Ideal Time-Table for those attempting entrance exams this season

Under normal circumstances, many entrance exams would already have been held by now. So, the present preparation period is a bonus of sorts. Make the best use of it. By Aritro Dasgupta

Students attempting entrance exams this season, must already be feeling like the experimental batch. They are facing a lot of unique challenges to attempting the entrances this year, that others in the past haven’t had to deal with. However, while they are in a lockdown right now, it is essential that they maintain a time-table to follow. This will be beneficial for their health, and also their preparatory cycle. The stress expected at this time of the year, can somewhat be mitigated when one follows a certain rhythm. These rules could remain common across students from different streams, attempting varied examinations.

First of all, students need to divide the days into hours that they will devote each activity to. They need not study the whole day now. In fact, parents must also not pressurize them too much. This lockdown period should not mean extra pressure for the students. Under normal circumstances, many exams would already have been held by now. So, the present preparation period is a bonus of sorts. Following could be the break-up of hours:

• 8 hours’ sleep
• 4 hours for meals and other personal chores
• 2 hours for household chores (very important now)
• 2 hours for leisure/ exercise.
• 8 hours for study

The one above sounds fairly reasonable. Individuals could tweak this as per their requirements. Once this division of hours is sorted, the next task to do, is decide when what is to be done. Some students may naturally have fallen in to a nocturnal routine. It has become commonplace for a lot of students of the current generation. Now is not the time for moralizing, so let us find the best routine from within that.

Daily Routine

For ease of discussion, let us consider a non- nocturnal study routine. It could work as follows:

• Wake up at 7 am, get refreshed and have breakfast in 2 hours.
• Can help family with household chores for a while after that and freshen up over the next 2 hours; household chores are now essential, and everyone needs to pitch in.
• One may start study from 11 am till 2 pm when it is lunch time.
• 2-4 pm one can devote to lunch and some leisure.
• 4-6 pm may again work out for study; this covers total 5 hours of study for the day, so 3 left.
• 6-7 pm, once could engage in some exercise or bit more of leisure.
• One more round of study could be from 7-8:30 pm.
• Dinner could follow along with some more of family time till 9:30 pm.
• The final study hours could be from 9:30 till 11 pm. This will also include some winding down time before finally hitting the bed.

These segmented time capsules for study are ideal for preparations. They will ensure better retention levels.

There are some entrance exams in India, which include a component of General Awareness. For those exams, even if students are reading the newspaper or browsing through an online news site, it counts as study. Some exams are also unique in being conducted online. Aspirants of these, need to spend longer hours in front of a computer screen. They must acquaint themselves with the online mode of study, and more importantly testing. As a lot of these tests are for two hours, maybe the evening slot of 4-6 pm could be ideal for taking up a mock on alternate or every three days.

Tests takers in 2020 however, must not fret too much on the present delay or testing patterns. It is not that the final paper set will be more difficult. That could happen in any case, but in no way is that a given. For those test aspirants, who have already been following a nocturnal habit, there needs to be some tweak to their routine. In case they like to stay up and study, then they may as well study for those hours till say 3 am. This is the time when there is maximum calm, so many find it truly invigorating or even creative, to attempt mentally stimulating tasks at these hours.

These students however, must not miss out on their sleep or time for the household chores. We have for too long been comfortable with external help, but now need to perform all tasks ourselves. So, helping or at least offering to help parents, is a must at this hour. Household chores can also be liberating to the mind. One thing students must avoid at all costs during this lockdown, is to spend hours tracking the same COVID- 19 related ‘news’. In the era of 24x7 news channels, a lot of repetitive information is broadcast. A lot of that may not be useful, but may instead cause greater stress to the viewers.

For the usual viewer, some amount of this stress at this time is normal. But for those attempting some of India’s toughest entrance exams, doing so must be avoided at all costs. So, while useful news tracking is necessary, too much of listening to opinions on the current pandemic may get counter- productive. As they say, “health is wealth”. There has never come a time for youngsters to demonstrate this maxim than now. It is also said that “a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body”. So, the right practices and time-table will surely help them ace the upcoming exams, to the best of their individual abilities.

Also Read:

How can CAT aspirants make best use of online classes

Impact on Current Affairs for entrance tests due to coronavirus outbreak

About the Author:

Aritro Dasgupta is a Teacher, Trainer and Content Writer. He has taught at several leading colleges and coaching institutes in both India and the UAE. Several of his students have finished in the top 10 of various national level exams such as CLAT, AILET and DUJAT. He is also a prolific content writer, having written for several leading publications in India, while currently, also working for one in the USA.