3 Tips To Bell The CAT | Cyril Prince

One can use the "Don't break the chain" technique to be consistent in deliberate practice. To start with, take a calendar and decide that you will put a cross mark on the calendar if and only if you achieve a particular goal. After doing the task for the first few days, your brain will be motivated to do a task each day because of the chain of crosses on the calendar. Your brain would also not want to skip a particular day because of our inherent nature to avert loss. This technique is credited to the famous comedian Jerry Seinfeld who used this to write one joke each day.

2.) Pomodoro Technique

This is a technique which helps improve focus when doing a particular task and hence improve productivity. The Pomodoro technique is a technique which is used by software engineers and coders to be wholly focussed while writing code. Before starting the task, keep yourself away from all possible distractions, get a timer and set it to 25 minutes. Keep a spare paper close to you to write down the distractions that cross your mind during the Pomodoro session.

The essence of this technique is to resume the task immediately at hand after writing down the distractions on the paper. This makes sure that you don't forget something important that crossed your mind while also being completely focussed on the task. After every Pomodoro session take a break of 5 minutes and after every 4 such sessions take a break of 25 minutes. Since being in focus is very important while giving CAT, it is better to practice this technique right from the start of your preparation to make you mentally disciplined and fit for the D-day.

3.) Believe in the Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck, the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success and a professor of psychology at Stanford University has beautifully portrayed how people with the Growth Mindset try harder even when obstacles arise. In layman's terms, Growth Mindset is having the attitude that one can improve his/her skills through consistent effort and practice. They believe that abilities and skills are not fixed and can be improved. From the CAT preparation's point of view, this is utterly important as there maybe be times when you fail and want to give up thinking that you are not born with certain innate abilities to ace an exam like CAT. It is then to remember that practice is what plays a crucial role in improving quantitative, logical and language skills. The research that has been backing Growth Mindset is also reliable and consistent. In 2015, researchers developed an online training module about mindset concepts and on average, the students who learned those concepts achieved higher grades than the students who did not. The first and only step known till now to use the growth mindset is to be aware and believe in it and be perseverant until you achieve that goal.

Being a fresher and cracking CAT in the first attempt, I would say that these small tips have helped me to come a long way not only in CAT preparation but in my life as well. Being emotionally strong is also one of the things that CAT and the subsequent MBA life requires. So "Never Give Up"

All The Best

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