20 Hours Study Day! A Day in Life of Serious GATE Aspirant

Summary

In this video, Raham, an MCH alumni of I medas, shares his journey of transforming his daily study routine using scientific strategies, leading to significant academic and personal achievements. He emphasizes the importance of adequate sleep, meticulous planning, having the right study strategy, and managing time, focus, and energy effectively. Raham introduces five time management principles and recommends apps like Dukes, Google Calendar, and Todoist to enhance productivity. He advises viewers to implement changes gradually and provides a goal tracker for progress monitoring, aiming to help aspirants excel in competitive exams.

Takeaways

• 😴 Prioritize sleep: Adequate sleep is crucial for learning and memory formation, with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommending at least 7 hours for adults.
• 📝 Plan meticulously: Successful individuals are adept at planning, as highlighted by the example of Adam Grant, emphasizing the importance of detailed time allocation for every task.
• 📈 Implement a strategy: A well-thought-out strategy is essential for effective learning, as opposed to aimlessly studying without a plan.
• 📈 Use the 'Rule of Three': Start each day by identifying three key accomplishments you wish to achieve, which helps in focusing on important tasks.
• ⏰ Schedule every minute: Following the example of Adam Grant, plan every minute of your day to ensure that time is used meaningfully.
• 🔍 Manage focus: Use techniques like setting deadlines and minimizing distractions to maintain concentration during study periods.
• 💪 Manage energy: Proper diet, regular exercise, and adequate hydration are key to maintaining energy levels for productive studying.
• 📱 Limit distractions: Use apps and strategies to minimize the impact of mobile phones and social media on your study time.
• 📅 Use apps for time management: Utilize apps like Dukes, Google Calendar, and Todo List to organize and execute your daily, weekly, and monthly goals.
• 🚀 Gradual implementation: Introduce changes to your routine slowly, one step at a time, to ensure that they become a lasting part of your daily habits.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to guide aspirants in building a perfect daily study routine for their preparations, incorporating scientific proof, apps, resources, and tips to stay motivated.

Who is Raham and what is his educational background?

Raham is the presenter of the video and an MCH alumni of IIT Madras.

What significant change did Raham implement in his routine that led to better results?

Raham implemented evidence-based scientific strategies in his daily routine, which led to him cracking IIT Madras, publishing a paper in Springer, and achieving other academic and personal successes.

What is the first step in building a perfect study routine according to the video?

The first step in building a perfect study routine is ensuring adequate sleep, as recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which advises adults to have at least 7 hours of sleep.

Why is planning an essential part of a study routine?

Planning is essential because it helps in time management and ensures that the study time is used effectively to achieve specific goals, as emphasized by the example of Adam Grant, a successful professor who meticulously plans his time.

What is the 'Rule of Three' and how does it apply to time management?

The 'Rule of Three' is a time management principle that suggests identifying three main accomplishments one wants to achieve by the end of the day, and it can be applied to weekly and monthly goals as well.

How does the video suggest managing focus during study time?

The video suggests managing focus by setting deadlines, minimizing external distractions like phone usage, and dealing with internal distractions by noting them down to address at a later time.

What role does energy management play in productivity according to the video?

Energy management plays a crucial role in productivity as it affects the efficiency and effectiveness of work. The video recommends proper diet, exercise, taking breaks, and staying hydrated as ways to manage energy.

What are the three apps recommended in the video to execute time management principles?

The three apps recommended are Dukes (for noting down daily accomplishments), Google Calendar (for blocking out time for tasks), and Todo List app (for capturing thoughts and managing internal distractions).

How does the video suggest implementing changes in one's daily routine?

The video suggests implementing changes gradually, one step at a time, over a period of 7 days, using a gold tracker sheet to monitor progress and ensure that the changes become a habit.

What is the video's advice on dealing with mobile phone distractions during study time?

The video advises keeping the phone in another room while studying and provides additional strategies and apps in a separate video to limit mobile phone distractions.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Building a Perfect Study Routine

The speaker, Raham, introduces the video's purpose: to help aspirants create an effective daily study routine backed by scientific evidence. Raham shares his own experience of transforming his routine, which led to significant achievements including a successful GATE exam, publishing in Springer, earning a PhD in South Korea, and growing a YouTube channel. Raham emphasizes the importance of a daily routine, suggesting that it was key to his success. He then outlines the video's agenda: identifying flaws in his initial GATE preparation routine, introducing scientific strategies to improve it, and sharing tips to stay motivated.

05:01

💤 The Importance of Sleep for Effective Learning

Raham discusses the critical role of sleep in learning and performance, citing research by Professor Matthew Walker. He explains that inadequate sleep can lead to a 40% deficit in the brain's ability to form new memories, which is detrimental to exam preparation. Raham then recommends at least 7 hours of sleep for adults, as suggested by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He shares his personal sleep schedule and emphasizes the importance of power naps to boost energy and learning. The speaker also provides a promotional offer for PW gate courses, highlighting various batches and the use of a discount code.

10:02

📈 Planning and Strategy for Optimal Study Performance

The speaker emphasizes the importance of planning and strategy in building an effective study routine. He shares an anecdote about Adam Grant, a successful psychologist, who manages his time meticulously. Raham suggests that planning is essential for success, as highlighted by Benjamin Franklin's quote, 'If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.' He then discusses the need for a proper study strategy, drawing from his own experience of weak strategy during GATE preparation. Raham recommends learning from top performers' strategies and shares a preparation strategy video for viewers. He also introduces five time management principles to optimize time usage and mentions three apps to facilitate these principles.

15:03

⏰ Time, Focus, and Energy Management for Productivity

Raham outlines the final two time management principles: scheduling every minute of the day and planning the next day before sleep. He then transitions to discuss the importance of focus and energy management for productivity. The speaker provides tips on maintaining focus, such as setting deadlines and minimizing distractions. He also addresses internal distractions and suggests strategies to manage them. For energy management, Raham advises on proper diet, exercise, taking breaks, and staying hydrated. He introduces apps like Dukes, Google Calendar, and Todo List to help execute time management principles and manage distractions. The speaker concludes with advice on implementing changes gradually and provides a goal tracker sheet for viewers to track their progress.

Keywords

💡Daily Study Routine

A daily study routine refers to the structured plan an individual follows to study effectively on a daily basis. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of a well-crafted study routine, backed by scientific evidence, to achieve academic success. The speaker shares their personal experience of transforming their routine to achieve better results in competitive exams.

💡Scientific Strategies

Scientific strategies in this context refer to evidence-based approaches to studying that are supported by research in fields like neuroscience and psychology. The video discusses incorporating such strategies into a study routine to enhance learning and retention. Examples include getting adequate sleep and planning time effectively, which are shown to have significant impacts on cognitive functions.

💡Sleep

Sleep is highlighted as a crucial component of a study routine due to its impact on memory consolidation and overall cognitive performance. The video cites research by Matthew Walker, emphasizing that insufficient sleep can lead to a 40% deficit in the brain's ability to form new memories, which is detrimental to exam preparation.

💡Time Management

Time management is a key concept discussed in the video, focusing on the efficient use of time to achieve academic goals. The speaker introduces the 'Rule of Three' and the importance of planning every minute of the day to maximize productivity. This concept is integral to the video's message on building a perfect study routine.

💡Focus

Focus is described as the ability to concentrate intently on a specific task without being distracted. The video provides tips on managing focus, such as setting deadlines and eliminating distractions, to improve study efficiency. This is essential for executing the planned study routine effectively.

💡Energy Management

Energy management pertains to maintaining the physical and mental energy needed to sustain productivity throughout the day. The video suggests strategies like proper diet, exercise, and taking breaks to manage energy levels. This is linked to the overall productivity of the study routine, ensuring that the individual can perform at their best.

💡Apps and Resources

Apps and resources are mentioned as tools to help implement the scientific strategies and time management principles discussed in the video. The speaker shares specific apps like 'Duolingo' and 'Google Calendar' to organize tasks and schedule, illustrating how technology can support a productive study routine.

💡Motivation

Motivation is discussed in the context of staying driven during the preparation process. The video suggests a gradual approach to implementing changes in the study routine to maintain motivation. It also provides a tracker sheet as a resource to monitor progress and keep the individual motivated.

💡Aspirant

An aspirant, in the context of the video, refers to a student or individual preparing for competitive exams. The video is aimed at guiding aspirants to build a powerful daily routine based on scientific principles to excel in their exams, reflecting the target audience's needs.

💡Productivity

Productivity in the video is defined by the efficient use of time, energy, and focus to accomplish academic tasks. It is not just about managing time but also about managing energy and attention. The video provides principles and apps to help aspirants increase their productivity and achieve their study goals.

Highlights

The video aims to help aspirants build a perfect daily study routine using scientific evidence.

The creator, Raham, shares his personal experience of transforming his study routine for better results.

Raham emphasizes the importance of evidence-based strategies over mere hard work for exam preparation.

He discusses the negative impact of insufficient sleep on learning and exam performance.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends at least 7 hours of sleep for adults.

Planning is crucial for a successful study routine, as emphasized by Benjamin Franklin's quote.

Raham suggests using a time allocation strategy similar to that of a successful professor, Adam Grant.

He advises creating a detailed plan, including a flowchart for developing relationships.

Raham recommends checking out 'Toppers Podcast' for effective study strategies.

The video introduces five time management principles to enhance productivity.

The 'Rule of Three' is introduced as a principle for setting daily, weekly, and monthly goals.

Scheduling every minute of the day is suggested to prevent wasted time.

Managing focus while studying is crucial for productivity.

Raham suggests setting deadlines and minimizing distractions to improve focus.

Energy management is as important as time and focus management for effective studying.

Proper diet, exercise, breaks, and hydration are recommended for maintaining energy levels.

Raham shares his personal productivity system using three apps: Dukes, Google Calendar, and Todoist.

He provides a minimalistic approach to implementing the discussed strategies to avoid overwhelm.

A progress tracker sheet is provided to help viewers monitor their implementation of the routine.

The video concludes with advice on limiting mobile phone distractions during study time.

Transcripts

I don't think so no no no

no I don't think

so no no no no it's never ever ever ever

ever ever going to happen now this video

is made with the intention to help any

aspirant to build a perfect daily study

routine for their preparations with

scientific proof along with that I'm

sharing apps and resources to implement

this science in an effort

and some tips to stay motivated during

your preparation now if you're new here

I'm raham and MCH alumni of I medas and

this is the recreation of one of my gate

preparation day the reason I recreated

this day is did you know despite me

studying the old day in the month of

January before gate exam I ended up

scoring average marks then I decided to

implement evidence-based scientific

strategies in my routine and it gives me

result I cracked I madas I got grades at

I far better than my PS who got

thousands of rank ahead of me in Gate

exam published a paper in Springer di in

just 7 Days got a PhD in South Korea

along with winning MVP best player and

multiple trophies at IID plus growing

this channel to 100K subscribers and it

primarily happens due to my daily

routine and this video is to guide my

younger self and any competitive exam

aspirant to build their powerful daily

routine based on sign so that he can

shine in his competitive exams so

firstly we'll see what's wrong with my

day during gate preparation then I'll

add scientific evidence to make it the

best stud routine ever

sitting lonely in my room again trying

to find the words to say but nothing

comes

out I am looking for the better day seem

like they just stay away whenever I

try there's so many things that I keep

in my mind my friends keep me out and it

hurts every time with all the emotions I

built up inside oh why can

I will someone look for me

if one of the thing that frustrates any

aspirant is giving best for the exam but

the res doesn't reflect that but I see

the away it's down line maybe I not up

without fight cuz there will be a time

oh

oh oh oh

oh there will be a time

oh

oh

oh there will be a

time there will be a

time now let's talk about the scientific

strategies to make a good study routine

now this is a guide and it's difficult

to remember all the things I'm going to

do so just pause this video take a pen

and paper and note it

down hey guys before moving on did you

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codee 500 for 500 rup now first of all I

want to ask a question what would you do

if you prepare an exam for many days

with lacks of investment and eventually

feel like a failure so after my not

satisfied G prep ation I came to home

and if you are 23 20 years old and

staying in home you are in a big problem

what

problem huh what is your son doing beta

how can I escape from this guy okay

let's disappear

somewhere relatives so with career

pressure and social judgment I started

preparing it one more time so one day I

went for a haircut while coming back in

bike in a turning I just fell down

nobody on a sudden crossed my bike I

just fell down people came and lift me

up and I went home at that time I didn't

know much about that but once time

passes and once I started understanding

my brain I understand it's due to my

study routine because once I came home

with pain I literally pushed myself

every day I study till 4:00 a.m. and

sleep from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. with

all lights on in my room and fans off so

that I can forcefully wake up around

8:00 a.m. big mistake the costliest

mistake for everyone as Matthew Walker

the professor of neuroscience and

psychology at University of California

puts up the shter sleep the shorter your

life not simply a life threat it's a

thread to learning and exam performance

and when you put those two groups Head

to Head what you find is a quite

significant 40% deficit in the ability

of the brain to make new memories

without sleep so step one sleep so first

question how much hours of sleep

required American Academy of sleep

medicine recommends adults with 18 plus

years to have at least 7 hours of sleep

and that actually means 7 hours of sleep

not 7 hours of bed so I usually blog 8

hours from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

because usually take 20 minutes to sleep

up and while waking also it takes 10 to

20 minutes to actually start meting and

also whenever you are tired take power

it boost your energy and learning now

second scientific strategy to build a

perfect routine there is one time KL

NewBo computer scientist and Professor

George toown University went to

interview Adam gr who is an American

psychologist and professor at won School

Adam gr is simply phenomenal because

he's the youngest full professor in the

history of won University because

consistently publishes more number of

Articles every here in good journals

along with that he writes books and many

of them are international bestsellers he

does podcast he does massive audience

and much more so Cort went to find out

how he was able to do all things and

still able to get success and do you

know what happened Adam gr didn't tell

instead he shows he opens his Google

Slides which includes detailed pie chart

of time allocation for each thing trust

me there is a flow chart for developing

relationships also what kind of person

is AD everything from a to is is planned

the point is every successful person you

take he must be very good at planning as

Benjamin Franklin once says if you are

failed to plan you are planning to fail

so step two plan well but but but

planning doesn't mean Crossing off too

list it has to give us result what's the

point of studying 16 hours if you can't

able to crack an exam so how to plan

well let me explain I don't know about

you guys but if you ask me who is your

favorite character in Mahabharat I would

say karna because he's a great Warrior a

loyal person and in Tamil movie industry

they made a dedicated movie for Karan

and when I was a kid they re-released

the movie and we went to theater to

watch that and by the end of the movie I

was like literally not happy and crying

because Karan is dead I I just literally

respected and loved him and the way he

was defeated it's not actually a defeat

he's been tricked into the plans of Lord

Krishna and that's what we have to do if

Lord Krishna just go on war with karna

even with the mightiest of panda brother

I think he might not have defeated Kara

the strategy of Lord Krishna is what

made it happen so step number three have

a right strategy and when I Was

preparing I have a very weak strategy in

the month of January 2020 when I was

doing my second attempt of gate I was

just literally written 15 previous year

questions as full length test which has

no way of new learnings because I have

already solve those questions and there

is no strategy to improve my weaker

areas and no strategies to level up

myself so I would recommend check out

Toppers podcast how they did it and

especially learn from the mistakes of

them and if you are a great aspirant I

did a deep research and made a

preparation strategy video do check it

out now you have the strategy now let's

build a productive system see planning

should be focused on accomplishments

accomplishments I emphasize one can

sleep for 4 hours every day and wake up

at 4:00 a.m. and studies for 12 hours

and finish an entire subject and he

feels efficient and another person

sleeps 8 hours studies 6 hours on the

same subject and still finish it in both

the cases the accomplishment is the same

so how to plan in such a way we get

accomplishments I'll explain five time

management principles to get the most

out of your time along with three apps

to execute the principles one important

thing the principles are code it can't

be changed but you can change different

apps to execute the principles first

principle JD mayor Microsoft's Director

of Business program written a book

called getting resultes theil way the

book appears very complex but it

explains one of the simplest productiv

principle of all time the rule of three

so what is Rule of three at the

beginning of every day mentally fast

forward to the end of the day and ask

yourself when the day is over what three

things will I want to have accomplished

write those three things down two do the

same thing at the beginning of every

week and I personally add one more step

in this because I plan three things I

want to accomplish for the current month

and for the year also so principle

number one rule of three now second

principle remember our W and Professor

Adam Grant he actually plans every

minutes of his day the reason is the

time that is unplanned will most likely

to be wasted on unmeaningful things like

the things that haven't been noted in

rule of three so even if you want to

take break or spend time with your

family block it out and use it

meaningfully so principle two schedule

every minute of your day and principle

three plan everything the day before you

sleep as simple as that now for the

fourth one I want to ask your question

what will you do if you manage your time

better and study for 10 hours 12 hours

but yet you feel you can't able to

complete your work I promise you that is

what going to happen if you're are not

going to follow the next two steps so

why despite managing your time you can't

able to complete a task that actually

can be completed in the time frame for

that had this thing ever happened with

you s of - x = - COS of - x = cos x 1/

cos x = secant x difficult to understand

why did she left

me I did everything for Focus see focus

is an important ingredient to time

management so principle number four

manage your focus while studying Focus

only on the task here are some tips to

get laser focus on your studies Chris

Bailey the author of productivity

project mentions an idea that literally

works for me let's assume a task will

take 100 minutes to finish and if we

give a deadline of finishing it in 90

minutes our brains will focus better and

less distracted so set deadlines second

cut down all of your distractions like

your phones families friend simply say

no to everything during your study time

and there is another type of distraction

it is called internal distraction

internal distractions are thoughts that

distracts us while studying like you

might having a grudge with your friend

so you might be thinking about him or

even a fear about your future for these

things just create a column titled or

list in your to-do list and schedule to

solve it at later point of time and

while studying if these thoughts come up

then simply remind yourself that I'll

worry about these thoughts at a later

point of time usually I look at my Worry

List while planning for the next day and

another hack for internal distractions

is set deadlines and the time is limited

we are forced to walk on the task in

front of so principal for manage your

focus along with your time now time

management and focus management is not

sufficient to get things in the time

frame because there is another culprit

how many of you observed

this yeah an hour

later an hour

later which is energy management you

won't get your work done or your

duration of getting your work done will

increase if you walk Less on energy so

Prin number five manage your energy

along with time and focus but how to

manage your energy firstly have a proper

diet while I Was preparing at Hyderabad

i l Hyderabad food whether I eat in mess

or in hotel I eat a lot full see food

provides you with energy and your body

will convert your food into glucose on a

neurological level you have mental

energy if you have glucose in brain but

the problem is if there is a higher

glucose or less glucose you will feel

less in energy so eat in an Optimum way

and secondly eat nutritious there are

countless studies which climb eating

nutritious is linked to brain's

performance two exercise there's a

wonderful book called Spa the

Revolutionary science of exercise and

the Brain see exercise helps you with

energy it helps you with learning it

makes you remember better it reduces

depression it helps you manage your

stress it improves your health it can

get your girlfriend so just do it well I

would suggest do intense exercise 30

minutes a day that's the best but if you

are lazy just start with 7 minute

workouts why 7 minut minutes there is an

app which is called 7 Minute Workout

where it will give you some quick

exercise which you can do in just 7

minutes so download that app and just

start doing it and gradually improve it

thirdly take breaks breakes recharges

your brain and no no no no don't use

phones maybe listen music sing music but

don't open social media at all in your

break just simply have fun and finally

drink lots of water avoid alcohol and

sugary drinks so time management simpy

manage your energy along with focus and

time now that we understood productivity

is not simply about managing time it is

also about managing energy and attention

now let's discuss apps to create a

system previously I use notion and I

will give you my simple notion template

with you all to execute this but some of

my friends they made a simple productive

system using just three apps and even

though three apps are involved I feel it

is easier and simpler and that is what

currently I'm using I'm going to share

it with you first app to execute our

time management principle is Du Dukes in

this app you can clearly note down your

three daily accomplishments that you

want to complete by the end of the day

and Below there will be list for weekly

monthly and yearly gos I love this

because it gives a bird's view of what I

want to accomplish for the next few days

also and if the task is incomplete you

can move it to the next day and one

quick tip as David Allan the author of

getting things done suggest when you are

writing to-do list write everything in

terms of actions like attend today's

class write today's test note down all

the mistake that is very important but

this app is paid but there is a similar

alternative is there it is called weekly

to-do but that app is only for laptop

who creates app only for laptop and not

for phone so I created a similar tsdos

template in notion that is also

available in telegram go check it out

and the second app to execute our time

management principle is very simple

Google Calendar not because there are

more color blocks I can create to block

out my day but it's very simple and it's

cool remember our V Professor Adam Grant

he plans every minute of his day

basically whatever the task you want to

accomplish block certain hours of the

day and walk and the key here is you

have to block every hour from morning

till you sleep even if you take time off

like spending time with your family then

block that time and just do it thirdly

use too list app it has a nice widget

there in one clip near home screen you

can capture your thoughts because we

know in order to manage Focus we need to

manage our internal distractions and we

need to capture some important ideas

like there are some things to remember

and we have to do it at certain point of

time like oh I forgot to send the answer

sheet to Professor by evening and these

thoughts we need to capture and we need

to take action so whenever you remember

these things one tap on the wiet note it

down best is you can set a timer to get

reminded of it and another thing is when

Boris shows up like I'm not getting my

marks in testing will I fail my

girlfriend is in online but she's not

replying to me so will she is chatting

to that guy capture it and schedule her

time to check that worry and whenever

these worries comes just say to yourself

that I have allocate time for this worry

and I will think about it at that time

so that when you are working you can

work only on the task but make sure

whatever you captured in to-do list

review during your plan before sleep now

if you ask me rahu did you apply

everything that you told to us I don't

think so now have you ever come across

this person in your life let's call him

John Cena so John Cena one new year he

takes a New Year resolution that he will

hit jym daily follow slow cop diet and

read one book a week so he buy shoes

order a bunch of books and vegetables

but unfortunately after 4 days John lost

his motivation because he was trying to

change all things at once the same way

if you also try to implement everything

I discussed in this video at once that

might happen I believe the real progress

is slow and steady so let's try

minimalistic way we have discussed the

daily routine in steps so take the first

step just walk on your sleep for the

next 4 days and then implement the next

step and then add the next step in the

routine and to help you track your

progress I have attached a gold tracker

sheet completely free just download it

and take a print out and write the first

step it has a window of 28 days try to

follow one step for at least 7 days and

then move on to the next St for me also

the same initially I was not able to

apply everything of these consoles but I

have added one by one in the interval of

7 days and it sticks with me now here

comes the last idea to make your daily

routine the best like if you observed my

day I have used phone a lot a simple

solution is keeping the phone in the

next room while you are studying that's

what I do when I was working on

something important yet nowadays

aspirants need to rely on phone for

accessing virtual calculator and

attending classes but there is a problem

whenever we feel bored or we feel we

have some free time or if we solve a

problem which is difficult we might kind

of want to check our phone and we

naturally open open social media because

the hormones that generates in our brain

while having our favorite piece of food

or having sex also generates while we

are scrolling social media so now the

question is provided mobile phones are

essential for many of us how can we

limit that distraction for that people

check out this video as where I have

discussed the scientific strategies to

be distractions and along with it I have

shared apps that will keep you away from

your mobile phone distraction during

your studies stay driven bye-bye but I

see the light from far away it's down

the line maybe I should not give up

without a fight