Top 5 Challenges in Student Life and What to Do About them
Life, Personal Development
Student life is full of challenges. Challenges of many kinds-physical, emotional, social and career related. You need to study hard, stay focused and create a better future in return of the investment made by your parents in terms of money and time. I have heard people saying (obviously they are not students) Oh, student life! It is so much fun. Just get up in the morning, eat breakfast, catch a bus or rickshaw, ride your bike or walk on foot and reach college. Attend lectures, pay attention to what your teachers say and you are done. Ahh..sounds easy..huh..
Well, it might sound easy but in reality (who knows it better than you as a student) it is f***ing hard.
There are 4 core areas you need to master as a student to become successful.
How to Focus On Studies
How to Sharpen Communication Skills
How to Market Yourself
We’ll discuss all these 4 core areas one by one but before that,
I suggest you to consider one more area – HOW TO KEEP YOURSELF HEALTHY?
I consider this as the most important thing. If your body is not healthy then you can’t study, work or do anything else with ease.
There are many rules to good health, let me help you explore some of them.
Eat Nutritious Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You can’t be sure if you’ll get to eat something in the college once you skip breakfast. You need to be alert and focused in college. If you haven’t eaten breakfast, you are bound to feel lethargic and low. Make eating nutritious breakfast a priority. I have seen students taking shortcuts like eating Maggi, biscuits or other fast food. It’s ok once in a while but don’t rely on such foods too much, simply, because they are not ‘reliable’
Eat 1-2 fruits, rotis and subzi, curd or milk. If you live in hostel or a rented room where roti subzi and other ‘ghar ki cheez’ is not available, then make sure you have a good stock of eggs, muesli (it tastes wonderful with curd, chha(Indian yoghurt) or milk’. Just add sugar or salt to taste)
Also, keep some nuts like almonds, raisins, pistachios and walnuts handy. Eating nuts is a good option when you are in a hurry and need something that can quickly give you the energy you need to get going whole day.
If you have time and can cook food for yourself, then eating soybean ki subzi (soybean chunks are easily available in the market and they are quite pocket friendly) along with rotis is a wonderful idea to get lots of nutrition.
In winters, eating a handful of moongfali (groundnuts) with gud (jaggery) is also an option for breakfast.
Many students consider fat a bad thing. Not all fats are bad. Some of them are excellent for your health. It’s true that the kind of fat you find in a burger or hotdog is really bad and you should stay away from it. It gives your body nothing. That’s why we call it junk food. Junk means useless. So, junk food is ‘useless food’.
If you are lucky enough to get desi ghee, then nothing like it. When I say desi ghee I don’t mean ghee that you can buy from a shop. I mean pure, homemade ‘Deshi Ghee’. Add 1 tablespoon of it to your breakfast daily – in subzi, omellete, milk, rice or maybe you can simply eat it (it requires a lot of guts though). It’s wonderful, it not only helps you think clear and stay focused for longer hours but also make you overcome physical fatigue and gives you radiant skin.
Make sure your breakfast is the heaviest meal in terms of nutrition but do take care not to over eat as it will make you sleepy during those important lectures.
Exercise
If you keen to show off an awesome physique and make girls go oh la la, then be ready to spend some grueling hours in a gym otherwise you can try some other physical activities to keep yourself fit and hit. Jogging, brisk walking, running and skipping rope are some good ideas.
If you find it difficult to go outside, then spending just 5-10 minutes on stretching and simple body weight exercises like pushups, pull ups, squats will do the trick. Yogasanas are another great way to workout.
HOW TO FOCUS ON STUDIES
As a student you are spending 4-5 valuable years of life in college to build a bright future. Do take this seriously. A person entering your room should be able to tell in first glance that it’s students’ room.
A good quality table and a comfortable chair is a must for you. Believe me, no matter what, bed or sofa is not meant for studies. Will you eat breakfast in toilet? Absolutely no!
Same way, a bed or sofa is meant for sleeping and resting only or shooting ‘sofa movies’
Sitting on a chair creates an air of focus and alertness. Keep you spine relaxed but straight enough to stay focused on those lines in your book. If you have a pair of table and chair, well!
If not, consider buying one. See, you are spending almost 6-7 lacs on your studies. Wouldn’t it be wise to invest 2-3 thousand in a table and chair that will help you study properly? After all, studies are what you are trying to focus on, right?
Switch off your mobile phone when you study
Mobile phone is one of the greatest distractions in studies. Some people are just crazy about messaging. They send you so many messages that you feel irritated and kind of deleting their names from your contact list.
Make sure that your phone is switched off when you study. It may sound trivial but believe me, it is a super smart thing to do if you need to stay focused on studies. It saves you a lot of time and peace of mind.
Try studying either early in the morning or late at night
Early morning and late night hours are just perfect for studies because there are no or very less distractions. 3-4 hours of focused study is better than 7-8 hours full of distractions.
Form a study group
You may also consider forming study groups where 2-3 friends sit and study together. This kind of setting triggers a healthy competition that results in better performance and more productivity in less time. Just make sure that the friends you are inviting in this group are serious enough about studies, otherwise, it’ll be nothing but a kitty party.
Take a break
All work and no play make jack a dull boy
Your mind works best when it is fresh. Study hard, party harder. Outing, watching a movie, going for a walk, finding time to have tea with your friends and any other activity helps you break the monotony. Taking a break helps you rejuvenate and getting ready for another focused session of studies.
Self confidence is the key to success. It is crucial that you do something every day to keep yourself confident and motivated. This section will share with your some nice little tips to help you boost self confidence.
Love yourself
Love yourself unconditionally. No matter how bad your life appears at this moment, how painful your breakup has been or what people say about you-negative, positive or neutral. Just love yourself. Find 5-10 minutes to sit alone. Close your eyes, focus on your breathing and feel love for yourself. Stay with this feeling for a few minutes, create an aura of love and tenderness around you and then when you feel complete, open your eyes. Self love creates a sense of relaxation and boosts confidence.
Educate yourself
This world needs well informed and knowledgeable people. The people who read more about their particular subject are bound to feel more confident because they know more and are always updated. It is important that you keep updating and educating yourself on a regular basis.
Read good books- not only about your own field but about anything else that interests you.
This tactic will help you become more confident with time.
Watch who you spend your time with
Friends can make or break you. Make sure the people you call friends are positive and nurturing (If that’s not the case, then how dare they call themselves your friends)
Positive people creates positive vibes, positive vibes creates happy atmosphere. Happy atmosphere creates happy individuals and happy individuals are confident… generally.
HOW TO SHARPEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS
There’s a misconception that communication skills means English skills. Good English certainly is a part of being a good communicator but that doesn’t mean that people who can’t talk in English are not good communicators. Actually, if you are serious enough to sharpen your communication skills, then there are 3 languages you need to master.
Language Number One
Local lingo – Your roots
The first and most important language in your list should be your local dialect- The local language of the region you belong to. Students often overlook this aspect. They think that it is only English that needs to be mastered. Remember, every local dialect has a unique flavor and rich history behind it. Mastering your local language gives you a sense of comfort and ease. You know that you are comfortable with your roots. If you aren’t well informed about your own lingo then what is the use of learning any other language. Master local lingo first and then only think about other language.
Language Number Two
National language – Hindi
Hindi is our national language. No matter which part of India you are from, you should strive to improve your Hindi. It is the second most important language you should work on. Hindi is spoken and understood by a large number of people in India and by mastering Hindi you can connect to a larger audience and improve your chances of getting successful in career and in life in general.
Shabdkosh.com is an online dictionary that will help you in honing your Hindi skills.
Language Number Two
English – The global language
English has emerged as the world’s local language. You must work hard to master it.
It’ll not only help you become successful in your career but will also help you widen your perspective. Internet is a good place to sharpen your English. Visit Esl.about.com and see if it helps you improve English.
Pronunciation is an important part of good English.
Howjsay.com is a fantastic website to find out the right pronunciation of many words in English.
Train Yourself to Open Up
Do you face difficulty in speaking with clarity and confidence? It is because you didn’t get a chance to express yourself openly and hence your throat and lungs are not habituated to speak confidently. There’s a simple exercise that’ll help you tackle this. Take a book, stand in a corner and read aloud for 15 minutes daily. It’s important to read ALOUD.
Do this exercise for 21 days and you’ll notice a difference in your voice quality and confidence.
HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF
There’s a wonderful saying in Hindi “Jangal mein more nacha, kisne dekha”
No matter how good or exceptional your skills are, if you don’t know how to market yourself, then nothing is going to work for you. Marketing is an art that takes time to master. I want to share with you some tips on how to market yourself.
Create clean profiles on the internet
Internet is a great place to market yourself. Internet is just not about orkuting, facebooking and other socialsiteseeing. Social networking websites are a good way to promote yourself. Make sure you create a clean profile on these sites that does not contain objectionable material (yes, I have seen nude and objectionable photos as profile pics)
Showcase your talent as neatly as possible. A tip – profiles with a photo are more likely to be noticed so make sure you upload a nice one.
Get a Visiting (What?) Card
I know you are a student, a fresher, with no work experience as yet. You have not even completed your study. How can you get a visiting card? And wouldn’t it be a waste of money?
First of all – visiting card is not reserved for CEO and COO only. Anyone can have a visiting card. A card’s purpose is to tell its receiver your name, email id, phone number and website (if you have one) a card looks much more professional than an ordinary piece of paper.
And, by the way, do you think you’ll be able to carry a visiting card with grace and ease all of a sudden when you get out of college and get a job. Why not start carrying a visiting card right away and use it as a marketing tool?
Start a blog
Don’t be surprised. Like any other blogger, you too, can start a blog. Let’s say you are quite strong in C++ or java or may be possess good knowledge of marketing strategies or whatever it happens to be, a blog can help you to be known as an expert in your field and earn some good name.
Blogging can help you sharpen your writing and presentation skills as well.
Starting a blog might appear daunting in the beginning but with time and practice you will become comfortable and those web pages will be marketing for you quite soon 24 by 7.
Avdhessh Arya is a personal development coach and voice actor from New Delhi, India. He writes about personal development, and living life on your terms.
As a voice actor he is responsible for voicing documentaries, radio spots, television commercials and more - you know, the cool voices you hear on National Geographic Channel, History Channel, Discovery Channel and stuff like that. He's one of them.
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