How to prepare for 10th boards, 12th boards, IIT and NEET Exams

Students preparing for exams of any kind, board level (10^th board & 12^th board), college entrance level (IIT JEE Mains, NEET & AIIMS), feel the pressure of performance and it causes them a lot of stress. The pressure they feel is the main reason of their anxiety and stress, which leads to depression. These exams are known for their fear among the students. But if you prepare with a strategy and prepare well, these exams will turn out to be less stressful.

Today, in the days of competition, it is important that you study in smart ways. The goal of studying smartly is to convert your efforts into your better performance. In the starting of your school curriculum, it is important that you reconsider your strategy for preparation of these exams. It is high time. . . . . . .

You must have heard a lot of tips from your parents, relatives, teachers, friends etc. but it must be hard for you to understand whose strategy is the best for you to imbibe in your routine. From being a student of Hindi medium school in a small town of Rajasthan, to competing with brilliant students from all over the country in Kota, to getting into India’s one of the most prestigious college IIT Delhi and graduating and post-graduating from there, to teaching in prestigious coaching centres, to finally starting my own venture Alchemy Learning Centre, I’ve seen and closely observed varieties of students. Each and every student has his/her own way of reading, learning, writing, absorbing etc. and hence every student is unique and so must be the strategy.

There are few tips I’ve gathered, keeping in mind to cater as many students as possible, to improve their studies.

1.     Follow a well-planned daily routine

i.                    Sleep well: It is a basic requirement for every student. Sleeping well does not mean sleep for longer hours or sleeping for less number of hours to have more hours to study. It means an optimum sleep to remove your fatigue for the next day and to be able to perform efficiently on the next day. The optimum number of hours for a student is 6-7 hours in night time. This will help you gather enough energy to be ready for another day.

ii.                  Food habits: Most of the youngsters suffer because of their bad food habits, which in longer run results in feeling less energetic all the time. To improve this, they should have a proper breakfast in the morning and have meals at regular intervals. For students it is necessary to feed their body properly so as to keep your brain function properly. Avoid fast food as much as possible!!!! I know it is next to impossible for you, but you’ll have to trust me on this.

iii.                Rest and refresh your brain: Studying for longer hours continuously will not do any good for you. Just like our body, our brain also needs some rest and refreshment time. The longer you study in a seating the lesser you learn and to be able to understand. You should not stress yourself with longer study hours. You should divide them in chunks of an hour or 45 minutes and take a brief break of about 5 minutes to refresh.

iv.               Learn activities to refresh your brain: As discussed taking breaks after every hour or so is better for your studies but just resting won’t help your brain. You should learn a few brain refreshing activities and include them in your daily routine, so as to make it a habit. This will keep you from exhausting yourself with studies. But remember that this activity must not burden you, it should be fun for you and you can feel fresh after this 5-minute break.

v.                 (FOR PARENTS) Most of the people insist on making a strict daily routine on paper, stick it on the wall and follow it. But I, on the other hand, feel differently. I feel to make ourselves follow a routine we can’t just stick it on the wall and tell our children to follow it.

First of all, he/she must believe in it and you have the responsibility to make him believe. Break the routine you have decided for your child into suitable pieces. Try to fix on part at a time which would lessen the ‘burden’ feeling in him/her.

2.     Don’t burden yourself with too much

Exercising your brain can be a tricky thing. Burdening you too much or burdening less than required both can result in destruction. At first, decide what you want to study today. Don’t try to study everything in a single day. Take 2-3 subjects, select topics to study in each subject and study those topics in depth. Don’t try to cover many topics in a day and be stressed.

3.     Order of subjects matter

Start your studies with subjects you find easy and interesting then move on to the subject you find difficult. Starting with easy and interesting subjects build your flow of studies and then it becomes easier to cop up with difficult topics or subjects. After exhausting yourself with difficult subject switch on to less difficult subject. This way you can study for longer hours and efficiently.

4.     Keep your body and mind healthy

Meditation and exercise, these two activities can keep your body active and brain in control. Many professionals use these methods to create a perfect balance between work and stress. They have found that meditation help you boost your concentration. To be able to maintain a correlation between body and mind, meditation is the key.

Go for a 15 minute walk early in the morning and spend the same amount of time for meditation in the morning. You can also try an exercise like take a plane paper, draw a dot on the paper and try to concentrate on it for 5 minutes. Even this activity can help you increase your effectiveness in studies. Without actual concentration you will be sitting and reading something for hours but your effective study hours are less than 50%. Psychological activities help you lessen the difference between sitting hours and effective study hours.

5.     Be CONFIDENT and PATIENT The final suggestion I can give you is, be confident about yourselves and have some patience. You know yourself better than anyone. You know your abilities, you know your weaknesses and you know your strengths. The students, who think they are average or slow learner, remember this, never underestimate yourself, BE CONFIDENT. With hard work you can achieve anything and have everything on your plate.

The students who are quick learner and intelligent, they must have to be patient and don’t be overconfident. If you are not patient in your studies and solving problems, then you will make mistakes thinking that you are right. So not being patient will do more harm than you can achieve with brilliance. Brilliance comes with a responsibility of nurturing it and to maintain this you’ve to be proactive and patient.

Some of us have already started preparing for the exams but there are many students who haven’t started yet. For all of them it will be beneficial if they review their routine and habits according to these points and include some or all of it in their life. In the end all that matters are how you perform in your board, IIT JEE Mains, NEET, BITSAT or any other exams. So stay healthy, be focused on what you want to do and achieve and prepare accordingly.