JEE study buddy

How many times you have told yourself, "I can't do this!"

I can't memorise so many formulas. I can't understand advanced concepts. I can't visualise. I can't solve difficult questions. I can't understand book language. I can't sit for long hours.

You know what! Did you ever study this hard before in your life? Have you ever been dedicated so much to anything in your life before? Have you ever been so mature and serious in your life?

You are doing most of the things the first time. JEE is a difficult exam. You are forced to do difficult things. But ask yourself, "Don't difficult things make us realise that we are more powerful than we think?" You must have at least some good things in JEE. For example, that one chapter, concept, or subject you are an expert at.

We give up easily. We need to give more time to overcome each challenge. When a student says he can't memorise formulas or reactions, most probably, he hasn't worked hard enough on it. He might have tried remembering a few formulas one day. He forgot them, and now he says that he cannot memorise. With this low effort, even an expert cannot memorise.

When you are doing something for the first time, you need to push a little bit hard. You need to give it a bit more time, a few more attempts. Once you crack the technique for yourself, it comes naturally to you. Slowly, you get used to it. For example, the student understood the technique to memorise better. He applied it and did a lot of hard work. It took a few days, but he saw improvement. Then he tried memorising other chapters. Slowly, he became an expert at memorising things. He even forgets that there was a time when he struggled at memorising.

Guys, there might be some things that you feel you can't do. Push a bit more, and you will realise that you are much more capable than you think. Gradually, you will develop confidence and self-respect as well.

I can't You can memorise so many formulas. I can't You can understand advanced concepts. I can't You can visualise. I can't You can solve difficult questions. I can't You can understand book language. I can't You can sit for long hours.

Doesn't think of studies as a burden: Imagine someone who studies only to crack IIT and hasn't developed a love for PCM. He will be tired after long hours of study. He cannot continue intense preparation for a long time. If he develops a love for the subject, it will not be tiring for him to study for long. Instead, it will be pleasant and effortless work. Tough problems will not seem like a big burden but an exciting challenge. Learning theories will create more curiosity to learn even more theories, and so on.

Has a sharp focus. Our generation is suffering from an enormous focus deficit. We are surrounded by distractions all around. We are used to short forms of content such as shorts, reels, memes, etc. We cannot hold our attention for long. Learning concepts in depth can only happen when we have enough patience and unshakeable focus. Once we slog through that, we feel the pleasure of learning concepts. That pleasure motivates us to learn further. But this reward cycle can only take place if we increase our focus.

Is self-aware. In my experience of years, I have seen people not seeing their mock test results; even worse, not taking mock tests. They fear the previous year's questions. They also fear anything that is tough. They are just pretending to study. They are fooling themselves. They are stealing from their own pocket. They are fools, noobs, and weak people. Not only that, but by staying away from challenges, they are making sure that they stay noobs for life. They have very low self-respect. Few people dare to look in the mirror. They want to know the reality before reality hits hard. They want to prepare themselves for the challenges ahead. They are winners. They choose to face difficulties now to make themselves strong. They are humble and self-aware.

Let us imagine you sat down to study. You are solving an Advanced level book. You found many difficult questions, and you could not solve them. You feel discouraged. You feel bad about yourself and your preparation for the exam.

If you had such a horrible study session, would you ever feel like opening that book again? Whenever you try to open it, your fear will kick in. It will stop you from studying. But being a JEE aspirant, you are supposed to study all day. So when you don't study, you feel guilty. That guilt, plus previous bad thoughts about self take us on a trip to depression. We want an escape. We watch entertaining content. We waste time. We feel more regret. It just keeps building up.

Not only in JEE, such vicious traps are also everywhere—engineering exams, placement preparation, startup building, and whatnot.

You are young, very young. Even far from reaching the 20s. Don't you think you have enough time to build a strong protection against such psychological traps? It will protect you for life. JEE is a great opportunity to make yourself strong, to break through these inhibitions.

Try doing a few good things. Such as focused study sessions. Understanding theory well. Enjoying a study session. Solving difficult problems with focus. If unable to solve, watch an advanced problem-solving video session. After the session, try solving the problems yourself. When you are stuck, you can't see any progress. When you can't see progress, your destination seems unreachable. Progress, even if slow, is necessary.

How will your mindset change: Seeing your level increase. Seeing the syllabus getting completed slowly. Seeing that you can solve problems more quickly. Seeing that your study hours are expanding every day. Seeing that you can complete a chapter faster than before Seeing that your mind is getting calmer every day. Seeing that your chances of doing good are increasing every day. Seeing that effort from you is sincere and more consistent. Seeing that you don't repeat the old mistakes. Seeing that you don't give up easily. Seeing that your self-respect is increasing. Seeing that your confidence is improving. Seeing that your mock test marks are improving.

Let us know what you think.

How many steps do you walk every day?

I walked very less. My routine for many days was to go downstairs, sit in the car, reach the office and sit there. Then come back home.

That was all the walking that I did. Almost similar was what happened during my JEE days. I did not walk. If I went to school or coaching, it was on the scooty. Backpain was bound to happen.

We live in the information age. We work on our table chair—it doesn't matter if you are a student, corporate employee, or entrepreneur. Do you think there was a similar lifestyle 20 years ago? For millions of years, we have been hunters and gatherers. We have not adapted to sitting all day long. Sitting is causing back pain.

Sadly for some students, even their breaks are indoors, sitting down on their chairs, playing games or consuming content. All of these daily atrocities on your back and neck are causing it pain. We torture our backs to study for long hours. But when back pains, we can't sit for long and can't study. I am providing you with some solutions for instant effects:

Know that the torture happens to your back, mostly when sitting. While standing or lying down, your back is mostly relaxed.

Stand straight when you do. Lie down in a straight and relaxed posture.

No matter what, most of your time is spent while sitting, so sitting posture should be correct too. Check your chair table. Your lower back should touch the chair, and your back should mostly be straight while studying. You can also put some books under your laptop to lift it up. This makes your neck straight and relaxed. (There are laptop stands in the market too). At all costs, prioritize posture.

Walk a lot until it heats up your body. I feel relaxation and heat in my back if I brisk walk for a few minutes. Make daily step goals of 7-10k steps. Just by this, I could eliminate back pain in 3 days.

Watch video lectures on a laptop/tv while lying down. This way, you relax your back and sit for long hours while solving questions.

Think of times when you mindlessly sit in the wrong posture. While using the phone, your neck and back are mostly in the wrong posture. Correct your posture wherever possible.

In your breaks, don't sit. Go out on a walk in a park/jungle. Trust me; it will solve most of your back problems.

If you have a swollen belly, you are putting extra stress on your back. Therefore, cut down on fast foods, and do intense physical activity.

Physical activity such as running, jogging, etc., warms up the body, removes stress, and increases focus. All of it increase your productivity manifold.

Take proper sleep. Sleeping properly will give your back enough rest.