With hardly 10 days in hand you might be thinking what more can I do to ensure that I am way above cut-off and make it through to Mains Exam to be held later this year.
Different thoughts and different kind of energies would be engulfing you. At some point you will feel motivated and confident given that you did what was required. You would try to self-belief that all that was in your hand you did and if even this does not help then it's not your fault. Yet at other times you would feel low, irritated given that you wasted your time watching web series or not completing the test series on time.
In this post I will give you my tips that have helped me clear Prelims back to back 3 times and what failed me twice. Give this post a read till the end and I shall try to motivate and guide you as much as I can.
Lets talk positive first. You are reading this post because you want to get tips, and are still trying to do better of what you have. Building upon this thought I would say the first thing to do is to NOT PANIC.
Look at the chart below:
Try to gauge what all are you confident in. Leave the section called Miscellaneous and Current Affairs. If you have not prepared it then there is no point reading it now as it is hardly going to bring any value. I have tried it couple of times to mug up as much Current Affairs I can but it hasn't helped. The cost benefit is very less.
If you see the chart you would notice that I have give History and Polity as double stars compared to other sections. It is because from my experience I have felt that it is easier to answer them and the number of questions asked are relatively more. So, the cost benefit is very high here. Nevertheless, Environment, Economy, Geography, Culture and Science do matter a lot. I have been very confident in Economy and Geography because my basics were always good.
Coming to the point, if you see the chart and feel that there is a section which you are not confident enough or feel that you have not prepared it well then please rub through the basics ASAP. Put one hour either at 6AM (if you are an early riser) or 5PM (if you are evening walker) to read through the key terms on this subjects. DO NOT READ STANDARD BOOKS OR LENGTHY TOPICS NOW. Just read the key terms, try to make mind maps and revise when you walk, meditate or go for nature's call.
Now, if you have problems finding the basic material for key terms, read through my blog.. On my main page I have segregated pages based on GS 1, GS 2 etc. Let say you want to read the Key terms / topics for Geography, go to Mains GS - 1 (Useful for Prelim) and then go to GS 1 - Notes on Geography. Under this I shall have my hand written as well as typed notes. DO A SELECTIVE READING.
What is SELECTIVE READING? Chose the terms/topics you are not aware of. Read them. If you are struggling to understand then leave it. There is no point wasting your time now on that topic as it would only increase your anxiety. REMEMBER, every hour in the coming next days are equivalent to one day of your life. TREAT IT THAT WAY.
Giving 14 hours a day for next 10 days would mean putting in nearly 4 months of SMART WORK!
FOCUS on HISTORY and POLITY as much as you can. If you already have your notes just skim through key terms. Make MIND MAPS as to which term belongs to which section. For eg, HIGH COURTS come under which PART of Indian Constitution. Questions can be as easy as this. Similarly, do High Courts in India have power to review their own judgements? Yes, that's where the concept of being a court of record (Article 215) comes into play. It is yet another debate that it cannot be arbitrary. But we leave that discussion for MAINS Exam.
So in SHORT --- REVISE and READ KEY TERMS.
REFER MY NOTES for all the TERMS and my own idea on WHAT IS IMPORTANT. These have helped me get high marks consistently and qualify in PRELIMS.
NOW COMING to the PAPER II - which is very important if you really want to WRITE MAINS. Anything less than 67 and your all efforts and wishes for this coveted exam will go WASTE. If you notice I have secured 140 in my last attempt and I think this gives me the privilege to guide you on this section as well.
My strength in Aptitude paper comes from two parts - My ability to read passages quite fast and the ability to solve reasoning questions easily. But this strategy is VERY RISKY. Given the time available is very less. You need to solve questions on Quantitative as well as Reasoning types. For this now is the BEST TIME to start if you haven't already done it. STARTING TODAY, I SHALL POST solved Questions on my BLOG where I will take similar questions to what has been asked in the past and give you IDEA as well as FORMULA to solve this in EXAM. This is based on my back to back experiences in writing Prelim as well as qualifying them.
So coming towards to the END of this POST, LIFT up your spirits. If you are CONFIDENT then practise MOCK QUESTIONS (do NOT go for new TESTs NOW).
Now is the time to BUILD CONFIDENCE. CONFIDENCE comes from reading more and getting correct answers to questions that are related to what you have just read. IF YOU KEEP SOLVING TESTS now you will have no time to READ. You will FEEL MENTALLY EXHAUSTED. Added to that, if you don't give your tests well or get low scores you will FEEL DEJECTED. Believe me, getting failed even for 1 marks is possible in this exam and it WOULD HURT you very BADLY for next ONE YEAR.
After all the strategy lets talk about things which are METAPHYSICAL. PRACTICE the BELOW for next 10 days and make it part of your life until MAINS and if possible throughout the END of your LIFE.
1. STOP WATCHING MOBILE early in the morning (i.e. in 1 hour of your wake-up) and late in the night (i.e. 1 hour before sleep).
2. Any time you feel restless, anxious, or start losing the peace of mind or some thoughts keep repeating continuously -- then -- LIE DOWN on your BED, CLOSE your EYES, CHANT some MANTRA.. you will feel relaxed in few minutes.. then walk towards your glass of water kept on table/kitchen and drink ONE FULL GLASS OF WATER...
3. WALK on TERRACE or in the PARK for 15 minutes at least ONCE in the DAY. YOU CAN TALK TO YOURSELF but DONT KEEP THINKING. Movement of BODY and LOOKING OUTSIDE actually opens your mind and makes you feel slightly better. Remember anything that makes you feel better without losing PHYSICAL and MENTAL ENERGY for days to come is what you should DO.
4. Drink WATER every 2 hours. EAT BANANA every day.
5. KEEP your table clean. ONLY one BOOK at a time even if you plan to read another in some hours.
6. AVOID TALKING TO PEOPLE especially for more than 10 minutes at a stretch. You have less time now so better AVOID wasting a single minute.
7. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION is the KEY to LONG TERM HAPPINESS. Remember, this is your choice and your hard work. Results will also be your's to enjoy. OTHERS will come and say what they want.. you should not distract because of them or their action.
8.STAY Clean and keep good HYGIENE. Brush, Shit, Bath on time. Inculcate all the values of a gentleman /woman. This is required not only in INTERVIEW of Civil Services but also in all walks of life. YOU ARE STRONG, ELEGANT and GRACIOUS.
9. Don't let PAST hinder your current. PAST is meant to be PAST. Even Gandhiji had his PAST but still people of his time respected him. Because he believed in PRESENT. He lived in truth of the moment. So, be the change you want to see. Remember, tomorrow you will have to be empathetic towards others and even forgive them. UNTIL you have the strength and wisdom to come out of your own past and FORGIVE yourself it will be difficult to forgive others.
WISH you all the BEST.
let me know in comments if you have some doubts, questions.. or you felt like I could have added more in this post...
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