The 2 year journey has been a very enjoyable one indeed. As a fresher, I had come right out of college and into another college. But the experiences were quite different.
Frenetic Pace of Life
This very well describes the first four months in particular, and the first year in general. I enjoy taking time out for myself every day. Even if it is just reading a book or watching Test cricket. But the unending deluge of work and deadlines is initially quite frustrating. Add to that the placement sessions and academics, and you find it exceptionally hard to find time for yourself. But over time, I learnt to use the small time gaps between two activities for other pending things. And when I added up all these time gaps in a day, I realised that I still had sufficient time for myself. It just was not all at a stretch.
Working In Groups
As an engineering undergrad, group work is rare, if at all. Since I had not worked professionally before, my working in teams was limited to a very few experiences. But here, nearly all assignments were group assignments. Some genuinely enjoy working in any kind of group, some take time to gain that enjoyment. I was part of the latter. This is where I learnt how I can be made part of any group with all kinds of people. Even if everyone was not my friend or someone I would love working with, we had no option. But with time, I learnt how to manage to get work done. I also realized how there are very few people who can actually be typecast as “free riders” or “sincere always” or any other such term. Almost everyone, myself included, goes through all of these roles. So one has to learn how to ensure that work gets done on time and a certain minimum standard is maintained. I did not take the initiative often enough, which is something I can look to improve on as I go further ahead.
Getting Things Done Right Now
As I grow older, I realise that more and more tasks or responsibilities arise. It is nothing major but rather several small tasks. For instance, it can be anything from paying a credit card bill to getting in touch with your guide in an internship. Most of these tasks usually take 10-15 minutes. My earlier habit was to postpone these to some ideal time when I am done with all other work. But usually that ideal time never arrives. Even if it does, the accumulation of several tasks takes the joy away from that free time. Now, I get it done as soon as some reasonable certainty has been established. Booking tickets, washing clothes or sending reminders are common instances.
Take Time To Introspect
It is easy to continue running the race and not pause for a bit. I will not call it a rat race for it is not one. Most people compete because it gives them a reasonable probability to get somewhere significant in life. What is significant for one may be meaningless to the other. But all of us at some point or the other are competing for something better. That in itself is no wrong. But it becomes pointless when you take no time off to think for yourself. If being part of the race is due to a definitive goal in mind, well and good. For instance, when I wrote CAT, I was competing. I needed higher and higher scores to get a better college. That is a fact. But after coming here, I decided to put my time into only those activities that were in line with what I wanted. And the leisure that second year at IIM Calcutta provides was greatly helpful in allowing me the time for introspection.
So what is the conclusion at the end of it all? I myself cannot lay my fingers on it. I leave IIM-C wiser than I was before? Smarter than before? I do not know. But certainly more confident and happier than before.