Procastination

Hey you, when was the last time you sat down to study and in the 4th line of the first page itself you read a word...say 'mountains', and you fazed out into thinking about the last time you visited the mountains along with Pappu chachaji, and how Pappu chachaji's new SUV is so well-equipped and strong, and how someone would have thought about building a car back in the 80s, and how in the 80z things were so hard and how there was no internet, and how mankind has evolved from Indus Valley civilization to today, and how man is now reaching to Mars, and how spaceships are exploring universe, and how the universe might have started from a Big Bang, and how the last episode of Big Bang Theory was so funny... If you've gone on one such trip today, and if it was your Nth trip of the day, congratulations- you are a procrastinator. Welcome to the club. And forget about just 'thinking' weird random shit in your head. Today, technology has built such a conducive environment for a procrastinator to thrive in, because in case you exhaust your imagination or inquisitiveness (which is hardly the case) or if your procrastination lands you on such a curious topic that you can't help but know more about it.....you do something that sucks you into the Black Hole of procrastination.... ...you Google it -_- Aaaaaannndddddddd that's it. Once you Google that weird random thing, and God forbid, if you land on a YouTube video on the same, then there is no turning back. You'll keep on clicking on one or the other Suggested Videos and the only thing that can stop you is a meteor hitting the Earth or a loss of internet connection. But why is procrastination a problem? Simply because it does not give results. It does not do things. It does not change your life. But if that's the case, why do people procrastinate? Why don't they just stop? -because it 'feels good'. Yes. Scientific studies show that procrastination is largely a result of a negative feeling or a daunting task lying just in front of you and you looking for an instant source of 'feel-good-kick' to escape that negativity, and what's better than imagining your break-dance video going viral and you becoming an instant celebrity and giving interviews on TV shows and meeting Bollywood - wait, why Bollywood, we are in the procrastination world - meeting Hollywood stars and signing a movie contract and making your parents proud and relatives jealous. See, it's so easy and fun to procrastinate. Oh wait, let's go on a more relevant procrastination trip - you scoring a 100%ile, and appearing on the front page of newspapers all over India with your mom kissing you and your dad holding that ladoo ka dabba, and you landing in IIM A, and getting the highest package, and soon getting an offer from Google to be its next CEO, and Forbes declaring you as The Entrepreneur Of The Year.....there's no end to it. You see, it's instant gratification. But it's not real. You do snap out of it, and then you curse yourself for wasting an hour just procrastinating, or for spending the whole night in the Explore section of Instagram, or for watching 'Best Pranks Compilation of 2017' videos on Facebook. You swear not to waste time like this tomorrow, only to be in the same spot and 'swearing'. How does one stop procrastinating? Easy. Just stop your imagination factory and do work. Now, for someone who has a strong will, it is actually as easy as it sounds. But for someone like you and me, and for almost 100.01% of students out there, it is anything but easy. Let's see what are the practical ways which can help you stop procrastinating and improve your focus on work: 1. Stop lamenting First of all, stop cursing yourself or shouting at yourself for not studying or for not putting in the work. As negativity is the prime underlying reason for wanting to go into a 'feel-good zone', so don't let any negativity breach your walls. Forgive yourself, feel happy about at least having the intention to work, and gain some confidence from within, get that urge to DO SOMETHING. 2. Break it into parts Instead of saying that 'I will finish off all DILR questions by September, thus doing away with one section', say 'I will solve all questions from Clocks chapter by tonight and master the topic'. You don't need to finish the whole syllabus of CAT as such, you just need to finish one topic a day and within 50 days you'll be done with the whole syllabus. Getting it? Smaller goals are easier and more practical to achieve, plus they have an equally short deadline, thus giving you the 'feel-good-kick' more often....and for the right reasons ;) 3. Keep deadlines Keeping deadlines is very important. Don't say that whenever you are done with RCs, you'll start with Para Jumbles. Instead, say that by this week you'll practice all types of RCs and RC questions, and by Wednesday next week you'll finish practising Para Jumbles. And treat your deadlines seriously. Without deadlines, you'll not get that sense of urgency and you'll keep on pushing the work for a later hour, until it faces right in your face with 7 days left for CAT. Don't treat CAT like your assignments. There is no comparison. The former intends to change your life forever. 4. Remove distractions Oh! So very important. Instead of betting on your willpower, just deactivate your social media accounts for 3 months, or if that doesn't help then remove the apps, or if that doesn't help and you end up reinstalling the apps or games again (thanks to Jio) then remove the internet connection from your phone. Don't get a data pack till CAT, don't recharge that WiFi device. If even that doesn't help, keep away your phone, give it to your mother to keep it in the bank locker, and use the landline. Let go of any sitcom that you are addicted to. Understand that those actors, producers and sponsors have their lives sorted and you are watching those shows to keep their dreams alive while killing yours. If you are mostly studying online, like on our Online Classrooms, then keep internet access only to your desktop or laptop. Anything that distracts you from studying, chuck it away. Burn it. 5. Avoid multitasking Don't try and be Rajnikanth trying to do too much in a day. Avoid picking up too many and unrelated mini-tasks. Focus on one thing for the while. Sometimes we get too ambitious trying to make room for CAT prep, working out, outing with friends, cleaning the room, learning Java, finishing that unfinished sketch......all in one day.....ending up finishing nothing. Prioritize your tasks and start with the most important one and don't stop till you are done with it. Then pick up the next. 6. Listen to music without lyrics Some students find it difficult to focus in silence, or at times there's too much distraction from a passing by traffic or kids in the house or dadaji's hourly news updates on TV. Plug in your earphones and switch on any music you like, but without lyrics. Lyrics end up distracting you more. And don't switch on Nusrat's or Arijit's live performances by mistake....more than distracting you they'll end up making you call your ex. Try genres like progressive house or techno or chillstep or instrumental music. Or just keep an eye for the music I keep suggesting now and then. Go for long playlists or tracks that go on for 2 hours or more, so that you don't feel like taking a break when one small track finishes or if an unpleasant song comes up and your focus shifts from fixing the Quant question to fixing the playlist first. 7. MOOOOOOOVVVVEEEEE The most important tip - MOVE, ACT NOW. All the above-mentioned points completely depend on this last point. You've got to start acting and stop continuing with procrastination. It's all in the head. Keep your head strong in this case. Like How? Like when you hear your alarm and you do wake up, but you give in to the comfort and press the snooze button and doze off again. NO. You got to forget the comfort, you got to jump right out of bed. Similarly, you got to just step into completing the syllabus day by day, topic by topic. That's the only way to move ahead. If your mind waivers or goes into the imaginary world, snap back within a second. You never know which imaginary thought might lead to a 3-hour long film in your head. So the gist is that you need to rewire your brain and become a DOING person than a procrastinating person. Keep in mind the outcome of your actions, and look at them in retrospect rather than looking at them in the future. Regret is the worse feeling, my friend, especially because there is nothing you can do to fix it or get rid of it. 2 days back I'd asked on the Instagram page if you are studying as much as you need to. Out of 87 comments, 86 said 'No'. If you are also in the same category, then before seeking any help or guidance from outside, work upon something that's inside you. No ebook, no live lecture, no mock test will push you in the topper's list if your answer to that question is a 'No'. Stop procrastinating and get down to work right now. Consistency is the key here. Keep making small daily goals and keep achieving them consistently. Get that determination needed to get up and start preparing. Be a realist. I hope you got some urge to move out of your procrastination zone. Remember, the crux is to ACT. And ACT NOW. And beware of 'Suggested Videos'. Good luck, my friend ;) Courtesy: Bulls Eye, Chandigarh

Bulls Eye, SCO 90, Sec 8-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh