10 THINGS YOU MUST DO WHILE PREPARING FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS
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Success is the sum of small efforts , repeated day in and day out”
-Robert Collier
True to this , success tastes our patience and passion rigorously until we consume and imbibe it. In the present age of globalisation, characterised by a fierce and competitive world of battlefield , the path to achieve success is becoming more and more challenging and strenuous. This is true for every field of our life , particularly in the field of academics , and more so in the field of competitive exams. Competitive exams form the first major obstacles for the stepping stones of our success. Well you can understand that the name itself suggests the huge competition it embodies. Since most of the higher education and good jobs depend upon qualifying the same , these exams demand a lot more than others. Getting success in the competitive exams opens your window for a better future to arrive in..
According to Wikipedia, A competitive examination is an examination where candidates are ranked according to their grades and then top rankers are selected . If the examination is open for n positions, then the first n candidates in ranks pass, the others are rejected. These exams are taken to recruit the most suitable candidates for the right posts or seats .From engineering to Medical to Banking , Upsc, railways and even for teaching one has to clear the competitive exams in order to get through. Hence , it entails suitable candidates to compete neck to neck with each for a particular seat or post. Usually this happens in an All-India level and so you can imagine the number of candidates appearing for the same.. it may range from some lakhs to crores , in the 2nd most populated country of the world. Thus , one can very well understand that to achieve success in this examination is not at all an easy task. But having said so , let me tell you even though it’s arduous , however its never an ‘Impossible’. In fact , preparing for this type of examinations require a lot of ‘x- factors’ to get success. So let’s have a look at all those and make the impossible into ‘I am possible’!
TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD DO WHILE PREPARING FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS:
KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS AND GOAL: The first and foremost thing is to know your goals before heading for preparations. Ask yourself are you all set up for challenges? Are you mentally prepared for taking up the huge pressures that these exams entail? Remember that competitive exams range from engineering to medical to banks to Upsc to teaching and so on and so forth. Focus on that one which you want to achieve . Ask yourself where do you want to see yourself after 10 years. If you are all set up with these , then push yourself for cracking the same.
PLAN A SCHEDULE: Before jumping straight into strenuous work , day and night organise your schedule. Make yourself a routine , containing slots for each particular subject , with provisions for break in it and ensure that you have a proper sleep cycle. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep and stick to a proper diet and say a big NO to heavy junk food. Don’t overstress yourself. Doing so will ease your work and pressure therein!
SAY YES TO SMART WORK : Remember “smart work” is more important than mere hard work for achieving success in competitive exams. A lot of students prefer studying and studying the same thing again and again , without necessarily knowing actually what to study! Therefore, first make a clear idea of the things needed to focus upon , make a note of it and then go for it. Having a thorough knowledge of the syllabi and grasping the important focal areas within the same would aid in your preparations and would also be time-consuming.
PICKING UP THE RIGHT NCERT BOOKS: NCERT books form the cradle of the competitive exams . Pick up the right books which have an extensive coverage of the syllabus, rather than directly going for the reference books. Your main purpose should be first to understand the syllabus and concepts , than to solve directly the questions.
GET HOLD OF THE TIPS , TRICKS AND SHORT CUTS: A lot of these exams require a well designed smart work like I have mentioned before. As you will know the syllabus deeper and understand the questions , you would get to know that you would be getting comparatively less time as required for solving these questions. Its difficult, right! But then every problem has its own solution too! Most of these exams require short cut methods and tricks for an easy and timely solving of the questions. For example for a particular numerical problem , if there are 4 steps needed to solve that , if you know the short-cut methods , you can solve the same in just one step! Sounds good, right? Hence get a thorough hold of these tricks and ace the exam in wit!
GIVE YOURSELF THE RIGHT MENTOR OR GUIDANCE: The former point brings us to this. Acing these exams require a proper guidance to help you learn the tips and tricks for solving the questions easily. However the mistake which most students make at this point is that they often can’t juggle between their schooling schedule and the timings of their coaching classes for these competitive exams. You should keep in mind that you shouldn’t compromise one for the other. Rather pick up the mentor who should facilitate both and your preparation shouldn’t be time-constraint.
PICK UP THE RIGHT REFERENCE BOOKS AND IGNORE OTHERS: Reference books contain a lot of key and conceptual problems to work out for. But you should remember that not all the reference books available in the market are accurate or are necessary to solve. Calculate yourself to know what is or are important and then proceed on accordingly.
TASTE YOUR TIME LIMIT AND PRACTISE: One of the key tactics to clear the exam is time-management. Try and solve as much as you can , the practice sheets, previous years’ question papers, mock questions , tests and assessment sheets. Set yourself a time limit, within which try to fix your goals of solving some particular questions. This should ensure your comfort level. Solve questions , keeping in mind the time frame and then push yourself beyond your limits and set your goals further. This should be done on a daily basis and recapitulate what you have already prepared.
LEARN FROM YOUR PREVIOUS MISTAKES: Failure is the pillar of success.. how often we have heard it , right? In fact it’s from our mistakes that we learn the correct things. While revising identify where are the areas that you are getting wrong. List them down and then try not repeating those. Once done , bring out the list and put a ‘right’ arrow on the mistake you repeated and a ‘cross’ mark on the one you haven’t. This would definitely improve not only your learning skills , but hone your confidence level.
THERE’S NO ALTERNATIVE TO REVISION : Lastly there’s no substitute to hard work , isn’t it? And there is practically no alternative to get revision done carefully and wisely. Identify your weak areas, consolidate them and carefully revise them unit wise. Try to focus on understanding concepts subject wise and continuously go on memorizing the formulae and diagrams. Stress more on solving the key concepts and carefully jot down the focal ones.
Thus, you are no well aware of the do’s ..Let’s focus on the don’ts you’d follow while preparing for competitive exams:
• Don’t jump on to the reference books directly ignoring the main books. Simultaneously, don’t focus on the number of questions just. Remember conceptual knowledge is more crucial than the number of questions.
• Don’t get demotivated and loose your track in between: Though there will be situations when you would feel to give up , but just remember that “without pains there’s no gains”
• Don’t be overconfident : Even if you feel you are ahead of your peers in terms of your preparation , carry on that hard work zestfully , after all “Perseverance is the key to success “
• Never overstress yourself. Overall , one should never panic. Relax yourself after each hour by tuning to your favourite music or playing the game you enjoy the most or just by chatting with your family members. Remember , a strenuous learning can never fetch you fruitful results , so try to remain as calm as possible.
• Finally try to distract yourself as much as you can from smart phones and social media. Of course you can use the former for some qualitative e learning but say a big NO to the Facebook and Instagram pages.
Well , thus if you follow the simple things and get yourself out of the don’ts , you can surely achieve your goal. Remember one thing that for competitive exams , success may not come at the first step , it might come after one or twice unsuccessful attempts . However , one shouldn’t divert one’s direction. Keep in mind that ‘perseverance is the key to success ‘ and hence your dream will only turn into reality with ‘sweat, hard work and determination “.!
