7 ways to study SMART for competitive exams

1) Identify the “BEST TIME of the day” to study:

The first thing to find out is whether you are a day time learner or the peaceful quiet surrounding in the mid night gets the Peak out of you. Peak time are those hours of day when your concentration is all time high. Identify your peak hours and allot them to study brainy topics and give the hours when your attention span reduces to Revising.

2) Engage yourself in Distributive Learning:

Attention span of even the brightest minds on the planet is not more than 2 hours at a stretch therefore it is very important to take timely breaks, say of 30 min after every 2 hours, this half an hour is to be used to relax and rejuvenate, go for a brisk walk in fresh air, listen to light music etc. Just break in long hour of study sessions is not enough you need to bring in a variety in the subjects you study during the day, ideally keep 2 different subjects to be done in a day.

3) Fill in the gaps during the day and innovate the Learning Process:

By gaps I mean the hours of the day when you are not studying unintentionally like your Travel Time, this time can and should be utilized to the fullest because in competition every second counts. Try to make Flash Cards which may have some quick formulas to brush upon or some vocab building.

Try to use colors in your text as mind reacts to color more attentively then the black & white text.

4) BACK UP Notebook – A Must!

Most of the competitive exams around the globe require months and sometimes years to prepare. Aspirants join coaching classes, use material and resources available on the Internet and bundle up tons of notebook, but eventually when the D-day comes near we cannot go through each and every note we made during our preparation therefore it is necessary to adapt to the concept of Back Up notebooks. These notebooks specifically have tips, tricks, shortcuts and ways to approach a problem and so on. These are going to be your savior during the last days before the exam.

5) Give as many MOCK’s as possible:
MOCK’s are undoubtedly the most important part of your preparation. Every competitive exam has a different pattern and time constraints so it’s very important to adapt yourself well with these situations. Join a Mock series program of some good coaching institute.

Mocks are also important to devise your own strategy and go for the kill on the D-Day. At least 10 mocks in real time situation is highly recommendable before you sit for the Exam.

6) Make sure that your surrounding are conducive to studying:

Find the most serene place around before you pile up your books and start studying. If there is commotion and distraction in your surrounding try to use that time in studying the topics which requires less use of brain or just revise anything done before.

7) Time Management:

Note down a list of topics you plan to do each day and make a time table on a stick on which could be pasted on your study table. Try to complete one topic and then move to other as the abrupt transition could be time consuming, confusing, demotivating and taxing.
Lastly, Health plays a much bigger role in achieving Success in Studies. So Invest in your Health from the very beginning.

You must have heard that Life is a race if you don’t run you would be left behind, I would say Life or more specifically Competitive Exams is like a Marathon ….you don’t need to run, you must not stop…just jog and build your stamina to reach the finishing line.