The IIM Kashipur Blog

It is rightly said that strategy is essential, but the execution is everything.

With just a few hours left for CAT 2022, it is imperative to follow specific final moment tips and tricks to ace the exam. A better time management technique will help you achieve just that and efficiently execute your strategy.

A glance before attempting any section will help you get a rough idea to manage your time based on your strengths. Further, setting a time limit for each question is crucial as some tricky questions from D.I. may consume much of your time. Dividing your time based on a pre-determined strategy between different components of a section is always recommended, and try to deviate from your original method only if necessary. Focus on the questions which are easily understandable in the first phase while marking the moderate questions for your second phase.

There may come a time in the middle of the exam when you feel that your strength or the section you were hoping to score the highest has not gone as well as you had hoped for, causing unnecessary anxiety and panic. It is crucial at this time to believe in what you have done and take a minute to reorganize your thoughts by side-lining the negative thoughts by giving your undivided attention to the next section.

You can always expect something unexpected in the exam. The best advice to tackle the unexpected is to remain calm at the moment, as that moment would make the difference between you and the others writing the exam. Only those who would remain composed will be able to utilize their entire potential and give their best 

These tricks help you manage your time effectively during the exam.

Team Insite, IIM Kashipur, wishes you all the best!

Has there been a time in your life when you felt like an outcast? Recall the chaos in your mind, the self-deprecating thoughts and the aching loneliness you endured because you were different from others. You faced disdain from people. A few words of ridicule from people you treasure was borderline anguishing. You might have tried to change yourself to fit in. Or you might be one of the unapologetically true-to-yourself people who remained unhinged. Regardless of where you fall in this spectrum, you have probably wished the disparity and inequity would disappear.

As the human mind comprehends, time moves forward. And so do you. You mostly want to grow. You want others to change for the good. You have encountered a variety of rules in the organisations you have worked for as you transitioned from your school days to your college years to your job. As your network grew, you gravitated toward those who made you feel more inclusive. Discrimination made you resentful. You knew more about the corporate world and more about laws. Prejudice against people based on their caste, gender, sex, sexual preferences, religion, race, ethnicity, language and other bases seemed very unfair. Even the smartest of individuals might have shown you such discrimination, or you might have witnessed someone else experiencing it.

Your ray of hope was the people who thought the same as you. Finer were the people who fought for the same and created rules to move towards the elimination of discrimination. You get to see youngsters in colleges banding together to raise awareness and preach the idea of equality. Several firms, old or new, have excellent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies. Fortunate women in society have Sexual Harassment laws to protect them from unsolicited events occurring in their lives. Companies are trying to ingrain better systems having fair opportunities for all and unbiased processes towards performance evaluation and appraisals. Some companies maintain inclusion by using one common language (for example, English) for better communication with internal and external stakeholders. People are motivated to speak up. Social media and other areas of the internet have numerous posts and analyses exploring the same.

But there is something that might faze you- A dire need for society to encourage more people to speak against discrimination. People are afraid of being a castaway. Some fear that their future will crumble. As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” education is awareness in this case. Thankfully, there is no scarcity of education against discrimination in cyberspace. The dilemma is how to reach people about the same. It may sound like a pipe dream, but perhaps one day, data analytics and AI will come to our aid, use the power of the internet to reach as many people as possible, and persuade them to embrace DEI beliefs.

What is the first thing that you do after waking up? Do you get a glass of water, stretch your muscles to ease the tension and soreness, meditate to calm your mind, start the day by basking in the sun, or reach out to your mobile phone?

Most of us even wake up listening to the resounding alarm on our phones. Then comes the buzzing notifications. Flipkart is having a sale; it’s your friend’s distant cousin’s birthday and messages from your friend. Oh, and there is an email from your professor, manager, and peers.

I know it is relatable for most of you. It is overwhelming to reply to all the messages, send reactions to your friend’s Instagram stories, and acknowledge all the emails you have received. People expect you to be available online round the clock, which can be tiring mentally and physically. This has resulted in a large number of people trying a digital detox.

But what is digital detoxing? What are the benefits of detoxing, and how do we practice it? Let me try to answer these questions for you so that you can consider them before deciding if digital detoxing is suitable for you or not.

Digital detoxing is a period of time for disconnecting from tech devices such as smartphones, tablets, television, computers, and social media sites. It enables a person to focus on real-life social interactions without distractions and can help release the stress brought on by continual connectivity to digital devices.

Being connected and involved in the digital world has become essential to everyone’s life. It has taken the time that we could have devoted to ourselves. Our device use has become excessive that we are addicted to it. It is adding a lot of stress to our life. The constant desire to check social media, emails, and messages is to blame for the majority of this stress. Heavy device use, especially before bedtime, can affect sleep quality and quantity. In-bed social media use increases the likelihood of insomnia and anxiety. This, in turn, affects our mental health. We might start comparing our lives to our friends, strangers, and celebrities based on the brief episodes of their lives on social media. It creates a perception that others lead a richer, more fulfilling, or thrilling life than ours. It might also trigger a fear of missing out, known as FOMO. Constant connectivity can feed this fear that you are missing the experiences that everyone else is having. This disappointment in one’s life makes people strive for more attention and recognition, and unfulfillment will lead them to severe depression or other mental health issues.

Practicing digital detox is one way to keep yourself away from all this stress and keep a check on your mental health but the real question is how we will detach ourselves from devices in an increasingly digital world. Some suggest that a proper digital detox involves complete abstinence from all digital devices for long periods of time; however, it is crucial to adapt your gadget use to your needs and way of life. It is not about having a complete separation from the digital world. It is often more about setting boundaries and ensuring that you are using your devices in a way that benefits, rather than harm, your emotional and mental health.

As the first step, you have to set realistic goals. For most of us, completely detaching from the digital world might not be possible, especially when our work or studies demand us to stay connected online. In such situations, the key is understanding your priorities and drafting a detoxing plan that works for your work schedule and life. If your job demands you to stay connected during the day, pack a time in the evening when you can turn off your devices. It will help if you define or set the timings when these digital connections are allowed to intrude into your life. Setting such boundaries can ensure that you can involve in real-world activities free of digital distractions. Another way to kickstart your digital detox is by turning off the push notifications on your phone. Instead of checking the notifications whenever it comes, you can allot a certain amount of time, around 25 minutes, to catch up with these. You can start practicing digital detox in the aforementioned ways. Further, you can incorporate a digital fast, recurrent digital abstinence, or a specific detox like restricting the use of an app or a site that consumes much of your time.

As I said, digital detoxing has no hard and fast rules; it can be whatever you want it to be and of any form. It is all about setting your priorities right. It can be difficult for some to go device-free. We ought to remember that it can be a rewarding experience that will improve your understanding of your relationship with your devices and teach you how to be more present and mindful in all other activities in your life.

It’s a regular Sunday morning and you decided to clean your store room. Suddenly you come across a shirt you loved five years ago, and even though it brings back many pleasant memories, and makes you nostalgic you start to doubt your dressing sense. Why is that? Why are all your clothes black? Why has the world shifted from Facebook to Instagram?  Why do you follow that Keto diet?

Personally, when I came across the Keto diet and how so many Instagram influencers were losing weight because of it, I was intrigued. I wanted to try it out as soon as possible. Be it a diet, a person, a product or a movie. Everything can be marketed. 

One day, while I was heading to the market, I noticed how the movie RRR was being promoted. I was immediately interested in the film. It was a collaboration between PVR and the movie RRR. The poster was so simple yet so eye-catching.

Let’s think of some other scenarios, you just visited Starbucks for a cup of coffee instead of a local coffee shop. You love to see your name on the cup. The reason for writing your names on the cups is not to avoid confusion. It lets you feel heard by Starbucks, makes you feel wanted by them and you end up posting it on Social Media. Boom! You just marketed their product. That’s how brands not only make you want their product but also make you market it.

Anything can be sold with effective branding and marketing. A trash bag offered by Balenciaga for $1790 is a recent example. Are you surprised by this? Let me give you another example: a Louis Vuitton bag in the shape of an aeroplane sold for $39,000. These products are highly priced as they serve as a status symbol and satisfy their consumers’ esteem needs. These brands are not promoting or selling their products, they are selling ‘exclusivity.’

Not only that, but brands may also create a culture. With rising urbanisation and a preference for western civilisation, Archies Gallery observed that the gifting sector has got a good fillip. The business pioneered the practice of giving friendship bands to your pals on Friendship Day and exchanging cards on other occasions like birthdays and Mother’s Day. These customs have become ingrained in our lifestyle and cannot be abandoned.

So, the next time you are making a purchase ask yourself ‘Why Did You Buy It?’

Is it because you needed it, or is the brand responsible for making you feel that way?

Why MBA? This question has a unique answer for anyone pursuing an MBA. The fact that they decide to answer this question truthfully or not is an entirely different discourse. The idea of getting an MBA first came to us at a specific time and place, and with time, a sequence of ifs and buts led us to the day we decided to sign up for the two years of rigorous post-graduation study. Some of us were adamant regarding our decision, while others were mentally fidgety about the same.

I was fidgety. From considering an M.Phil. in Psychology to a Ph.D. in Economics, I ended up opting for MBA. A few thoughts sporadically hovered in my mind. There would be no financial independence for two years, no home of my own to live in, very little or no experimental cooking, small cupboards, no projects to lead, limited options for where to go out to party, and no control over my schedule (our office had flexible hours), no time for fashion experiments, fewer opportunities for painting and content creation, and the list goes on.

Before the dreadful COVID-19, we had dreaded work life without a holiday. I remember needing to visit the ophthalmologist but had to keep on postponing it till a year. COVID-19 taught me two things- patience and how to handle 20-liter water cans by myself. Fast forward to two years and slogging my senses off, a life of recognition, reward, and the responsibility of leading made my work-life exciting. Ironically, boredom kicked in. And this boredom gradually transitioned to the want for a change. Fast forward to the last two months before my MBA, my daily life was jam-packed with a lot of work, training, and fun-filled parties. With parties, I let go of myself. I felt free. It was joyous.

I had no idea if the feeling of both extreme excitement and devastation had a word, but that’s what I felt once I resigned from my job after confirming my admission to college. The college started with no control over my life, several tasks, and academic classes of things Greek to me. All of us were drifting in the ocean of the starting of an MBA life. But you know what? I enjoyed the shift. I could not retain any of the points mentioned in the preceding paragraph except content writing which is what I am doing right now, at this moment, drafting this very blog. Yeah, I know that you know about the latter.

So, what is the point of all of the above? The conclusion is that no matter what opportunity cost you have and what you have left behind, you are not only opening the doors to a higher career slope but also a treasure of memories filled with experience and learning for your future self.