Good Luck exam letter

April 28, 2015

Dear students in arms,

There are two aspects to consider here that are relevant in undertaking any exam. The first is the psychological and the second is technical; I will try to elaborate on both holistically.

Quote about teacher by NietzcheFrom the psychological side we have to realize that we ourselves are our greatest teachers; tutors and professors can show us the way but we have to travel that path ourselves. A person who is determined and keeps on pursuing ultimately gets his/her rewards, with or without any tutor.  Later onwards in our lives we will realize that ‘one repays a teacher badly if one always remains only a pupil’ (Friedrich Nietzsche).

Read the rest of this entry »


It’s not too late

April 24, 2015

It’s that time of the year again.

Yes, exams.

I’m quite sure that everyone is rather stressed for the exams and I understand for I feel the same way too.

Read the rest of this entry »


It is not what you imagine

March 20, 2015

Carl Lewis quote: It's all about the journey, not the outcome.What if I tell you that you actually enjoy studying more than you realise? What if I tell you that scoring distinctions aren’t exactly the contributory factors to the fun of the course? All the hours you have spent boning up a text; compare this to that few minutes of bliss when you realise you score a distinction for your paper. What if I tell you that you actually enjoy the former much more than the latter?

Read the rest of this entry »


Motivational thoughts in build up to exams

March 6, 2015

LSHTM logoI hate to say it but we are moving closer to exam time, the most important part of the year for all distance learning students. No matter how big or small sacrifices have felt over the past year, the sacrifices have been made and they deserve a reward at the end. For some this is the last chance saloon where failure is not an option. So here are some thoughts to inspire you through to the end. I could have written study tips but there are enough already online.

Read the rest of this entry »


Prescriptions For a Restless Mind

January 26, 2015

"A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow" - Charlotte BronteThe truth is, I have been putting off writing this blog post. In fact, it is not just this blog post that I have been putting off!

We are all quite familiar with the formula: write every day, as it is the only way to hone the craft. And, keeping a diary is the best method to do this. Quite convinced that regularity is truly the way, I too, have been keeping a diary for about six years, to persuade myself to write something every day. Recently, however, I had not written a word in it for nearly 20 days.

Eventually, I decided that it was time to finally extinguish that flame of December festivity, which I figured was where the heat of playfulness got a little out of control. I had allowed it to foil my plans for too long. But, when I decided to pick up my long neglected writing, as well as my studying, I was shackled by lethargy. I could not get into my stride. I could not read even for 15 minutes without feeling restless. I somehow managed to cook up an avalanche of excuses – I need to go to work, I need to cook, perhaps I should rest for awhile before I begin, etc. “Awhile” became “a day”. By bedtime, the panic mode would take over. I would try to redeem the hours lost in a day, all in that few hours before bedtime. It would never work out well: reading was done in a haphazard manner, without registering anything; writing was insipid, lacking in texture. I realised that I could not cheat myself any longer.

Read the rest of this entry »


The Ingredient of Excellence

December 10, 2014

Winston-Churcholl-quote-about-perseveranceWho would actually be interested in knowing the mundane details of another person’s daily life? Well, I do. I do, especially if that person is remarkable, someone who has made astounding achievements in their lifetime. I do, especially if that person is a writer, a musician – someone whose creativity is celebrated, commemorated and revered for years, and many more years to come. I have always found it very fascinating to know how these people manage to find time to work on their creations. Just how did they do it?

It is for these reasons that I bought a copy of Daily Rituals by Mason Currey. It is a book that tells us everything about what great minds like Hemingway or Beethoven do daily. We have all heard about the geniuses of these people, and I have always wondered just how they achieved it.

Read the rest of this entry »


Reactions to my return to study

December 5, 2014

New blogger Mustafa

New blogger Mustafa

Hello, Welcome to my new blog. I hope to provide you with a weekly distraction from your studies which will lift your spirits, make you laugh and think ‘he is a idiot, I won’t read his blog again’ all in a few seconds. However, you will read my blog again to see what rubbish I have written so you can complain to your friends (and of course your secretly enjoying what I say you just can’t admit it to yourself).

I currently work for a pharmaceutical company in London and it is a different experience to any I have had in the past. The key difference is that in my past jobs almost everyone I met had been an undergraduate or postgraduate student. Whereas now I work with people from a variety of backgrounds who are mainly doing the job because they need the job. As well as being a distance learning student on the MSc Epidemiology, I have fellowships and memberships to a number of institutes which I am active with. Read the rest of this entry »


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 34,557 other followers

%d bloggers like this: