I study hard, 16 hours a day, but still I can't get good grades.?
16 hours. Hmm, you are definitely a focused person. You are doing something that 99% of us are struggling to do. But ask yourself, How much quality time am i spending out of those 16 hours in studying? See, NO. OF HOURS DOESN'T MATTER. Quality > quantity One could study more in 7-8 hours than what you study in 1516 hours. Why do you see the no. Of hours? If you are seeing the hours, then you will not be able to focus for studies. You just study. But, This will not give you results. A correct approach is required. Let's play a little game. Answer these easy questions if you can. What is your name? How old are you? 2+2=? Do you have any siblings? In which class do you study? What are the subjects that you study? Which subject do you like the most? You were able to answer all of the above questions. Weren't you? Now ask, WHY? WHY WERE YOU ABLE TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS SO ACCURATELY? There is a logic behind this. The thing is, when i asked you those questions,You understood all the questions perfectly. That is why you didn't say your age when i asked your name. You answered only what was asked. No more, no less. It means that, YOUR CONCEPT IS 100% CLEAR. You have a brain like everyone else. You are not inferior. YOU ARE BRILLIANT!!! Now, How is it related to studies and toppers? If i ask you what is quantum chromodynamics(QCD)? you might be sitting with mouth open, blank. This is because your CONCEPT is not clear regarding qcd. That is why you didn't answer it. And If the same question would come in your exam, then you would have scored and someone might have scored full. This is whom you would call TOPPER! But this doesn't mean that you are a weak student, you just need to give time and you will also become a topper. The secret to top is crystal like clear concepts. The secret is to make these questions answerable as easy as day to day questions that you come across. Though you might have heard this but this is underrated. A lot. That is why toppers spend a majority of time in understanding theory and spend lesser amount of time in numericals, which are nothing but questioning your theoretical understanding in number form. Pay attention to clear your concepts. If you did not understand from the book, ask your teacher or go to YouTube but never underestimate conceptual clarity. Developing a habit is very important. Make a habit, stick to it. You should have a fixed sleeping and waking up time. Your mind will become comfortable or else you would trouble yourself daily. Study as if you are to teach someone. In my case, whenever i lack clarity in any topic, i find a classmate who also haven't understood the topic and i tell him that I'll explain you the next day(*if he wants to). Then i study with a mindset that i have to explain it to somebody so i must be knowing everything to tackle his doubts. I watch YouTube lectures and study from the books andi'm done. It's one of the most effective method. It's a business where there are only profits to both sides and absolutely no losses. You need not study the whole day! This is a common misconception among us that toppers study the entire day(*few exceptions present). Instead, they study smartly and do other activities as well. The best example is Roman Saini sir whom i am greatly inspired from. He says that he studied for about 7-8 hours a day, and also learnt playing guitar alongside(watch his ted talk). He is not nobody, he has achieved something that a lot of people in India wants to become desperately. He got selected in AIIMS Delhi and also, he cleared UPSC to become an IAS Officer. He has co founded a great platform for upsc and other competitive exam aspirants with Gaurav Munjal sir, UNACADEMY. I also aspire to become a civil servant and believe me, they are the best! Roman sir says that you should sleep for 8 hours, study for 8 hours and do whatever you want for the next 8 hours. There is no exam that cannot be cleared by studying 6-8 hours daily. Sayonara Have a better you ahead!! -Ritik