logical pattern of action in a specified path. Successful people have developed the ability to take action.
When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to work. A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times. He said, “I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2000-step process. Successful people do the things failures don’t like to do.
3.1 Starting a
significant day
It is vital how you start the day. You may rush through it with doing whatever right in front of you. Otherwise you may proceed with determination and steadiness. But these things don’t come automatically. You have to set your mind as well as your body. They have to be in sinc.
Start with a victory : Plan a small task. For example, plan to get up early in the morning, regardless of how you feel. Mostly the excuses go as - too tired, feeling heavy, need rest. Once you fulfill the promise, you will feel tremendeously powerful.
Mind through its paces: It makes a lot of difference what you think first in the morning. You should plan it before hand so that it set your pace for the day. I feel a thought of goodwill and peace is a nice way to start the day. Use the first waking hour planing and preparing for the day.
Exercise: Do some basic physical exercise like walking, stretching and bending. This helps to get over the stiffness of the body. Also you should do some breathing exercises (learn under some expert supervision).
Meditation: Do a little bit of meditation, may be for twenty minutes or so. You may just sit quietly, be aware of your thought process, and pay attention to it. Slowly it gets quiet. You will be surprised that people and things go out of their way to help you provided they receive a little of your quality attention!
3.2 Work and enjoy
Review the day’s work: Have a look at the tasks that you have planned for the day. In this way things will be fresh in the mind. Also recollect your daily motto and motivation anchor. Also recollect what all you did and learned yesterday. Remind yourself that you are going to learn and enjoy learning. This will help your mind to relax and use its best.
3.3 Recreation
Have an hour of recreation that you like. Evening have some kind of recreational activities for an hour or so. This will help to remove the toxic deposits which otherwise will let you feel exhausted. Also this give an opportunity to have social interaction and enjoy friendship.
3.4 Creative evening
Do some breathing exercise. If you have not learned a specific one, you can start deep breathing in and out with an easy pace. Don’t force yourself. You may repeat it for about seven times sitting in a comfortable position with straight back. Then proceed with your study plan for the evening. First recollect the things you have learned in the school/college. See what all you are clear and what needs further reading. Think about what you learned and see whether you can link it to something you already know. Read using the study the technique. Prepare for the topics that are going to be taught the next day. Take a small break of five to ten minutes every hour. Tell NO to TV during study hour.
3.5 Blissful rest
Before you go to bed recollect what all you did today. The more you recollect the longer you will retain. Go through the THREE questions – What did I learn today, What significant contribution I made to my life, How did it help me to achieve my goal. Thank yourself for a productive day. Slow down the mind, the thinking process. And slow down the body activities as well. Thank your god. Thank somebody – person, energy, power, conscience or innerself. Let the form don’t bother you. Only see to it that you thank somebody for the good things you did that day. You will feel content and peaceful.
Champion
is not one who never fails, but one who NEVER QUITS.
4. Review
We all have a limited time for any task. So it becomes necessary that we review how we are doing the job. This will keep us in proper time frame and help us to initiate necessary corrective measures whenever necessary. An effective program always evolves over a period of time with many changes and corrections.
4.1 Timeframe
Be aware of the time in terms of effectiveness. We can't keep on doing something forever. And being a student it's more vital. For a degree we have two to three years with us. And every day, every moment counts. The more efficient one is in using time for a specified task, the more productive she becomes. There are things to watch out. How much time are you spending for which tasks? Where all the wastage sleeping away. This process has to repeat every week, every month and six months.
4.2 Progress
monitoring
I remember a weight lifter saying "Some people put a lot of efforts in terms of time and hard work without noticable result. The fault mostly in the method." Progress monitoring is useful for two reasons: First it will motivate you like the body builders looking at the mirror. Nothing succeeds like success. And the second point is it will identify the areas, which needs extra attention. Both of these are important as one motivates you and the other makes you more effective.
4.3 Corrective
Measure
An effective method takes time and experience to develop. Take the corrective steps and effort adjustments based on your experience. Also it may so happen that after a forceful start you ran out of motivation after sometime. Or it could be procrastination. You clould be feeling like withdrawing as well. This is an usual sympton when you start executing a plan. It is so much of a relax not to plan and act. But watch out, nothing could be more damaging. Recall that there will be no success without action. Recall all your motivation symbols to go back to the action track. All this needs steps to be taken as corrections.
Withdrawls : Old habits will exert powerful pull on you. You will tend to break promise. Habits like procrastination, criticism, overeating and oversleeping need more than a little will power. You got to have a success to fight these things out. You have to build regularly and gradually through daily exercise. This will build reserves to be called on in times of stress.
Character cannot be developed in
ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be
strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. You gain
strength, experience and confidence by every experience where you really stop
to look fear in the face...You must do the thing you cannot do. And remember,
the finest steel gets sent through the hottest furnace.
Note :
All said and done it's not going to be easy. Old habits will keep on poping up every now and then. Fighting them is one of the most difficult things one will encounter. Even for the author it's a constant struggle to identify things important and working focused towards it. The nusance of old habits and momentary exultation of action without focus is unbelievable. Sometime it feels happy like a baby ! On that there are always experts who have achieved many thinags without any efforts ! So better watch out. What you saw is a map. But a map is never the territory. It is tool for effectively exploring the territory. On the way there is going to be new experiences like the feel of a street, the facial expressions and many pleasent and unpleasent surprises. All that will make you mature and strong. And finally when you stick to your plan success will start appearing. You will identify it, you will enjoy it, and you will feel proud that you made it. This is my personal belief and conviction.
I feel ther is a lot of scope for improvement of this book. Please feel free to suggest, comment.
G1