The Art of Procrastination

Now that you sufficiently know HOW we “study” for our exams. It’s probably time you know how we “write” them, or rather how we wrote the first trimester. I doubt the trend will change much though.

• Delay entering the examination hall for as long as possible (We had just started studying the night before, remember??? and those last minutes, ohh precious time!!)
• We grudgingly enter the room, clutching onto the barely read study material until the eyes of the teacher bores into us the warning of letting go of the material.
• We look for our seats, reverently praying that the ceiling gives way or the professor cancels the exam or something of the like.
• A faculty member hands us the Question paper and the answer sheet and after a few minutes it dawns on us to fill in our details on the answer sheet.
• While hastily scrambling to get all details right, we glance over the question paper, dreading the worse.
• Just a cursory glance tells us our worst fears have come true, we are clueless regarding most of the questions and have a vague idea about the rest, clearly not enough to write a ten mark answer.
• We look around hoping for bouts of inspiration to come seeping through our neighbours, who are, well, equally clueless
• Cursing ourselves silently we try to focus and attempt a question and imagine and write, attempt and imagine some more and write even less, the cycle goes on, until we realize that what we have been writing probably does not make any sense but cannot be improved anymore for lack of any substantial info, so……sigh…..move on…….
• Bored with all the hard work, some of us take a bathroom break and return with gleeful smiles ( now that’s a mystery am yet to solve…….what is this washroom and cheesy smile connection?)
• A few of us start dozing ... ... ...
  
• 45-50 minutes later most people have given up writing…and after 20 minutes or so of aimlessly staring at the answer sheets (no that does not help). They hand in the sheets and leave the hall, towards freedom and light, literally!!
• The bravest however endure the entire time span, and come,out only after being repeatedly told to give up, its okay (I, sadly belong to this clan).
• OUTSIDE: Nobody wants to discuss the question paper but that is all everybody talks about..

Now, I wrote the above to probably tell you what is the level of the questions you are expected to answer at NLIU (which as understood is high), and while, a night before the exam studying, might save you from failing an exam it won’t get you the top grade. NLIU needs you to study regularly and keep up with the work done in class everyday. So, I pledge to myself (really don’t know about the others) that I will regularly devote a couple of hours for purely academic purpose, avoid procrastination. Really, I have had enough sleepless nights ;) ... Do let me know what you think, will write soon....

- Surabhi