I know many people who like to work alone. In fact, even I like to work alone. Working independently gives you more time to focus and genuinely focus on issues. It helps you in learning a new skill and improving existing skills further. But we cannot deny a fact that working in team or collaborating with team members is a stronger skill that can strengthen your PR skills, understand people better, help you progress and guide you with firsthand knowledge and advice.

Intelligent people love working alone because it allows them to be in tune with their inner creative selves. They can introspect different issues in a field and even think out of the box. When there are so many people around, it is difficult to think quietly and creatively because there’s chaos all around.

Working alone puts you in control of decision making and workflow, which eliminates interpersonal conflicts and can increase productivity and job satisfaction.

Teamwork involves working together with a group of individuals towards a common objective. It emphasizes collaboration, cooperation, and mutual support. On the other hand, individual work requires working alone, taking sole responsibility for the task, and making independent decisions.

A study revealed that intelligent people prefer to be alone, tend to have fewer friends and they choose to be less social than those who scored less on the intelligence scale. Interestingly, they are contended fully in content and in sync with secluded lifestyle.

The more people work together, the more they can accomplish during each day. As a result, the quality of the final product is usually better – even if individual efforts are not wildly superior to each other.

I think anxiety may also lead to a preference for independent work. People with anxiety may feel more comfortable and in control when they are working alone. Anxiety can make people feel vulnerable and exposed, and working independently can provide a sense of safety and security that may be lacking in a group or team setting. This can be especially true for people who suffer from social anxiety, who may find it difficult to interact with others in a professional or social setting.

Also, people with anxiety may be more sensitive to criticism or negative feedback. When working in a group or team, it can be difficult to avoid criticism or negative feedback, which can be particularly challenging for people with anxiety. By working independently, people with anxiety may be able to avoid these types of situations, which can reduce their stress and anxiety levels.

I think some people having problems to work with group. They want things to go their ways and they can do better alone. They are not the flexible ones because they have their own systems, and they want to stick to these. Someone said: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with other. I want to go fast and far at the same time. It’s left to an intelligent individual’s choice whether to work individually or with a group. There are also geniuses, the creative mind level is higher than others, but they still need help from others to finish their projects.

Some people are loners. They are self-engrossed and prefer to be left alone.

Social scientists have shown in many studies for past few decades that caring touch can have good effects in several different mental and physical problems. Consider this case: a doctor hugged his patient who survived a complicated surgery of six hours; when the patient regained his consciousness after surgery, the doctor felt so happy, he gave the patient a gentle hug.   

A hug is a universal and widely accepted ways to show our affection and love. It communicates many emotions that words fail to express. There are different types of hugs that express different emotions. When you feel low, angry, distressed, or sad, a quick squeeze or hug is all you need to lift your mood.

Hugging helps lower our stress throughout the day. Hugging a person is one of the most natural and emotional physical touches one can have with others. It gives us a sense of security and makes us feel loved and cared for. There are many different types of hugs one can coddle in; few are romantic while others are just friendly, they are emotional and supportive. For example, a side hug is friendly; hugging from behind portrays intimacy; in a friendly hug two people engage in arm-hug; hugging around the waist is romantic; a bear hug is for warmth; one-sided hug shows caring.  And there are many unseen benefits of hugging; the biggest is boosting of dopamine hormone which is ‘feel good’ hormone and in case of loving hug, oxytocin hormone boosts feeling of love.

Research shows that hugs can be healthy. Hugs cause a decrease in the release of cortisol, a stress hormone, and another research indicates that hugs decrease our blood pressure and heart rate in stressful situations. The stress-reducing effects of hugging keeps us healthier. In a study of over 400 adults, researchers found that hugging reduces the percentage of falling sick. From childhood to old age people who are hugged by near and dear ones stay healthy.

According to one study, it takes merely 7 seconds of a hug for our brain to signal the release of oxytocin hormone that is associated with, amongst other things, increased levels of trust, calmness, and creativity. Hugging often creates a feeling of calmness and relaxation. That’s because of oxytocin which is sometimes called the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin is released when people or pets snuggle up or bond socially. This release can have a domino effect throughout the body and has been found to reduce inflammation, improve wound healing, it lessens cravings for drugs, alcohol, and sweets and lowers heart rate and stress. Domino effect is a situation in which one event causes a series of related events, one following another.

Getting a firm, reassuring hug before or during a stressful event, such as waiting to receive the results of a medical test, waiting for an examination result, waiting to receive a near and dear one at station, can help you stay calm because your oxytocin levels remain elevated.  A hug a day may, in fact, keep the doctor away.

They make us happier. An assuring hug is much better than gulping anti-depressants. Hugging triggers the release of serotonin in the brain to create happiness and ease sadness.  They Help deepen our relationships. As human, we automatically want to hug those we know are in pain. In many ways, hugs are a form of meditation. They allow us to be present in the moment, to let go and flow with the energy of the embrace. It’s easy to forget how meaningful a hug can be, but it can truly deepen your connection with another person. Hugs convey, in a nonverbal way, an understanding of each other.

Humans and dogs have been together since primitive times, and both have a primal need for physical touch. All monkeys, from chimpanzees to Japanese macaques (snow monkeys) to humans, are hard-wired to console others and transmit affection by hugging. Even a reptile, a hen, and a fish look enjoy some human affection. Bears, koalas, deer, elephant, and even birds such as parrots, crows, pigeons, sparrows, peacocks love human touch. Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose showed that plants can experience sensations and feel pleasure and pain. Like birds and animals, plants also respond to human touch.  

Don’t underestimate the healing power of a hug. Just as we exercise to stay in shape and diet to stay healthy, we should make the effort to stay connected to the people. We can never get enough hugs. They are priceless gifts of unconditional love because a hug communicates a thousand words.

We take so many exams in life. And, when it is time to take your major exams, you feel butterflies in stomach, nervous, shivery hands; throat goes dry and what not happens. Very few people keep calm. A usual level of stress is good. It works to think faster and efficiently. After 15/20 minutes it improves your performance. The most important thing to remember is it’s just an exam – not the dead-end of life.

We bully ourselves badly by not taking that good 8 hrs sleep in the night before exam; we need to give our body the required rest. Studies have found that if you stay awake for 20-22 hours straight, your mental capacity simply slops like a drunkard man’s mind. Your ability to concentrate, memorize and write – literally collapses. Make sure you get an average 8 hours of sleep a night.

During your exam period you must jog/swim/dance/sing/gym at least for 30 minutes. Stop telling yourself that “I must spend every moment studying.” Exercise helps us study more effectively for various reasons. Firstly, it’s a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. Secondly, it gets blood flowing to your brain supplying oxygen, antioxidant and glucose, which can help you to think more clearly. So, activate your body and mind with minimum 30 minutes exercise. Think of daily exercise as being an investment in your final marks.

Often when we can’t think clearly and have a foggy memory, it’s because our brains need to be hydrated. While studying and taking your exams, make sure you take regular sips of water. It helps tremendously.

There is no perfect answer. So, don’t worry about writing a perfect answer. If you’re unsure, still try giving it a chance. Put it down on paper. The examiners may not give you any marks for it, but they won’t take marks off. Chances are there will always be something that you could have studied more thoroughly, give your memory a chance, and think a little and perhaps you may know the answer.

For God’s sake, don’t skip breakfast. A study has found that students who skip breakfast experience a 20-40% reduction in thinking skills. Take a low GI (glycemic) breakfast but don’t torture your body by not having anything.  Feel fuller for longer to stabilize your mood and give you plenty of energy for the day. Don’t consume caffeine though is a stimulant drug. It gives you a rush and makes you feel good in the short term, but eventually it wears off and leaves you feeling cranky and wanting more. It’s also a diuretic, so it makes you urinate, which means you lose water, become thirsty and want to drink more liquids. So avoid caffeine. Instead have some safe limewater juice or a glass of milk.

Once you get your question paper in hand, read the instructions on the question paper carefully. Spend time working on a fairly detailed plan. Don’t panic if you see everybody around you writing away. A good plan will make writing your answer much easier; a well structured answer will usually get higher marks, and if you are unable to finish an answer, but your plan indicates clearly what you were intending to write, you may in some circumstances get credit for this. If you come across a question you’re not sure on how to answer in the exam, stop for a moment and take a few deep breathes with minimum counts of 3 inhale and exhale. If you are not sure how to answer it there and then, move on to another question. Don’t get worried, the worst thing you can do is start to panic, stress really makes you stupid. Relax, give yourself little time, and start writing.

Don’t stay back after an exam to talk to your friends about finding what were their answers; instead reach home, eat and take little rest. No post-mortems. You’re more likely to depress yourself than anything else. There’s nothing you can do about it now. Go and relax and then prepare for your next exam if you have one. If you try to find answers to find whether you have done well or not you will feel anxious and lose out on your confidence for the next exam. Remember, the exam is over. There’s nothing much you can do about it, so move on and focus on the next one.

You might experience writer’s cramp in elbow and hand. This can be due to holding your pen too tight. Loosen your grip or get a pen that you won’t have to press down so hard on the paper. The reality is, even with a good pen, your elbow will start to hurt at some point if you’re taking a 3 hour exam. When it does hurt, have a rest for a few moments. Stretch your hand; press your fingers for few moments to release the pain.

To avoid last moment anxiety, visit the exam center a day prior. Arrive in good time. You will need time to find your seat. Don’t forget to carry your personal ID and examination ID. Carry 2 good pens, pencil, eraser etc. Avoid borrowing it from others in classroom. You should not disturb others.

The examination will start and finish in the stipulated time. After you finish writing your paper, check once again; you might want to draw a table/pie chart etc. And, hand over your answer sheet to the invigilator.  There is no right answer as to how much you should write. The important thing is to write as much as you can in the fixed time, but, only write what is relevant. Please remember quality of the answer matters and not the quantity. But, generally if you write little more you have a better chance of getting more points across.

And finally, academic competence and intelligence are not simple to measure and no method will fully capture the scope of a student’s ability, but the fact remains that we need at least some formal system in place to judge the competitiveness of the student’s ability, otherwise the academic system will not work. We need divisions between ability levels and the amount of experience and knowledge students actually possess, otherwise students will be in environments unsuited to them and won’t be able to learn appropriately. There is no other way to divide them than by testing them in a fair and impartial manner. Exams are therefore necessary and they are a part and parcel of our life. Learn to enjoy writing an exam. After all, it can be fun to take an exam.