HOW TO START STUDYING SERIOUSLY? - Drashti Panjrolia

HOW TO START STUDYING SERIOUSLY?

We always procrastinate our tasks. We do not pay enough attention to our academics.  And at the end of the year we regret the time we wasted and say " A single sheet of paper cannot decide my future". But the question is, " Did you really utilise your time in doing something valuable when you were not studying?" The answer is perhaps no. We always tend to blame our education system and do not study , although we are not utilising the time in productive activities either. We always say that "I can't start studying now, I don't even have enough time" or " No matter how much i study I never get good grades". Firstly , NEVER STUDY FOR GRADES. If you just study for getting good grades you will never get good grades. Try to fall in love with your subjects. Remember Love comes more naturally to humans than hate. Everyone has time. We commute or we cook or we watch TV. We may not have three hours, but we have ten minutes to listen to a podcast or learn a new technique from a YouTube video. You can do a lot in ten minutes.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO START STUDYING SERIOUSLY

1. TARGET LESS THAN YOUR CAPACITY

Always set targets less than your capacity. If you can study for 1 hour continuously , set targets for 1/2 hour. If you can study for half an hour Continuously , set targets for 15 minutes. Eventually your brain will tell you that you can do more! This way you will increase your study time eventually. A research shows that When people achieve less than their capacity they try to do better. 

2 NEVER SAY NEGATIVE ABOUT YOURSELF NOT EVEN AS A JOKE

If you curse a plant for a long period. It will certainly die. Try this. So if a plant can die because of negative words spoken to them humans too can!! Always say " Yes I can complete my targets today". Never say you cannot understand a topic or a sum. 

3. DO NOT RUN AWAY FROM YOUR FEARS

Imagine a fire breaks in your house at mid night. Fire alarm wakes you up. Would you collect your children and family and take actions ? Or turn off the alarm and go back to sleep?. Perhaps the latter one seems unrealistic. Then why do we ignore our fears?? And not solve them? Do the subject you fear and don't just sit and think it's not my cup of tea and sleep. 

4. CONNECT YOUR STUDIES TO SOMETHING EMOTIONAL

You should connect your studies to something emotional. Like how your parents are working day and night to provide you a good quality education. Or how will be your life after a good education. Stop convincing yourself by giving examples of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. They are "Harvard university" dropouts. Just check out the university admission criteria. Mark Zuckerberg started coding from 6th grade. Sachin Tendulkar was not wasting time on social media. He was learning cricket!  Are you working on something valuable? Or Just wasting your time?

5. YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME

You just don't know to prioritize your time. Next time don't say I don't have enough time , say " That's not my priority". Learn to say no to timepass. 10 years from now your friends are not going to pay your bills. If you are not interested in studying start focussing on your strengths. Build new skills. You never lack time. You lack discipline. 

6. LEARN TO ASK FOR HELP

You are always afraid to ask silly doubts in your class. Why? Always ask your doubts. The person who asks questions might be a fool for sometime. But the person who doesn't ask questions will be fool for lifetime. Never leave a question unanswered. If you don't understand a topic ask questions until you are sure you know the topic. 

7. DONT FOLLOW AN IDEAL TIMETABLE

Decide what you want to do a night before. So you don't have to force your brain in the morning when it's still charging. Never decide an ideal study time like " I will study 6 hours a day". If you keep such targets and you fail to study 6 hours you will feel demotivated and give up. Always keep targets like " I will complete this topic no matter how many days/ hours it takes". Location has energy; time has memory. If you do something at the same time every day, it becomes easier and natural. If you do something in the same space every day, it becomes easier and natural.

8. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO LOOK MORE LIKE YOUR FUTURE

Think about your strengths. It may be honesty, intelligence or sports. How did you get your strengths. Perhaps from your sports coach or a good book ( obviously someone wrote it). The point is your values are guided by people around you. Surround yourself with people who are enthusiastic about Studies or their passion. It may even be your sports coach as he is enthusiastic about his passion. Be around loyal, enthusiastic and always learning people. As a wise man once said " Show me your friends and I will tell you your future". Don't try to disconnect from people. Human is a social animal. Disconnecting from people makes no sense. 

9. GIVE YOURSELF REWARDS

It's a very old technique yet effective. For every target you complete give yourself rewards. Like if you are addicted to watching movies, After completing your targets you can watch one movie!! This way you can keep yourself happy and will try to achieve your targets quickly. 

10. YOUR ENVIRONMENT MATTERS

If you are not getting a good environment for Studies. Try to build one. Find a peaceful place to study. And Always attend your classes regularly. If you are one of those students who like to self-study then you should self-study regularly. But remember there is no substitute for a good mentor. It can be your school teacher, Coach , Or even youtube!  No one on this planet can learn everything by himself. Build an environment where you are surrounded with everyone passionate about Studies. I know people who were very passionate but are not now ; just because they were in wrong environment. 

After reading this don't say to yourself " I will start from tomorrow". You can only take actions in present. Neither in past nor in future.  As a wise man once said,

"THE SECRET OF GETTING AHEAD IS GETTING STARTED"

- Drashti Panjrolia.