Inefficient Aging

I am not an early riser, but some of the most productive study hours I have experienced have been at the wee hours of the morning during my High school days. I can still remember waking up to a warm cup of coffee prepared by mom and getting ready to devour a chapter on the Treaty of Versailles or reading about the Mineral Ore sites in Bihar. Before the first ray of sun could filter into my den, I would have already dealt with 3-4 chapters of Algebra. 2 1/2 hours of pure dedication.

Things stayed the same through junior college as I prepared for the IIT entrance examination. 104 weeks of early rising later, I had finally attained what then seemed like, the Final Frontier. As I reflect back, I am convinced that that phase was the peak of my efficiency curve and things have only gone downhill since then. The undergrad days were corrupted with numerous distractions like new found independence, new friend circle, Internet, TV etc. Things had changed from a mere "single textbook" learning to a "library rifling" concept oriented learning. Courtesy of this new lifestyle, Early Risings were supplanted by Night Outs. Things got even worse at graduate school - unlimited broadband internet access, 120 channels at finger tips, unlimited Mp3 & Mpeg sharing contributed to a steeper decline in the learning curve. The only 4 hours that I spent studying yesterday, for my Marketing exam, involved an episode of Seinfeld & Southpark, checking mail at every 30 minutes, answering a phone call, and gorging food !!!

So is this just me ? At the risk of generalising based on my immediate friend circle, I would say that this problem plagues a majority of us. I know a lot of people who seem to be working longer than normal just to cover their inefficiencies. To work longer, you end up taking more breaks - coffee, internet, tv, music etc which further increases longevity of the task in hand. To some extent this seems like a vicious circle. So is this downfall in effeciency wrought by the explosion in multimedia and www and the their easy accessibility or is it just the aging process ? As we age, we seem to have more responsibilities to deal with, which sometimes tethers the brain with a plethora of concerns. Popular belief is that our brain is sharpest and can learn the fastest when we are kids. Although, I haven't seen a scientic proof of this myth.

I wish I could concentrate and study like yesteryears when I had no email account and the only channels on my TV were DD1 & DD2 ! The information age seems to have ushered us with great tools like powerful computers, universal library etc, and greatly enhanced our resources and capabilities. But, I guess it also shares blame for taking a huge slice out of our efficiency. It's probably a coincidence that I grew up in a time which saw such a revolution in media and communication. I wonder whether I would have been mentally more efficient at this age if I grew up 5 decades ago !

I am sure there are plenty of exceptions to this rule - people who have sustained a high level of dedication and continue to work as efficiently, if not more efficiently. Probably, this is what demarcates successful people from others.