IIT Prof's advice: 5 Non-Academic Things to Remember Before Going to College

Summary

This video script offers essential advice for new college students on managing non-academic aspects of college life. It emphasizes the importance of building meaningful friendships, maintaining health through proper diet and exercise, the significance of sleep, and engaging in extracurricular activities for holistic development. Additionally, it warns against the pitfalls of social media addiction and suggests strategies to use these platforms productively. The speaker's personal experiences and insights aim to guide freshmen towards a balanced and successful college journey.

Takeaways

• 🤝 **Building Friendships**: It's important to form strong friendships from the start, but quality is more important than quantity. Aim for a select group of friends.
• 🌐 **Diverse Connections**: Expand your social circle beyond your own region to learn from a variety of people and enrich your perspective.
• 🌟 **Special Friends**: Have at least one or two 'super best friends' who can support you in times of need, like in the middle of the night.
• 🏥 **Health First**: Prioritize health as it is critical for academic success and overall well-being. Regular meals and exercise are essential.
• 🍎 **Nutrition and Exercise**: Even if the food in the hostel isn't the most nutritious, having regular meals and cycling to classes can contribute to good health.
• 💤 **Sleep Matters**: Sleep is vital and should not be compromised. Try to sleep in 90-minute cycles for better rest.
• 🌙 **Avoid All-Nighters**: While sometimes necessary, try to avoid pulling all-nighters and maintain a healthy sleep schedule.
• 🎓 **Academics Over Extracurriculars**: Focus on academics first; extracurricular activities should supplement, not detract from, your studies.
• 🏋️ **Balanced Involvement**: Engage in at least one non-academic activity for all-around development, but don't overcommit to the point of neglecting academics.
• 📱 **Mindful Social Media Use**: Be cautious of social media addiction and use it mindfully as a tool for learning and growth, not as a time sink.
• 🛡️ **Curated Content**: Create a curated feed based on your interests to benefit from social media rather than being consumed by it.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to discuss non-academic aspects that first-year college students should consider, including friendship, health, sleep, extracurricular activities, and the use of social media.

Why is it important for students to build strong friendships in college?

It is important for students to build strong friendships in college because even though they may be surrounded by many people, they can still feel lonely. Having a select group of friends can provide support and companionship.

What is the speaker's view on friendships being like business relations?

The speaker is not a big fan of friendships being like business relations, but emphasizes the importance of spreading connections across different sorts of people to learn various things from different individuals.

Why should students avoid limiting their friendships to their own regions?

Students should avoid limiting their friendships to their own regions because it prevents them from experiencing diverse perspectives and learning from a variety of people, which can be enriching.

What is the significance of having at least one or two special friends in college?

Having at least one or two special friends is significant because these are the friends who can be relied upon in times of need, such as answering a call in the middle of the night or providing support during a crisis.

Why is health considered the most important non-academic aspect in college life?

Health is considered the most important non-academic aspect because it directly impacts academic performance and overall well-being. Good health enables students to participate fully in college life and manage stress.

What are the two main factors that contribute to maintaining good health according to the speaker?

The two main factors that contribute to maintaining good health according to the speaker are what you put inside your body (nutrition) and what you do with your body (exercise).

How does the speaker suggest students manage their sleep in college?

The speaker suggests that students should ensure they get sleep in cycles of 90 minutes to complete their sleep cycle, and avoid pulling all-nighters unless absolutely necessary, planning activities to minimize the need for them.

What is the role of extracurricular activities in a student's college life?

Extracurricular activities play a secondary role in a student's college life, providing a well-rounded experience and opportunities for all-around development beyond academics. They should not interfere with academic responsibilities.

How should students approach social media use in college?

Students should approach social media use with a conscious barrier against addiction, curating a feed based on their interests to benefit from educational content rather than mindlessly scrolling and wasting time.

What advice does the speaker give for students to avoid becoming a slave to social media?

The speaker advises students to utilize social media as an assistant or a good friend by curating a feed with beneficial content such as archive footage, documentaries, and educational material, rather than mindlessly scrolling through feeds.

Outlines

00:00

🤝 Building Genuine Friendships in College

The speaker emphasizes the importance of forming friendships during the college years, highlighting the potential for loneliness even in a crowd. They suggest building a select group of close friends rather than a large network, advocating for organic relationships that are not transactional. The speaker also encourages students to diversify their friend circle to learn from various individuals, cautioning against limiting friendships to one's own region. They share a personal experience of the value of having a 'super best friend' who is available for support in times of need.

05:02

🏃‍♂️ Prioritizing Health and Regular Routines

This paragraph focuses on the significance of health, particularly during the college years when it's easy to overlook. The speaker shares personal insights on the importance of regular meals and exercise, even if the food in hostels isn't the most nutritious. They mention the benefits of hostel life's structured meal times and the incidental exercise gained from cycling around campus. Sleep is also discussed as a critical component of health, with the speaker debunking the myth of 'all-nighters' and advocating for sleep cycles that are multiples of 90 minutes for better rest.

10:03

🎓 Balancing Academics with Extracurricular Activities

The speaker advises students to prioritize their academics while engaging in extracurricular activities for a well-rounded college experience. They caution against getting involved in too many activities that could detract from academic success. The speaker stresses the importance of participating in at least one activity that doesn't contribute to grades, such as sports or arts, to foster personal growth. They also warn against the pitfalls of excessive involvement in activities that could negatively impact academic performance.

15:05

🚫 The Dangers of Social Media Addiction

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the rise of social media addiction and its impact on productivity and mental well-being. They share their own experiences with mindless scrolling and the subsequent negative effects on their ability to focus and be creative. The speaker suggests developing a curated feed based on personal interests to make social media a beneficial tool rather than a time-consuming distraction. They encourage students to use social media as an 'assistant' or 'good friend' that provides value, rather than allowing it to control their lives.

Keywords

💡Non-academic

Non-academic refers to aspects of college life that are not directly related to the formal study of subjects or the pursuit of academic degrees. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of non-academic aspects such as friendship, health, and extracurricular activities, which contribute to a well-rounded college experience beyond the classroom.

💡Friendship

Friendship is a close bond between individuals, often based on mutual interests, affection, and trust. The video discusses the significance of building strong friendships in college, suggesting that a select group of friends can provide support and enrich one's life, as opposed to having a large group of acquaintances.

💡Health

Health is the state of being free from illness or injury. The speaker in the video stresses the importance of maintaining good health during college, highlighting the need for proper nutrition and exercise, and warns against taking health for granted, especially in the context of a busy college life.

💡Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities are pursuits undertaken outside of a student's academic curriculum. The video encourages students to engage in such activities for all-around development, but also cautions against overcommitment that could detract from academic responsibilities.

💡Sleep

Sleep is a natural state of rest for the mind and body, essential for health and well-being. The video discusses the importance of adequate sleep for college students, mentioning the potential negative effects of sleep deprivation and the concept of sleep cycles, suggesting that sleep should be planned in multiples of 90 minutes for optimal rest.

💡Social Media

Social media refers to digital platforms that allow users to create and share content or participate in social networking. The video addresses the potential addictive nature of social media and advises students to curate their feeds with beneficial content, rather than becoming slaves to mindless scrolling.

💡Diversity

Diversity refers to the range of different characteristics among individuals, including cultural, regional, and experiential differences. The speaker in the video encourages students to build friendships with people from different regions to gain a broader perspective and enrich their college experience.

💡All-Nighter

An all-nighter is a period of staying awake throughout the night, often to complete tasks or study for exams. The video discusses the notion of all-nighters in college, suggesting that while they may occasionally be necessary, students should aim to manage their time to avoid the need for such sleep deprivation.

💡Curation

Curation in the context of social media involves selecting and organizing content to create a personalized feed. The video suggests that students should curate their social media feeds with educational and enriching content, turning social media into a tool for learning rather than a source of distraction.

💡Discipline

Discipline refers to self-control and adherence to a regimen or routine. The video emphasizes the importance of discipline in maintaining regular eating habits and exercise, as well as managing time effectively to balance academic and non-academic responsibilities in college.

💡Mental Well-being

Mental well-being encompasses a state of psychological health where an individual can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community. The video touches on the impact of social media on mental well-being, cautioning against the negative effects of excessive use and advocating for mindful engagement with digital platforms.

Highlights

The importance of building strong friendships from the start of college life, emphasizing the value of a select group of friends over a large network.

Caution against treating friendships like business relationships and the suggestion to learn from a variety of people.

The advice to avoid limiting friendships to one's own region and to embrace diversity in friendships.

The significance of having at least one or two special friends who can be relied upon in times of need.

The emphasis on health as the number one non-academic aspect, especially for college students.

The advice on maintaining a regular diet and exercise routine for good health, even within the constraints of college life.

The importance of sleep for overall health and the debunking of the myth around 'all-nighters'.

Strategies for planning sleep in 90-minute cycles for better rest quality.

The prioritization of academic activities over extracurricular ones, with a focus on a well-rounded college experience.

The warning against getting involved in too many extracurricular activities at the expense of academics.

The discussion on the dangers of social media addiction and the need for conscious barriers against it.

Advice on curating a beneficial social media feed with content that adds value to one's life.

The comparison of the current state of social media addiction with the past, highlighting the escalation of the issue.

The personal experience shared regarding the impact of mindless scrolling on productivity and mental state.

The suggestion to use social media as a tool for learning and development rather than a time sink.

An open invitation for viewers to request further discussion on additional topics of interest for future videos.

Transcripts

hello everyone in a few weeks from now

students are going to join college for

the first time and these students for

the first time in their life are going

to have to take care of many things both

academic as well as non-academic on

their own so in this video I'm going to

focus on some of the non-academic things

because everyone takes care of academic

things and probably make a separate

video on academic things later on but in

this video I'm going to focus on some of

the non-academic things spreading across

the different aspects like friendship

Health Sleep extracurricular activities

and the use of social media so first of

all friendship and my belief is that

some of the tips that I'm going to share

will be beneficial to the senior

students also in addition to the main

target the first year students so

friendship

now everyone has to realize that even

though they may be staying at a hostel

in um among a large group of people

large group of so-called friends and

batchmates it is extremely possible for

you to feel lonely so you can feel

lonely in a crowd so it is essential

that you build strong friendships right

from the start but you do not need a big

group of friends what you need is rather

a select group of friends now I'm not

going to give you advice being an

introvert myself on how to build

friendships that should come in a more

organic way on your out of your own uh

but what I would like to emphas emphasiz

here is that sometimes I've observed AC

in the current generation that people uh

tend to have friendships more like a

business relation I'm not a big fan of

that kind of a thing but at the same

time I would emphasize that trying to

build up your friendships through of uh

by spreading your connections across

different sorts of people a variety of

people so that you can actually learn

different things from different people

maybe you can learn some bits of

programming from some some of your

friends uh maybe something regarding

literary uh some of the literary aspects

some people who are extremely good at

writing or some people have the habit of

reading books maybe you can learn

different things from different people

so your friend Circle can be extremely

enriching from this point of view what I

would also like to emphasize here is

that some students have a tendency to

build friendships only from their own

regions maybe someone is coming from the

north they will only build friendships

with the northern guys uh maybe

somebody's coming from the south they'll

only F make friends with from their own

State and there are lots of students

from maybe Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu

things like this they'll

have a large group of friends from from

that region itself uh there's nothing

wrong with that but at the same time it

should not be limited to that for

example some of my best friends were

from absolutely different people from

different regions like Bihar madya

Pradesh uh Maharashtra uh uh uh even

from the South India Andra Pradesh one

of my best friends was from there from

Tamil Nadu from Delhi and so on and so

forth so

uh I mean spread your wings a little bit

spre open up your mentality a little bit

and build different kinds of friendship

this is extremely important one final

thing I'd like to say about this aspect

is that uh you can have a decent size

group of friend but try to have at least

one or two friends who are very very

special okay is super best friends why

I'm saying that is that these should be

the kind of friends who will answer your

call in the middle of the night for

example when I was um an undergraduate

student once what happened was that I

had uh I had some health problem and I

was not able to get up from bed right in

in the early morning and remember this

was uh in the in the middle of winter I

was just staying here for some Project

work and I just called one of my friends

and without asking a single question

okay he came from another hostel without

asking a single question took me to the

hosital uh to the hospital and took care

of me so you should have at least one or

two friends who can answer your phone

call at 4:00 a.m. without asking any

questions okay the next aspect is Health

this is the absolutely number one

non-academic aspect something which ties

into your academic life as well uh you

sometimes when you are in the pink of

your health in your late teens and early

20s you take your health for granted but

you realize the importance of Health

only when it is lost so take extremely

good care of your health uh now I'm the

health expert and I know the dangers of

giving advice regarding health uh on

social media but what I'm going to say

is from my personal experience and there

is no harm in saying that I believe so I

believe for at least a decent amount and

decent level of good health what you

need to take care is what you put inside

your body and what you do with your body

so basically the food that you take and

the exercise that you get

now sometimes in the hustle and bustle

of college life especially in your first

year when you are just trying to find

your feet in a new campus life is

difficult to I mean to to to get into

some traditionally good habits so what I

would say here is that hostel life gives

you a nice opportunity of providing

regular meals of meals at regular hours

now host hostel life the food is not

particularly nutritious but at least it

is regular so if you can come up with

the discipline of actually having your

food at those regular hours it will be a

tremendous benefit to you so this is

something which I can share from my own

personal experience even the food is not

nutritious at least it is regular and

regularity is something which really

helps your body uh in the long run so

even if you go to I mean uh go go to

sleep maybe at some une Earthly

hour but still if if there is some

regularity in it your body adjusts and

then it is in a relatively good U

situation similarly for exercise you may

not find the time to do uh proper

exercise that should be done but see

most of the campus lives um the mode of

transportation is cycle so you have to

cycle a lot now uh when you have to go

from your hostel to your classes you

have to cycle when you have to go to the

shop you have to cycle so if you

just uh stick to the discipline of going

to class every day that automatically by

default gives you some good exercise so

that was like from my personal

experience that was the only exercise

that I gave my own body

cycling and um that actually stood me in

good state so try that the next thing is

sleep which is directly tied to your

health now this is an often um

disregarded aspect of your life uh of

your hostel of your hostel life of your

college life sleep is extremely

extremely important this is something

which I realized a bit later

actually now when uh you are in your

first year and you hear many different

sorts of stories from your seniors and

whatnot and your friends you'll find

that many of them brag that they can

pull all nighters how many all nighters

they can pull all nighters means they

stay awake the whole night uh try to

understand one thing this all nighter a

real all nighter is one where you stay

awake the whole night and then you are

still functional the next day a real all

nighter does not mean that you stay

awake the whole night and then the next

day for most of the day you are sleeping

that is not an all nighter that is just

shift of origin of your starting time of

sleep so if someone is bragging like

that ask him what exactly he means by an

all night

but uh uh I would say that in the hustle

and bustle in the extremely competitive

environment of um of hostal Life of

college life it may once in a while be

necessary to pull an all nighter so your

health should be such at such a level

that you can actually pull an allnighter

it's a good I

mean uh skill so to say so for for want

of a better word I would say this it's a

good skill to have but but at the same

time try to plan your activities in such

a fashion that you don't need to pull an

all nighter in the first place so have

the ability to pull an all nighter but

avoid it

okay uh there is another aspect

regarding sleep uh this I had read a

long time ago uh in some kind of a

Science magazine that our sleep happens

uh in cycles of 90 minutes so I would

suggest you to not just take my word for

it read up on it on your own so what I

did uh especially in my third year

fourth year fifth year was that after I

came to know about this was that I tried

to plan my sleep in such a way that at

least it was in multiples of 90 minutes

so that my sleep cycle would be complete

now I don't know whether this was some

kind of a placebo effect or what it was

but it seem to kind of work so because

it is kind of better to sleep for uh 6

hours

certainly uh than 6 and 1/2 hours or

maybe it is better to sleep for 4 and

1/2 hours uh uh compared to 5 hours so

so so make your calculations but I would

suggest that don't take my word for it

read up on it and follow accordingly

okay maybe there's latest research which

debunks this kind of things uh but but I

think there is some truth to it that our

sleep happens in cycles of 90 minutes

next extracurricular activities

so uh as the name suggest these are

extra okay extra or addition to your

curricular activities so these are

always secondary in importance your main

thing your primary importance is the

curricular activities your your academic

things this is something which many

people this is a priority which many

people do not get straight and um

sometimes they get some misleading or

wrong advice from their seniors

also so this should not happen your

primary activi is academic only after

you have finish this to a to a good

decent level only after that going to

the extracurricular things at the same

time I would say that uh in order to

have a well-rounded life hostel Life

College life um a proper all-rounded

experience you need to be engaged in

some sort of an activity which does not

fetch your marks so please mark my words

carefully that which does not fetch you

marks at least one activity do something

like that so maybe may it can be related

to sports maybe it can be related to

some kind of literary activity maybe it

can be related to singing or dancing or

uh Dramatics anything but something

which does not fetch you marks this will

give you all around development but

remember that this is extra or

additional to your curricular activities

so many students fall into the Trap of

getting involved in too many activities

much more they can actually handle and

then their academics suffer they should

not actually happen now I'd still say

that this is better even if you're

getting engaged in probably a little bit

little bit too many activities probably

this is better than wasting your life

your time uh your precious time um just

sitting in your room and uh scrolling

through social media so that is the next

point that I want to discuss social

media okay so when we had started out uh

we had the very basics of social media

just starting out uh it was only

probably you know or uh I mean second

year that orot the predecessor to

Facebook it took off so many people used

to spend a lot of time on or good but

still it was not at the level the

current level of of an epidemic kind of

situation of an epidemic of of social

media addiction that people are going

through uh that used that was certainly

not there back in that time so

uh when I'm giving this advice I'm not

trying to be sanctimonious who knows

what could have would have happened to

our ation If U if social media the

penetration of social media was as much

as it is now but from whatever I have

seen and whatever I'm experiencing even

now at my age is that these algorithms

are geared to make you addicted to it so

you have to put up a conscious barrier

against that kind of an addiction so

Doom scrolling okay mindlessly scrolling

through the feed of YouTube shorts or uh

Instagram reals feed whatever you call

it uh or uh X or Twitter whatever it is

um I have seen myself I'm on those uh

I'm on X and YouTube certainly I'm on

here uh I've seen that sometimes when I

scroll through it mindlessly like half

an hour 1 hour just goes in the in the

blink of an eye uh now this is an this

is a Time sync but this is a dangerous

time sync what I mean by dangerous is

that uh on the one one hand your time

goes away but at the same time after the

time has gone away also there is it

leaves you with a with a state of mind

which is extremely frazzled and

fragmented and which leaves you

incapable of doing any kind of

productive or creative work so this has

actually happened to me also when I mind

is scru through the YouTube shorts

sometimes it has happened that I'm that

I find myself incapable of doing

anything useful after that so there is a

tremendous amount of painful recovery

time also for my mind uh and I'm sure

this can happen to the teenagers also to

you guys also so uh the the the antidote

against this toxic thing is to have some

kind of a proper interest in certain

kinds of domains and then U build up a

curated feed out of your own interest so

so my suggestion is that please do not

let your uh please please do not pay the

currency of your attention to the

coffers of the big tech companies rather

utilize the social media feeds there is

tremendous benefit to these things

archive footage uh documentaries uh and

many other beneficial things how to uh

things things to learn uh so make a

cured feed of these and uh try to get

some benefit out of the social media

rather than being a slave to it so make

it something like your assistant or uh

or or a good friend rather than being a

slave to it so these are some of the

things which I wanted to discuss about

there are I mean uh dozens and dozens of

other things which U very nuanced things

which I have not talked about uh so if

you are really interested tell me let me

know in the comments What U more you

would want me to discuss and probably

I'll discuss that and maybe in a future

video I'll talk about some of the

important academic things also so with

that note um I wish you all the very

best as you start your Jour journey of

college life and hosital life so thank

you all the very best