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Exams, in the pluralistic usage can inspire the deepest fears in every student. Sometimes this fear is heightened to a hysteria.

There is no other way to inspire anxiety in college students than handing them their date sheet for semester exams. More often than not, we are given the internals and practical examinations during regular days at college; but the semester exams inspire an excitement that is too real. Internals and practicals, meant to prepare us for the ultimate semester exams, fail to help us in their direct motive. It is in such times that we become hysterical with horror.

A friend of mine had to go through the grind of completing a respectable part of her unending curriculum, bereft of the comforts of her mattress; staying up through the night for a good score in a test scheduled at 8:30 am on a wintry December morning. At 7:30am, having covered a sizeable part of her syllabus, she decided to freshen up with a quick nap. But then she slept through the exam. And well, to be fair, we all know she had the better bargain— you cannot put a price on an innocent dreamy slumber after a wakeful night.

“In the middle of protests and elections in full swing through the early months of this semester, classes and studies took a major hit,” said a third year Political Science student at Kirori Mal College, retaining the request of anonymity. Truly, the cancelled classes are now being conjured up out of thin air, early in the mornings for an 8:50 session or later into the day— when exhaustion is a mutual feeling between the professors and students— for a reckless 3:50 lecture.

Exams, you see, inspire some scares.

In the course of the exams, you can never laugh at the hysteria. It is a retrospective activity, to be fair. It is, as a third year English Honors student at Hindu said, when asked to share her hysterical exams stories, “Exams are hyperventilating! They become hysterical later.” Possibly no argument exists to refute this. Maybe the expectations that we have, or in some cases are imposed to have, go a long way in adding to this smothering nature of exams. “You have admitted yourself successfully in one of the most prestigious colleges in the nation. Did you think your work was over? You thought wrong,” said a professor of English Literature at Hindu College in a particularly scathing lecture in the first week of the new session.

Sometimes it so happens, that the standards we are expected to match and possibly, outmatch, are highly unreasonable. Like another friend studying Journalism from Delhi School of Journalism mentioned, “My teacher asked us to shoot a documentary in one day- 10am to 4:30pm was the time allotted for the same”. Maybe it is just this overburdened spirit that crumbles under unreasonable standards of intelligence enforced on us for being in the university.

But it is good to see some spirited victims of oppression retaining their merit through this grind. “I have two internals tomorrow, I’m just binge eating and crying…” said a third year Psychology student at Daulat Ram College. “Two assignment submissions, one core internal and one Generic Elective internal for tomorrow. Planning to doze off.” said another inspiring model of chill studying at Kirori Mal College.

Allowing the sharing of my own experience. I finished reading the wrong book a day before the exam. And then despite my quick reading habits— avoiding the retention or understanding of the content— I decided not to read the right book. I walked into my class the next day, sat for an internal unprepared totally, and ended up scoring a single digit on a 20-marker paper. I mean, that is better than a zero, at least.

An interesting subplot to the exams season is the trouble of attendance. Let us face it, the 67% mark is impossible to reach, let alone maintain. And then the problems with admit cards adding to our hysterical narrations later in the next semester. During exams, the most arbitrary engagement will appear most promising. Infinite no-thank-you’s to videos like “Cat reads chemistry” on YouTube for instance; killing time but teaching us to live the high life during exams.

I feel unpreparedness is an opportunity to explore our innovation, so we all know who is the winner.

Feature Image Credits: 1to1tutoringwithjoy

Kartik Chauhan

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As the internals roll by, managing time becomes increasingly difficult. The pressure of assignments, exams, and practicals starts setting in, and time management takes a back seat.

In order to be productive and meet deadlines, time management is an essential tool. The concept may sound fascinating, but the actual task is harder than it seems.

Here are a couple of tricks to manage time successfully:

Be Realistic in Setting Goals.

Setting goals is easy, but following through with them proves to be extremely difficult. Human nature dictates a sense of overachievement, which is not always practical, and may end with disappointment. Setting realistic goals is a better way to start the process of task achievement, or improvement. Smaller tasks spaced over a period of time are more likely to get completed, and reduce last minute anxiety.

Make a P.O.A (Plan Of Action)

Instead of making a timetable, make a plan of action. While the two may not vary from each other in terms of similarity, the term “plan of action” tricks your brain into believing this new phrase will help put into motion the required work to be completed. Insead of assigning slots of time, a simple list with the work to be completed in a particular day can be made, with no time constraints for each task.

Create a Routine

A proper routine wherein everyday tasks follow a set pattern, helps bring order to a chaotic state of mind and body. Insufficient sleep, “impairs the ability to think, to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system, and to moderate emotions.”, according to the World Health Organisation. Receiving enough sleep, along with moderate daily exercise and proper meals, can improve work productivity significantly.

Cut Out Junk Food

“Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain”

-Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, Professor of neurosurgery and physiological science at UCLA.

Believe it or not, but cutting out junk food can actually help you manage your time better. Junk food is known to decrease concentration levels, and thus inhibit the ability to complete tasks on time. By reducing the consumption of fast food, or junk food, and increasing the intake of healthy food which contains substances like omega-3 fatty acids, (found in walnuts, soyabean etc) brain functioning can be boosted, and as a consequence, time can be better managed.

Say No to Your Phone

Not fiddling with your phone while working is almost impossible in a realistic scenario, so instead, using apps like digital detox, lock you out of your phone until a pre decided time. The app allows you to set a time before which you are not allowed to use your phone, other than an allotted amount of breaks. You can choose the degree of difficulty in your app blockers, starting with apps that only give warnings, to apps that ask for money to unlock the phone before the designated time.

Time management is crucial to maintain an optimum workflow and keep stress and anxiety at bay. Putting even some of these tips and tricks to work, can help bring ease to daily functioning and increase productivity.

Feature Image Credits: Toggl

Meher Gill

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