rules for study || concentration

I will share an important exercise today and I promise this will change your life 360 degrees and give a new perspective of reality if you honestly act on it from this very moment you read it. I did it myself and it benefits me with a far-reaching effect.

360 degrees - (It is used as a metaphor and not literally geometrical meaning. You can consider 180 degrees if you want, what it means is turning your life upside down and better than before. But, even if it is 360 degrees and you are re-aligned with your path, you are stronger and wise than before to decide wisely, because each time you go through a season, you don’t just go through it, you “grow” through it)

This is not rocket science. It’s just plain and simple logic, some steps to act on with a clear vision and mindset. I want everyone to read this very very carefully and implement it right now.

Disclaimer: This may be a bit long answer and you can skip right away if improvement is not your forte.

Now,

There are three exercises to carry out,

Exercise 1 | Part 1: Visualizing your Life.

Exercise 2 | Part 2: Momentum - Designing your best life.

Exercise 3 | Part 3: Inculcating discipline in your daily routine.

That’s it. No big deal. Now, Let’s get to the details of how to do it.

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• Part 1: Visualize & Calculate where you are in life right now and where you want to be.

In the month of December-2018, I decided to visualize my life and I wrote this:

• The horizontal line in the upper first part is the x-axis where the numbers represent my age with a gap of ten years between them. 0 being the birth and 100 being the death (just for consideration). Also, for some of them (age 25,30,40 & 50), I have written the year above it that will be in proportion to my age.
• Down below the axis, I have made a list from the year 1993 (my birth year) until the year 2043 (I have written only till the age of 50 only not to extend any further for now. You may expand and consider beyond if you prefer) and in front of the year, I have written my age pertaining to every year. (ex: in 2003 I was 10 years old, in 2013 - 20, and so on.)
• The next thing I have done is I have marked 2018, 2020, 2022 & 2023 ( I have only considered the near future here) with a star, which defines it as an important year, a milestone for me where I intend to accomplish certain things in life. Your goals can be anything you want, personal, financial, educational, research, startup, business. Anything that you want to achieve. So, that’s my self imposed deadline.

What’s the point of this exercise? It will help you to realize certain key aspects of your life which we all tend to overlook in this busy journey of life. It will help you realize all the vital people, decisions and goals in your life.

• The Past:
• Now, the first part is to visualize my life before the current year i.e. 2018 in this case and what this exercise does is it makes me realize I have completed a quarter to 100 and flashbacks my entire 25 years in front of me. Right from my childhood, school days, college, from my achievements to the mistakes I did, to the things I regret I didn’t do, to the things that made me happy, like literally everything. It helps me realize how far I have come.
• The Future:
• The second part is to visualize beyond the current year i.e. again 2018 in this case. The life ahead, the years ahead, what it will bring, what choices do I have to make, what goals do I have to set, what actions do I have to take to achieve those goals. Now, of course, nothing is guaranteed and either ways life will pass just like that but the truth is life doesn’t happen just like that, we need a life strategy, we need to examine, analyze and plan our life structurally if we want something fruitful to happen out of it.

Calculate where you are now and where you want to be.

As Socrates said,

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates.

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• Part 2: Momentum - “How to design your best life.”

I took a webinar by Jay Shetty called: Momentum - “How to design your best life.”

Jay Shetty - (An urban monk as they call him) - He is an award-winning knowledgable vlogger and motivational speaker from the United Kingdom with his roots in India. I do recommend to check out his worthy talks on his website and other social media sites too. ( I am not promoting anyone here, it’s just an honest act to share something wise.)

Coming back to the Webinar,

It includes five key elements or simply 5 Keys:

1. Life audit
2. Life edit
3. Life debit
4. Life credit
5. Life accredit.

Now, the task here is, You have to analyze and write down each of these key elements with respect to your entire life.

And this is what I did (Mind it though, you can use your own method to analyse the components):

Key 1: LIFE AUDIT

This key is all about understanding the problem or challenge that you are trying to solve. Let’s explore the key areas of your life:

• Personal
• Work/Finance
• Family/Friends
• Health
• Spirituality

Now, the thing you have to do is honestly rate yourself in each category on a scale of 1 to 10 where you think you are right now.

The second thing you need to do is, rate where you want to (realistically) be at the end of the year in that category.

Then, calculate the difference between where you are now and where you want to be and then start acting towards it right away.

Key 2: LIFE EDIT

Which area did you identify as having the biggest gap? This category will

become your Life Edit - the area that you're going to focus on. Write down

what it will feel and look like when you achieve your goal in that area.

Key 3: LIFE DEBIT

What do you need to debit, subtract or deduct from your life to make the Life Edit possible?

Create a list of 3 things you need to remove from your life. Again this is your own personalized list that you think is hindering your progress.

Key 4: LIFE CREDIT

Write down three things you need to add or introduce to your life.

Key 5: LIFE ACCREDIT

Write a list of 3 things you are grateful for. Be specific!

Mind it, I only wrote the things that I think are important for me to conquer in the current scenario. You may write according to your position, goals, and choices in life.

Apart from this, I have also made a detailed blueprint of my life goals on a whiteboard and hung it up in my room so that I could see it daily after I wake up & when I am around to keep myself motivated, act as a reminder, to re-analyze or re-structure and be focused.

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• Part 3: Daily Habits.

The sole reason for this part is the Power of Habit, Discipline, and attitude.

I have set certain daily goals and habits that I practice rigorously no matter what weather, what time. I dedicate some amount of time for the mastery:

• Read 50 pages daily of good self-improvement, psychology, philosophy, investment, finances, physics, astronomy or any knowledgeable book you think will add something valuable to your mind and personality. There is a ton of gold out there, Search, buy and read it. It will improve and develop the domain of your mindset and knowledge.
• Wake up early around 5-6 am. It works according to my schedule. You may try your hands on what suits you. It just gives me an edge to start when others are sleeping.
• Workout for 1–2 hours daily. I’ve started doing intense weight-lifting & cardio in the gym. This helps me improve my health, get & be in shape and also helps me keep calm & it increases my focus.
• Set a digital hour according to your schedule to consume all that social media you want to.
• Set dedicated digital hours to improve my technical skills like coding, designing, editing, development.
• Watch one TED Talk daily. This will introduce you to many new dimensions of knowledge, vocabulary, the structure of society, technology, psychology and many other factors depending on the talk.
• Inculcate optimism. Cut down cynicism. Period.
• Practice gratitude daily.
• Trying to get better at meditation.

Tip: Do these exercises every 3 to 6 months or whenever you feel the need to reflect on your life. It will help to again re-evaluate, re-structure & create a magical difference in your life.

Above all this, I stick to my schedule. Don't let life pass you by, take action.

“While we are postponing, life speeds by.” — Seneca

It means that time waits for no one. If you make a habit of putting things off, you will find you have run out of time to get things done.

These little steps of daily habits apart from daily chores keeps me in check that I am on the right track.

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I will be glad if this proves to be beneficial & adds something meaningful to someone’s life.