Stuck With Backlogs? Here Are 5 Ways To Navigate Through Them

by AIIT Team | Feb 19, 2021 | JEE 2022

Stuck With Backlogs? Here Are 5 Ways To Navigate Through Them

If you’re looking to crack JEE/NEET this year, you are probably juggling between pre-boards, school work, and tons of coaching homework every day. Hours and hours of study at times may not be enough, and you may end up having backlogs.

It can seem challenging to strike the right balance between coaching, school, and self-study time, but only if you don’t do effective time management.

What Exactly are Backlogs?

Either you ended up sleeping or watching movies for a little while extra this week, but it’s the weekend. Now you have to study those 5 Physics lessons, revise for the upcoming biology test, and prepare for your Chemistry practical exams. That’s essentially what backlogs are - when you have too much work backed up and little time to finish it.

Procrastination and not taking the syllabus seriously are some popular reasons why you end up having backlogs.

Once you start accumulating backlogs, it can be challenging to get out of the rut. But all is not lost. Proper planning and implementation can help you clear backlogs even when you are cramped with too much work.

Methods to Clear Backlogs

To help you manage the burden of backlogs, here are some tried and tested methods.

It’s essential to understand that while these methods are effective, they aren’t by any means a shortcut to clearing backlogs. You have to be wholly committed to your ultimate goal of getting that prized seat in the best engineering or medical college in the country for these to work best.

Plan a Schedule

You can’t think of achieving long term goals without setting shorter ones. Preparing a schedule for your backlogs should be your first step to clear it. Make a well-thought, realistic schedule that you can stick to. Even removing the backlogs trickle by trickle would make them vanish quickly.

Make a daily and weekly schedule and strictly stick to it. Determine the chapters you need to study and the time it will take to clear each. Divide the time duration to complete chapters into weeks and then create smaller goals for each section.

Divide your Days

Invest 2 to 3 hours every day to clear your backlogs. You should make sure that this time should be exclusive of your regular study time. You can’t afford to miss out on current lessons while clearing backlogs. So make sure to set up extra time devoted, especially towards pending lessons and homework.

Stay up to date with the rest of the class

Always try to study the chapters that are being taught in class in real-time. If you have backlogs and you’re still stuck in the Thermodynamics chapter while the course has advanced to Organic Chemistry, you’ll get stuck in the loop of backlogs.

Instead, invest a separate hour for studying the pending chapter while you revise and complete the current chapter after class. That will also ensure you’ll clear your doubts and understand the concepts while the chapter is still being taught.

Study to gain knowledge rather than clearing exams

You must complete your chapters but not by the number of questions and exercises but by understanding the concepts. If you understand the concept clearly and invest a bit less time doing the exercises, that will be more beneficial.

It will also save time as you won’t be wasting your time memorizing problems yet be able to solve most of them. JEE and NEET exams are all about throwing new challenges in front of you and testing how you pass. That will only happen when you understand the concepts rather than learning definitions and formulas.

Take one lesson at a time

Of course, you already know you should study one chapter at a time. But when you are struggling with backlogs, you may find it hard to concentrate on just one chapter. You may be wondering where to start apart from what you’re already learning.

Start from any of your favorite chapters and understand the concepts.

It will be of no use if you do two chapters at a time just for the sake of it and keep ignoring challenging questions and problems. You should also be able to relate different chapters using cross-references, which will help you grasp things quicker.

Apart from these methods, it’s essential for you to meditate to keep your mind clear and focused. Also, don’t become a zombie by never playing out or ditching your social life altogether.

Above all, don’t let a few backlogs make you doubt your potential. With the right aim and focus, you can clear every pending chapter and manage to score well on your upcoming JEE/NEET exam.

Tips To Manage Time The Right Way To Crack IIT-JEE

by AIIT Team | Feb 8, 2021 | JEE 2022

Tips To Manage Time The Right Way To Crack IIT-JEE

In a day, all of us have 24 hours. But, how come some people make every minute of their day fruitful? It’s because they have learned to value their time.

Time is a resource, like everything else that we have. But, here’s the key — it is limited. And that’s why it is one of the most valuable resources that we have. (Economics 101 — what is scarce, is limited!)

Having proper accountability of time can help us optimize this resource so we can give our best to get our desired outputs.

In JEE preparation this becomes all the more important as work goes on continuously and there is hardly any time to catch your breath. Learning the art of time optimization can improve productivity and efficiency; which will help you avoid piling up of backlogs.

However, learning to manage and optimize your time is not an overnight achievement — it is an art that takes practice, dedication, and perseverance like any new thing that we want to learn. The key is to play it like a game and when you learn a new game, you start, you try and you fall, over and over again; but in each iteration you move forward with the motivation to improve. This is known as the Kaizen principle and we will talk more about in the subheads.

Here are some tips to get you a head-start to manage time at the click of your fingers.

1. Time Auditing

The starting point for any change we plan to make in our life is to be self-aware. It starts with how and where you spend your time — attending school, watching TV, social media, self-study, meals, extra-curricular activities etc. This will help you become aware of where you are spending more time (hint — social media). This will help you see what is the hindrance between you and your ultimate goal of clearing JEE. It will also help you understand how much time you spend just procrastinating (remember the times when someone asked you– “what were you doing?” and you answered with “nothing”)

Once you are aware of where your time is being consumed, then you can start making changes in your daily routine, if you are really serious about your goal of cracking JEE.

For this, you can (and you should) team up with your parents who can give valuable feedback, and can act as a reality check for you. Your parents are equally a part of your journey as you.

2. Japan’s Kaizen Principle

Let’s say you are pumped up to manage your time efficiently. However, the first pitfall is when in the excitement of making a new start, you plan too much ahead without taking into account the changes that might happen on the way, which are not in your control. Don’t plan too much ahead and don’t plan big changes right away. JEE preparation is not a marathon. A marathon is exhausting and seems out of reach; whereas JEE is a series of 100-meter sprints. Each week of planning and execution is a 100-meter race. You prepare and run one sprint and learn from it where you can improve and run faster and more efficiently in the next sprint. This is the Kaizen principle in action — continuous improvement. Along the way, keep being proactive and don’t stop. Each week will bring a new wave of improvement.

3. To-do list

Preparing a to-do list every day in the morning is an age-old hack that enhances your planning skills and increases productivity in people. It helps in two ways –

1. You break down big tasks into small manageable ones

2. It helps clear the mind and be in-sync with your goals

Each day done right will make you proud of yourself. Celebrate small achievements and every step you climb. It’ll help you achieve your desired goals and thrive you do keep-going.

Remember to take out some time for some physical sports, at least 3–4 times a week. Managing proper breaks that refresh you from the monotonicity of studies is as essential to your preparation as the study time itself.

Of-course all this is not going to happen without action. Start today and bring that change that you want.

Do I Need To Sacrifice My Hobbies And Friends To Be Successful In JEE?

by AIIT Team | Feb 8, 2021 | JEE 2022

Do I Need To Sacrifice My Hobbies And Friends To Be Successful In JEE?

Have you just started preparing for the JEE and are sunk deep in school and coaching studies? With so much work burdening you all day, you might think about sacrificing your friends and hobbies.

But beware before you do that!

Do you know that friends and hobbies can aid your JEE preparation in wonderful ways? Read on to find out how!

Why Interacting with Friends Helps During Preparation?

If you have been performing poorly in recent coaching tests and a lot of syllabi is left to cover, you might be feeling anxious.

Talking to friends in such times will certainly keep your spirits high.

Most probably, your friends are also engaged in competitive exam preparations themselves and will understand your situation the best. If you have any friends who are also preparing for JEE, you guys can help each other out with questions and concepts. Even a silly mistake on the last Physics test can be easy to overcome if you have someone to share a laugh with.

When you have to study all night and feel low, they will be the ones to pick you back up and push you to do your best in the next test.

Always remember that your friends are your true support system - people you can lean on as you study hard for the exam. Your real friends will uplift and encourage you after every bad performance.

Hobbies Break the Monotony

Consistency is the most critical factor in JEE preparation. With consistency comes monotony. And hobbies are a great way to get rid of that monotony.

A few hours of your favorite hobby can refresh your mind and improve your focus when you study. Moreover, you will develop a confident personality and valuable skills for life.

So How do You Find the Right Balance?

You should understand that there is a need for effective time management when you are a JEE aspirant. But, complete disconnection from friends and hobbies isn’t the way to achieve it.

Instead of disconnecting from friends, divide your time such that you and your peers focus on both studies and having fun.

Nothing wastes your time more than scrolling mindlessly on Facebook or Instagram. 5 minutes of scrolling can soon transform into an hour of chatting. So instead of avoiding friends and hobbies, avoid social media.

Remember, a good peer group will always help you grow and excel, whether it’s in an exam like JEE or any other sphere in life. And doing the things you love in leisure times is what will always rejuvenate you.

So don’t think about sacrificing either of those while you’re engrossed in JEE preparation. Instead, use them as a positive stimulus to do even better in the exam.