IAS Divya Mittal is the District Magistrate of Mirzapur in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The bureaucrat had secured All India Rank (AIR) 68 in the UPSC CSE 2012. She had previously cracked the prestigious IIT and IIM exams.
Taking to Twitter handle, the ex-IPS, who is known for motivating students and youths with her amazing tweets, has shared a thread on her secret to success and tips to avoid distractions during preparations for UPSC and other competitive exams.
The prestigious UPSC exam demands an extreme level of dedication, focus, patience and ability to handle distraction. Avoiding distraction is something difficult to get and once you are focussed, other habits automatically fall into line.
Sharing a thread, Divya Mittal remembered how she was distracted during the initial phase of her preparations for the competitive exam. So, she shared her little secret with her followers.
Sharing a thread, Divya Mittal wrote, “I have cleared some of the toughest entrance tests in the country like that for IIT, IIM, IAS. It is not that I was not distracted during studies, but I overcame those distractions.”
9 tips on how to overcome distractions and get great focus:
Reducing mobile usage: Check your phone usage and apps u spent time on every week. Many times you dont even know how much time you are wasting on mobile apps. Android users can use free apps like.
Steps to reduce usage: Physical distance Keep the phone with the internet switched off and away from you while studying. You can also keep it locked and with a parent/ friend. Heavens will not fall while you are studying and if it is something urgent, you will get the message.
Technological solution: Use apps like Blackout to block internet for at least 6 hours every day. Force yourself to study in that time. It is not a free app, but it is very effective. Once it blacks out the phone, you can't go back for the period
Early morning study: Keep the alarm away from you, on loud volume. Most likely once you get up from the bed to switch off the alarm, you will decide to not go back to sleep and study. Early morning study is the best these days especially as it has lesser distractions
To increase focus: Keep short focused Sessions - Do 90-minute/2 hr intensely focused sessions - Take 15 min break after every session. You cannot maintain focus for longer than that at one go. Measure the session. Till the alarm goes off, don’t do anything else but study
Practice Tratak meditation: This is known to increase focus Fix your eyes on an object. This can be the flame of a candle, a pencil, a spot on the wall.
Binaural beats: Listening to Binaural beats which are sound vibrations of 40 Hz helps in a) Enhances focus b) Decreases amount of time it takes to get into a focused state These can be obtained from youtube
Exercise & Outdoor - Exercise preferably outside, at least a 20 mins walk - Get close to nature - go to a park and walk/sit - Get some sunlight even if for 5-10 mins
Nutrition: While studying we forget to take care of nutrition. A balanced diet helps in increasing focus. Also reduces the need to munch on snacks.
With these 9 tips, the IAS concluded, “That's a wrap! While these are simple tips, sometimes small things make a huge difference when done repeatedly. Best of luck for whatever you are trying to focus for!”