08 March,2020 04:54 AM IST | Mumbai | Dalreen Ramos
In India we are just told to study and not how to study," Chandan Deshmukh asserts. As a 14-year-old who had to watch his mother cry at a parent-teacher meeting because of his below-average scores, Deshmukh, now an engineer based in Bangalore, managed to excel by simply asking his smart friends their success strategies in exchange for the lip-smacking lunch he carried to school. Equipped with this knowledge, seven years ago, he started working on a book titled 6 Secrets Smart Students Don't Tell You, published recently by Penguin Random House India. As this month marks the onset of exam fever across the country, here's what you need to know to ace your scores:
Chandan Deshmukh
Setting a goal is perhaps the most generic advice you can receive as a student, but Deshmukh deconstructs its importance. "When you begin your search for an apartment, the builder will always show you a mini model or a plan. That's the only way you'll figure the end result," he says. A goal needs to have parameters, too - it needs to be constructive, practical, measurable, time-bound, flexible and personal. Deshmukh suggests that students break up the final goals into mini ones according to timelines extending from five days to five years; for instance, if you wish to learn baking in five years, you must start with looking up the ingredients in a month.
A study room free of any distractions is indeed important but what do you do in a city like Mumbai where people don't have the luxury of space? Deshmukh says he received many queries regarding this problem from below middle-class students. "Even with budget constraints, what you essentially need to accommodate is a creative chart in front of you with important information, like math formulae, that you need to recall," he adds. It is also crucial to invest in a stiff chair in the room as lying down hampers learning. It's even better to have two chairs: one to sit on for reading and another facing a different wall for the recalling process. Keep everything you need within your reach.
In the book, Deshmukh, 30, signals that one can only have memory problems if they forget their own name. So, if that person isn't you then you pretty much have a good chance of becoming a whiz kid. To grasp large amounts of texts, memorise the keywords; remember that every paragraph is introduced for a reason and thus contains unique information. You can also make up a tale using the keywords so that you don't forget it, or form associations (auto-rickshaw = number '3', since it is a three-wheeler) and acronyms like VIBGYOR for the colours of a rainbow.
Before that eventful parent-teacher meeting in class 7, Deshmukh was enrolled in a tuition class. It didn't help and thus, he makes a convincing case for not going to one. "It's a waste of time, money and energy. You could save lakhs if you don't opt for them and it cuts children's playtime; they are, thus, losing out on an important part of their childhood. Also, students tend to sleep in school because they say, 'Oh, we're going to learn this topic in tuition anyway so what we study in school doesn't matter'," he states.
Public speaking skills are crucial to excel at oral examinations. "It boosts the overall morale of a child and over time can reduce speech impediments like stammering," Deshmukh, who identifies as an introvert, says. A speech must start on an attention-grabbing note and spark curiosity amongst the listeners. Stick to the point and work on a confident appearance, too. Don't encourage questions mid-speech but at the end. The author adds, "Students should make use of every public speaking opportunity that comes their way. Start with family functions; if you're at a wedding, take control of the mic, and introduce the bride and groom."
The book ends with a nuanced version of the first chapter. Deshmukh echoes the adage, "The billionaire and the beggar both have 24 hours everyday. You cannot stop a day or an hour but you can control how it will be used." He details two methods for time management. The first is a priority matrix, where tasks are split into four priorities: 1) Important and urgent, 2) Important, but not urgent, 3) Not important, but urgent, and 4) Not important and not urgent. The other method is to make a weekly planner with the following columns: subject, task number, tasks, time and a column for each day of the week.
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