How to overcome preparation blues?

Less than two months are left for the D-day to dawn. Every MBA aspirant is beginning to get the jitters; after all cracking the CAT is no child’s play. But does it really need to be like this? Do you really need to get into these preparation blues at this stage? No, no way. Let us just get out of this crap-trap and fasten our boot straps. Here is how.

Preparation is not only about studying for long hours; there are many other supporting factors that enhance your learning.

Health:

If you keep sitting in a place for a long time, while studying, please move your legs a bit. Shake a leg as the saying goes. It gets your blood flowing which helps sharpen your concentration and recall.
If you are in the habit of skipping breakfast, think again. Creativity is often at its peak in the morning, eating ‘protein’ laden breakfast helps feed your brain cells. If you suffer from frequent headaches, please check the amount of protein in your diet.
Never, ever, eat a heavy lunch. It makes you feel drowsy. You can lose precious productive hours this way.
Stress of any kind inhibits your ability to absorb and recall information. This inhibits learning. Sometimes just absorbing some sunlight and reducing refined foods in your diet, helps reduce stress. Taking a short walk around the neighbourhood may help. Taking a 15 minutes break every hour during study sessions is more beneficial than non-stop studying. These breaks help your mind to relax and absorb information.
Whenever you feel tired or stressed out go take a shower. Water is a universal solvent; it dissolves all your negativity and washes it away, leaving you freshened and loosened.
Laugh often. Laughing relaxes your body and a relaxed body is more receptive to ideas.
Play video games to relax. Video games can be an effective aid in learning.


Perspective and Focus:

Alternate between studying Verbal and Quant. This change of subject focus helps in better assimilation of both.
Use all three ways of learning: visual, kinesthetic, and auditory. Involving all your senses in learning make for a much better absorption and recall.
Learn meditation and meditate for about 15 minutes everyday to tap into your inner resources, and strengthen your ability to focus. Walking meditation is a very useful tool.
Focus on what you are studying. Don’t get distracted. Don’t try to watch TV at the same time, and don’t worry about other things while studying. Anxiety is best avoided. If you take three deep breaths every now and then, you will feel relaxed.
Read as much as you can. Give a breadth of topics as well as depth.
Give yourself deadlines; limit your time for learning some concept in that given time. By learning to constrain yourself, you will achieve more in less time.
Plan your learning. As Led Zeppelin says, “There are two paths you can go by. You can take a haphazard approach to learning, or you can put in a bit of planning and find an optimum path.” Plan your time and balance your learning.
Learning happens in layers. So build your base knowledge first upon which you can build advanced concepts.


Recall techniques:

Efficient Speed reading helps in filtering out a lot of irrelevant information.
Using acronyms and mnemonics helps remember information.
Use visual aids. Draw or sketch what you are trying to remember.
Use mind maps to see the relationship between different ideas.
Brainstorm with your friends. Brainstorming involves verbal activity, writing, and collaboration with your friends. Don’t shut any idea out. It will help you assess your own level of preparation.
Use various symbols for learning. Create your own particular symbols.
Organize your thoughts on what needs to be done for each day.
Loosen yourself up through playing rhyming games and uttering non-sensical words from time to time. It also stimulates ideas.
Learn by osmosis. Record some important lessons in your own voice and playback these lessons whenever you want to.
Writing notes by hand stimulates ideas. The same does not happen while typing your notes. The simple act of holding a pen or pencil in your hand massages acupuncture points which in turn stimulate ideas.
Organize your notes by using sticky color tabs to partition chapters for easy referral.
Revisit complex concepts in order to fully absorb them. Repeating and revising improves absorption and speeds up learning.
Collaborate with others. Form study groups.
Quiz yourself. Test what you have learnt to re-enforce the information.
Create an FAQ and write everything you know about a topic. You can even create a blog about a topic.
Learn critical thinking. Critical thinking takes your learning ability to a whole new level. It involves good analytical skills to help the ability to learn selectively.
Learn complex problem solving. Learning is part of this process.
Ask questions to yourself. Make your learning interactive, with your friends.


Self motivation techniques:

Give credit to yourself for each day’s learning.
Focus on the result that you want to achieve.
W. Clement Stone once said, “Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” Believe in this dictum. If you keep your mind focused on this saying, hurdles will seem surmountable.
Think positive. Have faith in your abilities to achieve your goal.
Organize your time well. Make your ‘to do’ list and prioritize the tasks.
Remember that if someone else can do it, so can you. Believe in your infinite potential.
Before you start working on a topic, decide what you already know and figure out what you don’t know. Then learn the later.
Multitask. Multitasking helps in time management.
Think holistically. It is a mindset, so develop it.
Remember that 80% of the concepts take 20% of your time and effort to learn, while 20% of the concepts take 80% of your time and effort. Recognize and ascertain which ones are which.
Challenge yourself. Put yourself through tough assignments. People are often more intelligent than they realize. There is more to you than you take credit for. In a world that compartmentalizes and categorizes everything, most people are not too sure where they ft in.
Teach others. The best way to learn something is by teaching it to someone else. Teaching forces you to learn. Sharing your knowledge is the best way to gain more knowledge.
Persistence always pays. Don’t give up. Anything one human being can learn, most others can learn as well. Einstein had said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
Remember there is more than a new way to learn. Never believe that you can’t learn.
Relax, don’t worry, and stay happy.

As always EXPECT success!

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Newspapers prepare you for CAT

As a CAT aspirant there is one advice that you consistently hear from all and sundry; and that is about reading newspapers regularly. Whether anyone has any idea about CAT or not, s/he knows that reading a newspaper is very important for clearing any competitive exam.

The basic idea behind this advice is that you need to stay abreast with the happenings in local, regional, national and international arenas. But besides all this, what makes reading the newspaper absolutely essential is ------ the default benefit of developing our Reading Comprehension and Reasoning Ability skills.

Francis Bacon once wrote, ‘Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.’ A good newspaper does all these. It plays wonders as far as promotion of reading skills is concerned. The poorest reader can find ideas from pictures, captions and advertisements that add to his knowledge of the world and make it possible to bring his reading experience into play. Superior readers find an unlimited ceiling in the newspaper; columnists and editorials offer ideas that are provocative and challenging. In developing mature readers the newspaper has great potential.

Let’s examine how you can use the humble newspaper to your advantage.

Use the newspaper for increasing the Word Power

By the very nature of its language, the newspaper displays a vocabulary, which is simple, vital and yet commonplace; but you also come across a number of new and unfamiliar words. Circle these words. (On different days, you can choose a different page of the newspaper to do this exercise.) Consult a dictionary and note down the meanings of these circled words. You can initiate some interesting activities with these words ---

- Prepare vocabulary booklets. Arrange the words in alphabetic order; learn them and use them in conversation and writing wherever appropriate.
- Prepare vocabulary cards with the word on one side; and the dictionary meaning along with the newspaper sentence using the word, on the other side.
- Prepare word games by writing all the words that rhyme with a chosen word. To increase the fun you can use only those rhyming words that you can find in the newspaper. (I can hear some of you whining, ‘wish we had that much time to spare!’)
- Prepare word games using the synonyms and / or antonyms for a chosen word.
- Find one root word from your vocabulary booklet and make two more words, one using a prefix and the other using a suffix.

Use the newspaper for improving Eye-Span

A wider eye span helps in efficient reading. If you feed your eyes piecemeal, they in turn feed your mind piecemeal, and the result is a fragmentary thought pattern which is difficult to synthesize into an integrated whole.

Newspaper columns are so narrow that you can begin with reading each line with no more than two fixations. Gradually with little practice you will be able to read a newspaper line in just one fixation.

See the middle word of each line of the print, down the column. Train your eyes to activate your peripheral vision by seeing the words on either side, through the corners of your eyes. This may not be an easy exercise in the beginning but just 15 days of practice, for 10 minutes a day, will increase your eye span.

Use the newspaper for increasing your reading speed

Make use of simple articles and interesting news items for increasing reading speed. Time your reading of a passage, and try to read the same passage in lesser time, next time.

Keep a check on lip movement and sub-vocalization. These habits hamper your reading speed.

Use the newspaper for learning Skimming and Scanning skills

Skimming is used for getting the bird’s eye view of the printed matter. You can get a comprehensive idea of a regular newspaper’s content in just 3 minutes. (This will be good news to all the souls short on time!) This can be done by skimming the front-page headlines, the main headings on the rest of the pages and a few relevant details in the body.

Scanning is done to locate some material quickly. You should use ‘the inverted-Pyramid approach’ for this. In a newspaper the heading follows a full sentence regarding the incident and then the details about it.

Use the newspaper to learn flexibility in reading

Flexibility in reading can be achieved by shifting gears constantly. You should vary your reading speed according to the purpose at hand.

- ‘Skimming’ is the fastest rate of reading. It includes reading selectively for specific purposes such as finding a reference, locating material or reviewing material already read. While skimming, it may be desirous at times to skip material or slow down to other rates.
- ‘Rapid reading’ is the rate at which material is read for pleasure or relaxation. Familiar material is reviewed and information is obtained for temporary use.
- A ‘normal rate’ is used to find answers to specific questions, to solve a problem, or to read material of average difficulty.
- To master the main idea and pertinent details a ‘careful rate’ of reading is used. At this slow rate material can be evaluated; details in sequence can be noted, outlined and summarised. Material with unusual vocabulary or style needs to be read carefully

Use the newspaper for Critical Reading

Cartoons make good material for critical reading. You can initiate an interesting debate in determining why a cartoonist expressed himself in the way he did.

An editorial page is an excellent place to try to discern the motive behind the writing. The editorial writer’s aim may be to convince, to interpret, to inform, or to amuse. At times he may just comment on the weather or a holiday. Most of the well-written editorials always present a rational argument. Their arguments begin with certain premises, consider the relevant facts and draw the conclusions that seem logically to follow.

However, there are pros and cons for most topics and room for different opinions. You should be able to distinguish facts from opinions; classify ideas; compare and contrast views; see cause and effect relationships; draw conclusions and weigh validity of facts & generalizations.

Comprehension skills are improved when you read regularly and extensively.

So what are you waiting for? Use the news, go grab a newspaper!

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How average guys can crack CAT?

Are you an average guy? Do you dream of cracking CAT and zoom on the highway to success? Do you think you can do it? Well, let me show you how you can do it. CAT is after all an exam that turns all the tigers into pussycats!!

The biggest fear about taking CAT is just that …. A fear of the unknown! If you can tackle this fear half your battle is won. What are you so fearful about? It is just another exam? Or is it? It has been over-hyped just because a whole lot of people seem to be out there competing with you for those paltry seats. If you remove this fear of competing against the very best, and concentrate on bringing out the very best in you, you are almost there. Yes, almost but not quite.

To really get there you need to do an honest check of your strengths and your weaknesses. I am not speaking of your physical strength here. I am more concerned about your strengths in verbal and quantitative skills, and if you are serious about cracking CAT, you should pay serious attention to them.

There are no set formulas for cracking CAT. You speak to fifty successful candidates and each one will tell you a different story. What does this mean to you? It means that you should follow your own path to success. Listen to everyone. Learn from all, but make your own strategies and follow them to a T.

Students often ask me when is the right time to start preparing for CAT. My answer invariably is: the right time is right now. If you have decided to take CAT, what stops you from preparing for it? There is no right time like the present time. The verbal ability section demands a good grasp of grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. The Quant section wants you to understand numbers, their play and its application. The GD looks for your interpersonal, communication, and team skills. The PI is concerned about your knowledge of your self. It is as simple as that. Put in this manner it does not seem like the Herculean task it is made out to be. It actually isn’t.

So, if you have been diligent about your grammar exercises, have been reading books, understanding the basic math formulae, discussing your point of view with your friends and family, taking interest in the national and international affairs, and knowing exactly what you want from life….. Nothing can stop you from cracking the CAT.

The problem is that you have not been doing these things. Perhaps you have not been doing most of these things or all of these things. In that case, you need to start right now. There is not a moment to lose. You can not put your dreams on hold, just because you did not wake up in time. Now is as good a time as ever.

First of all start reading. You may ask, ‘reading what?’ My answer is, reading anything that interests you. When we are interested in something, we do it to the best of our capability, and that is always a good point to start from. Later as you become comfortable with the idea of reading, you should start reading newspapers (The Hindu is the best paper in India today. No other paper can match the quality of its language. Even their news perspective is very unbiased.), magazines (The Economist is the best magazine to read. You can read most of its articles online as well.), and books (by Richard Bach, Ayn Rand, Paulo Coelho, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Emile Zola, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, George Orwell Hermann Hesse, Salman Rushdie, Daphne Du Maurier, Nietzsche, J. Krishnamurthy etc). Taking a membership of a library really helps. E- Version of many books can be downloaded from the internet as well. I am told that many such books are exchanged on the Orkut communities.

All this reading will help you in improving your vocabulary, and comprehending implied meanings. For grammar, there is no book that can beat good old Wren and Martin. If you go through this book a couple of times, the grammar section of CAT will not haunt you anymore.

Start re-visiting your school math books. NCERT books for class VIII, IX, and X are invaluable in understanding Geometry. It is a fact that the CAT questions in Geometry are at NCERT level. IMS quant material is very good for the number system. A wonderful book for Algebra is Hall and Knight Higher Algebra. Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Pradeep Pandey is also a very good book for quant preparation. Once you are comfortable with the basics, start practicing CAT questions. Take help of Vedic Math. It may seem daunting at first but it is a fun way of learning math. Give it a try. Many successful people swear by its efficacy.

If you are still a student, start improving your academic performance. It is becoming increasingly important to be able to boast of a consistent performance. As you know every bit eventually counts on the D-day. Remember, it is never too late to start performing well.

The other question that is invariably asked is how much time to devote for preparation of each section. Again there is no one answer to this question because a lot depends upon your comfort level with each section. Generally, if you study for four hours everyday, devote two hours to quant, one hour to verbal, and one hour to DI. Your general reading and discussion time is not included in these four hours. It is best to study all three sections everyday so that your preparation is more balanced. In any case your real study time is only till August. After that SIMCATS would start and your preparation planning would change as per your performance analysis.

And finally, have confidence in your dreams. If you are given these dreams, you are also given the where withal to achieve them. So carry on……….Expect SUCCESS.

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