A day in my life at IIMA

By Sahil Patwa, PGP-1

Before joining the institute, I had spoken to quite a few people from IIMA and what they said about MBAs in general and IIMA in particular went something like this:

Grades, Social Life, Sleep – Choose 2 /3 …

But, I wanted to try handling all three simultaneously thinking I should be able to manage things. Well, the results are there to be seen. Here’s what happens when you try to get all three!

10:55 pm (yes, on weekends, days generally start after 6 pm) – Slam! The Managerial Computing (MC) Case-mat shut on my table, I stare at the untidy bit of code on the laptop screen (which will work…eventually!), rub my eyes, glance at the watch – its 11:00 already! Off to the library!

11:00 pm – Media Cell meeting to discuss IIMA’s Social Media strategy for the coming year! One hour of intense discussion – very exciting stuff planned ahead! (Keep following the IIMA blog, Twitter and FB Pages to find out more!)

12:15 am – Running across to the new campus, through the subway that displays the proud history of the institute. Need to run to my CV mentor. Deadlines are sacrosanct here – PlaceCom deadlines, more so!

1:55 am – This time it is a calmer walk where I chance a glance at the pictures in the tunnel and read about Vikram Sarabhai at a glance. On the way to a Section-mate’s Birthday Bash! Midway into my 3rd packet of Chips, I realize I have to rush to a meeting in 5 mins!

2:00 am – Back to the air-conditioned environs of the library! Meeting with a member of the Forum for Industry Interaction (FII) – a consulting body entirely managed by IIMA students!

I am amazed by the volume of transformational work being done within the institute as I learn more about the projects we are currently handling and our past engagements! This year promises an even better representation from the industry – can’t help but look forward to it unfolding!

3:45 am – SLEEP! (3/3!!!) The past week had been relatively light as compared to the norm, but as soon as I fell on the bed i startezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……..

10:00 am – “ALARM RINGS” – Snooze no.5! (Thank GOD it’s a Sunday!)

10:10 am – “ALARM RINGS” – again!  NEED to wake up this time!

11:00 am – Meeting with the Consult Club co-ordinator this time! I am preparing a sector report for an industry I have never worked on before. Information overload that will take quite some time to process and assimilate! Learnt about some really helpful databases and other resources –  time well spent!

Noon – Back to the dorm gathering my hazy thoughts of what to do next while making my way up the stairs. Just when I thought I saw light at the end of the tunnel, I unlock the door to my room. Complete darkness! Try to feel my way through the wall to locate the tube-light switch to ‘enlighten’ me. No amount of ‘clicking’ works.

Off to the library … AGAIN!

It is surprising how much time I have started spending in the library, especially considering the fact that during my undergrad, I went to the library twice – to enquire about the availability of Diamond Comics (supposedly that’s not crucial to our undergraduate experience!) and the other time, to get back my umbrella which I had forgotten the first time!

2:00 pm – Back to my room (the electrical maintenance team here is surprisingly quick!) I open the MC casemat again! More pieces of incomprehensible code to follow! An hour of work and I finally nail the code! The instinctive #fistpump in the air becomes a slow #facepalm, when I realise there are 3 more parts to finish!!

3:00 pm – Suddenly realise that the growling sound I’ve been hearing for some time, is actually coming from my stomach and not from the dog outside! Food! Off to disturb my neighbour – beg for some food – he’s all out ….Oh wait! He has Maggi! 😀 (Thank you, dorm microwave!)

4:00 pm – Decide to be a budding manager and schedule the rest of my day! Clear all backlogs in Financial Markets (FM) and Financial Reporting and Analysis (FRA), mostly because there is a possibility of a quiz tomorrow I am here for the learning 😉

4:45 pm – I open my eyes to find everything turned by 90 degrees! The first page of Chapter 1 is stuck to my cheek … I SLEPT AGAIN! (Ok, this seriously needs to stop!)

6:30 pm – Group Meeting! Finally, a possibility of some academic productivity!

I have never appreciated group study so much before coming here! Working along with 5 other people through cases and problems makes it so much easier!

7:45 pm – One last attempt to reconcile it– maybe it will tally this time! No such luck – I just hope I have collected enough material to explain why the Balance Sheet is not supposed to tally in the lecture tomorrow! Anyway – off to the next case

8:00 pm – Marketing (MKT) Assignment on Buyer Behaviour – my group is collating our thoughts on insights derived by shadowing buyers near some shops – So much to draw from the experience!

I see people shopping for stuff all the time, but have never noticed how much the setting, the salesperson, the time of the day and even the cell-phone the buyer uses influences buying decisions!

Anyway, right now I am stuck with the mundane task of making a presentation out of it. Thankfully we’ve all done our parts – reach the final output in no time!

9:00 pm – First decent meal of the day! At times like these, I appreciate (or at least try) the mess!

9:30 pm – Its back to studies again – still have FM, Prob Stats, MKT to read!

10:30 pm – Have some urgent work for Confluence (IIMA’s business summit) – should take an hour!

11:55 pm – Ok, it took more than that! I look at the screen, my blog page is open – almost a month and a half since the last post! I consider writing something now … Then look at my to-do list – still loads to do! Seems like there’s going to be another all-nighter.

Mental Note: this way, I will never be able to post anything!

Cognitive Dissonance …

I look at the items I’ve struck off from the list – “Hey, I actually got quite a lot done today, might as well spend some time typing something …”