Topper Study Hacks to Study Smart

 

STUDY HACKS FOR STUDENTS INSPIRED BY THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

Most of the students have a wrong perception or no perception of how to be a student. They think that the thing that qualifies them to be a student is just coming to school or college. No wonder they struggle in studies, find it difficult to concentrate in class, get easily diverted from their goals and face a lot of difficulties that come with being a student.

 

Before we take up any task we need to know what is required of us to do in order to succeed at the given task. Are we qualified to do that task? This is the question that should be asked by us to ourselves. If we do it, we can prepare to get qualified. If not, the world will reject us and we may not know why we got rejected.

 

This is similar to being a student. Before a child joins a school or a college he or she should know what is required of him, and what is his duty in order to succeed and have a fruitful school or college life. Unfortunately, the child comes to school or college without knowing the duties that he is expected of him to perform as a student. The parents and the teachers also don’t have a plan for educating the child on how to be a successful student before he starts learning in the classroom.

 

In today’s blog, I am going to share a few steps that will help the child to become a better student. There are no conditions that apply in these steps. You cannot put a condition that if something is in your favor then only you will be a good student. A student has to be tough on himself. He has to leave everything else and put these steps into practice if he has to come out of the institution with a well-groomed mind and intellect.

 

These lessons have been inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, who even today is a great inspiration for the youth and old.

 

If you are ready, let’s get started.

 

3 Steps to Succeed as a Student

1. Give up all ideas of enjoyment.

 

The student joins a school or college to learn what he does not know. He studies to master a subject that he can use to build a career and become a contributor in a specific field of his choice.

 

Unfortunately, in today’s world of social media likes, updates, followers, subscribers and comments have become more important than what is taught in class. Most of the time when a student leaves the classroom at the end of the day, he also leaves behind his notebook and the lessons that he listened to on that day. Going to school and college has just become some kind of formality to obtaining a degree.

 

If a student has to succeed he needs to develop a sense of delayed gratification. He needs to give up on all the ideas of entertainment and enjoyment and make his studies his number one priority. Everything should come after he has completed his assignment, homework, project, or revision of the day.

 

But he becomes a victim of time stealers.

 

One of the biggest time stealers of the era is social media. Social media runs on the concept of network. You watch one thing and that one thing that you watch gets you connected to the next similar kind of content, then the next, and the next and you find yourself drawn into it having spent hours and hours that you could have used to do something creative or for your schoolwork. You start watching what does not concern you right now as a student and start developing opinions of things that you are not mature to handle. This is robbing you of precious time. After your study years are over, you will get enough time to share your opinion and comment on things. That time you will be doing it responsibly rather than under the influence of young emotions because you have invested years in completing your studies and developing maturity.

 

Having said that it doesn’t mean 24 by 7 you put your head into your textbooks, assignments, or projects. We also need to rejuvenate and energize our minds. This happens when we indulge in activities where our whole body is involved like outdoor sports or activities, physical exercise, adventure sports, and going out with your friends or family can also help you rejuvenate. The whole body has to be engaged not just our mind. Watching YouTube videos or surfing social media sites does not rejuvenate our minds. Instead, most often it fills the mind with unnecessary and disturbing news.

 

So, in order to achieve success as a student give up on your ideas of enjoyment and entertainment and focus first on studying and knowing the subjects that will help you build your future.

 

2. Develop an intense desire to know the truth.

 

In many institutions the education system is designed such that maximum students focus on only two things – attendance and question bank that will help them clear their exams.

 

The purpose of students attending school should not be to just pass the exams. Passing exams is a part of gaining knowledge, not the entire objective. The objective should be to know the truth about whatever subject we are studying. Being able to answer the 1H5W questions – How, what, where, when, who, why. If a student can do that he will not have to depend on the question bank to score high marks.

 

For this to happen, a student needs to have an intense desire to know the truth. Read the textbooks, take notes in class and make notes after class. During class, engage the teacher in a discussion by asking relevant questions to understand the topic.

 

Swami Vivekananda says – be eager to know the truth, long for them, as a drowning man longs for breath.

 

Let not the fear of what my classmates will say or what if my classmates laugh at my question stop you from asking and clearing your doubts. Remember, by trying to get to the truth about the subject of your study you are just doing your duty as a student.

 

Knowing in-depth about the subject you are studying will open up doors and windows of opportunity for your future.

 

3. Practice fastening the mind to one idea.

 

Whenever you sit to study a subject, just lose yourself in that subject. Right now the only important thing in your life is to study the subject. As you read the subject, think it over. Ask the 1H5W questions. Never leave it halfway to indulge in other activities. Do not look at the time. Your focus is on getting to understand that topic how much ever time it takes. Let every part of your body be filled with that single idea. Make that one single idea your life – dream of it, live on that idea, let it grow inside you.  Right now, nothing else matters. Then you will have mastered the topic rather than having a general idea about it.

 

When you fasten yourself to one subject at a time the time it takes to learn the topic drastically reduces.  

 

Sometimes, you may not be able to complete your syllabus, but whatever you learn will stay with you for long. So don’t try to learn more things in less time.

 

Here are two actionable that you can work on:

EVERY TIME I STUDY I GET DISTRACTED.
What to Do?

a. Before you sit down to study withdraw your mind from all other activities.

 

It may not happen in one or two minutes. Take a small break before you sit to study. During that break don’t indulge in watching TV or surfing on social media platforms. Instead, do some light activity that will not fill or disturb your mind.

 

b. In a day have fixed hours when you will sit and study.

 

The mind gets trained in what we do regularly. It doesn’t care whether it is good or bad, it just gets trained and used to the task. So, if you study at a fixed time daily, your mind will get used to it and will become your friend helping you to concentrate on your studies.

 

c. Don’t associate yourself with people or thoughts that will disrupt your mind.

 

You will find this very fascinating. Just compare your marks with the student you sit with or the students with whom you spend time. You will be surprised to note that your marks and the marks of the student sitting next to you are almost the same. There may be a difference of plus or minus five marks. This is amazing. What this tells us is that our performance is influenced by the student we sit with or the company that we keep at school or college.

 

As a student, if you want to achieve success always sit with students who score higher than you. You will get influenced by their study habits. Associating with non-performers will pull you down.

 

Final Thoughts on How To Focus & Stop Getting Distracted in Our Studies

 

For every small or big activity that we undertake, we need to have certain qualifications to complete that successfully. As also in the case of studies, if the qualifications can be explained to the students and imbibed in them by their teachers and parents, going to school and colleges and studying with full concentration will make the students become responsible citizens of the world society.

 

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