Playing it smart

In India we are just told to study and not how to study Chandan Deshmukh asserts As a 14yearold who had to watch his mother cry at a parentteacher meeting because of his belowaverage scores Deshmukh now an engineer based in Bangalore managed to excel by simply asking his smart friends their success strategies in exchange for the lipsmacking lunch he carried to school Equipped with this knowledge seven years ago he started working on a book titled 6 Secrets Smart Students Dont Tell You published recently by Penguin Random House India As this month marks the onset of exam fever across the country heres what you need to know to ace your scoresChandan Deshmukh1 Know your goalSetting 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 Thats the only way youll figure the end result he says A goal needs to have parameters too mdash it needs to be constructive practical measurable timebound 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 month2 Mind your surroundingsA study room free of any distractions is indeed important but what do you do in a city like Mumbai where people dont have the luxury of space Deshmukh says he received many queries regarding this problem from below middleclass 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 Its 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 reach3 Memory is keyIn the book Deshmukh 30 signals that one can only have memory problems if they forget their own name So if that person isnt 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 dont forget it or form associations autorickshaw number 3 since it is a threewheeler and acronyms like VIBGYOR for the colours of a rainbow4 Do away with the coaching mythBefore that eventful parentteacher meeting in class 7 Deshmukh was enrolled in a tuition class It didnt help and thus he makes a convincing case for not going to one Its a waste of time money and energy You could save lakhs if you dont opt for them and it cuts childrens playtime they are thus losing out on an important part of their childhood Also students tend to sleep in school because they say Oh were going to learn this topic in tuition anyway so what we study in school doesnt matter he states5 Speak pleasePublic 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 attentiongrabbing note and spark curiosity amongst the listeners Stick to the point and work on a confident appearance too Dont encourage questions midspeech 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 youre at a wedding take control of the mic and introduce the bride and groom6 Watch the timeThe 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 weekCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates