Competitive exams. Oh, the very idea of them will give you the shivers. The pressure to excel, the constant practice, and the never-ending advice you get from well-wishers who care about you. Some of this advice is just plain silly, isn’t it? But, suppose I told you that some of the “bad advice” could actually assist you in cracking that difficult exam?
Yes, you heard it correctly. In this blog, let’s examine some of the tips that most people would deem bad, but surprisingly work great when it comes to competitive exams.
“Don’t worry about understanding the concepts. Just memorize everything.”
You must have heard this a million times, right? Well, here’s the catch. Competitive exams such as banking, UPSC, or SSC require you to put your knowledge to practice while you are under pressure. The notion that “memorization is sufficient” is usually refuted, but memorizing facts, formulas, and concepts can give you valuable time during the exam. Yes, grasping the basic concepts matters, but when you are under the time constraint, having a mental repository of formulas and definitions can prove to be a game-saver.
This type of advice, which is frequently criticized, is effective because it gives you a mental structure that assists in quicker decision-making. You may not apply all the memorized facts, but having a formula or a fact at the tip of your tongue can assist you in saving precious seconds and preventing mental blocks during the exam.
“Don’t practice too much. Just focus on theory.”
Now, this sounds a little contradictory, doesn’t it? Competitive exams are all about practice, so why on earth would somebody tell you not to do it? Well, here’s the trick: Burnout is the result of over-practicing without knowledge of theory. Numerous students try and attempt hundreds of practice questions with no firm base of the theory behind them. Although practice is certainly the name of the game, if your foundation is shaky, your performance will suffer.
Occasionally, stepping away from practice to worry about clearing doubts, rechecking theory, or even rewriting concepts is more beneficial in the long term. It may look like you’re not practicing enough, but you’re actually building up your problem-solving ability. So, relax and go back to theory as necessary.
“Skip the hard questions. You can’t solve them anyway.”
You’ve probably heard people utter this when you’re sitting before a tough question, wondering if it’s even worth trying. Well, there’s some perverse truth to this bit of counsel. Competitive exams are a matter of time management. It’s not a matter of trying every question; it’s a matter of recognizing which questions to try later and which questions you can solve confidently.
Skipping a difficult question allows you to concentrate on ones you can answer with ease so you don’t burn yourself out trying to do problems that will just suck the life out of you. The key is when to skip and when to risk it. This “bad” tip is effective because it enables you to strategize your work.
“Take lots of breaks and don’t study too much in one go.”
This is one more tip that raises many an eyebrow. In the world of competitive exams, where we are advised to read non-stop for hours on end, taking a break appears to be counter-intuitive. But the fact remains: our minds aren’t constructed for marathon studying. Overburdening your mind with information without allowing it some time to relax results in burnout and forgetfulness.
Taking breaks regularly aids in concentration, memory, and mental clarity. You will discover that when you take short, scheduled breaks, your mind remains fresh, and you can learn and remember more in the long term. So, rather than sitting with your books for 8 hours continuously, attempt to divide it into smaller portions.
“Just follow your friends’ study plan. It works for them, it’ll work for you too.”
This is a classic! You observe your friend maintaining a specific study routine, and he appears to be going well. You automatically believe, “I will take their plan, and I too will do well.” Here’s the trick: each person learns differently. Your friend may be able to pull off short spurts of heavy-duty studying, while you may require longer, more peaceful hours to work things through.
It’s easy to follow someone else’s strategy, but the secret to success in competitive exams is discovering a study regimen that suits you. Spend time trying out various approaches. Perhaps you require visual aids, or group studies suit you better. The concept is to borrow the best practices, but personalize them.
“You don’t need sleep. Study all night if you have to.”
This one’s hard to take, particularly when you’re looking at the last few days leading up to the exam. The notion that “sleep is overrated” can be detrimental to your habits, but it can also hold true in a very particular set of circumstances. You see, the evening of the exam, it’s not cramming in as much as you can. It’s having a clear, calm mind ready for the test to come.
Occasionally, a bit of last-minute tweaking at midnight may serve to cement your memory, but an all-nighter is not always the best option. A rested brain will allow you to think straight and make quick decisions on the day of the exam, something that is particularly important when you’re faced with time-limited questions.
Conclusion: Take the “Bad Advice” and Run with It
For competitive exams, there is no single prescription. You will find myriad advice and tips, some of which will seem completely contradictory. But, if you step back and look at them, you might be surprised that such unusual tips may work magic for you. The thing is not to do everything blindly, but to mould and incorporate what works for you.
Therefore, the next time you hear somebody offering you what appears to be bad advice, don’t dismiss it. Try it out, test it, and you could find that it’s the key to your puzzle of success that you’ve been missing. Because, as the saying goes, success is to be found in the unlikeliest of places.
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