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Hi, I wanted to attend the seminar for Stress-Free Problem Solving in Grades 9 & 10 Is there a recorded video I can still watch? It was yesterday and I had forgotten to register before time. Thank you

Habits begin with a cue, or a trigger to act. Walking into dark room cues you to perform an action that will enable sight. Next comes a craving for a change in state – in this case, to be able to see. Then comes our response, or action – flicking the light switch. The final step in the process, and the end goal of every habit, is the reward. If your performance does not satisfy you, it becomes your trigger. Then rises the need to improve it, the techniques for which we discussed in our last article. But it is important to actively let go of those habits that interfere with newly formed productive ones. • Increase friction for bad habits Despite having all the motivation to study, we get digressed as we have a habit of logging in 3 hours on social media or Netflix, or PS4. If you want to waste less time in front of the TV, unplug it and take the batteries out of the remote. Doing so will introduce enough friction to ensure you only watch when you really want to. • Validation through apps My all-time favorite is Forest. It functions by allowing you to plant a tree, which will grow with every half hour you spend avoiding your phone. Should you stray from the app, it’ll kill your tree, which may seem inconsequential but you get surprisingly invested. It’s actually incredibly sweet to expand your forest, knowing that everyone represents thirty minutes of hard work. • Immediate-return environment Our brains are wired into the immediate-return environment of earlier humans, who weren’t thinking about long-term returns like saving for retirement or sticking to a diet. They were focused on immediate concerns like finding their next meal, seeking shelter. So when you are pursuing habits with a delayed return, try to attach some immediate gratification to them. Eg. when you have decided upon increasing your study time by 30 minutes every day, it will not make a difference in tomorrow’s class test. But if you miss the 30 minutes, that will gratify you. Replace this gratification with putting in 10/- in a jar every time you make the 30 minutes cut. This practice will give you 300 bucks at the end of the month which you can spend on whatever you like. • In motion vs taking action “The most effective form of learning is practice, not planning” • James Clear, Author, Atomic Habits Sitting to strategize your syllabus, making a schedule, downloading mock tests, forming a group study are all ‘being in motion’. While this is useful, it does not produce results on its own. No matter how many routines you form, you’ll not increase your score incoming exams if you don’t actively engage in studying and memorizing. Starting on schedule, finishing the target exercises of a chapter is taking action. It is producing results by getting off stuff from your to-do list and honing your skills. Student’s Takeaway The aggregation of marginal gains, suggests that there is a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do. Since bad habits interfere in developing good ones, it is important that we get rid of them.

In our previous article, we discussed how Habits are the compound interest of small changes. Hence, it is important to develop a sustained habit of studying to improve our scores. By adopting these 3 techniques, you are bound to see a boost in the long run. 1. Implementation intentions Most of us tend to be too vague about our intentions. To actually follow through on your intentions : • Prominent/obvious cues - Instead of putting up motivational posters, put up diagrams, reactivity series, or working of an electric motor so that every time you look at it, you are coerced into studying out of compulsion or even guilt. • Definite/precise goals - Instead of forming vague goals like ‘I will study better’, create precise ones like ‘2 hours target to practice all NCERT examples and 2 exercises of Heron’s formula’. This way, when you sit to study, you won’t distract yourself with what to study, where to start, etc. 2. Temptation bundling “More probable behaviors reinforce the less probable ones”. • James Clear, Author, Atomic Habits Try taking a behavior that you think of as important but unappealing and link it to a behavior that you’re drawn to – one that will generate a motivating dopamine hit. • Pomodoro it- An Italian technique of setting your timer at 25 minutes followed by a break of five minutes; rinse and repeat. Eg. the target is to finish metal and nonmetals. Set up a Pomodoro of 25 minutes, followed by scrolling/walking/chatting whatever you feel like. When the alarm goes off, back to metals • Token reward- You know how IG gives you an ‘official blue tick’ after you accumulate a certain number of followers, followed by a silver and gold button on every milestone after that. Similarly, you can give yourself a star every time you complete Chemistry, then physics, then biology. These 3 stars can then be converted into watching an episode of your desired show. This way, even if you don’t want to study, you’ll become conditioned to it if it means you get to watch your favorite show. 3. Make it easily doable “Habits are easier to build when they fit into the flow of your life”. • James Clear, Author, Atomic Habits Energy is precious, and the brain is wired to conserve it whenever possible. It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort, which states that when deciding between two similar options, people gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work. • Reduce friction You are more likely to study, if you are part of a peer group that is invested in studying, are into academic co-curricular, etc, even if it is just to save face or be validated by your peers Eg. Instead of calling a friend to discuss a doubt and digressing into gossip, text them to keep it short .Instead of studying on the balcony, with tons of activities of the neighbors to distract you, sit in a quiet corner where you won’t fave these frictions • Choose your medium of Learning Visual Learners should draw flow charts, diagrams, use colors, and highlighters while Audio Learners should make acronyms, rhyming words, refer to audiobooks.