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CSE 2021: Plan / Strategy / Daily Routine

Can someone suggest some hacks to maintain concentration for long hours? The more I miss deadlines, the more depressed I get and concentrating on studies becomes increasingly difficult.
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kindlesaid

Hi, everyone posting after a long time, I recently shifted places to completely give my focus to preparation, home environment was not very conducive. I can see a definite improvement in my productivity. this week I am planning on completing my backlog CA monthly magazines. Kudos to all others who have been posting consistently for the past 2 months. 

target for today is finishing October CA and starting November CA

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edit at 7.50 pm. Finished October CA, starting Nov CA now. 


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I don't know if it's too early or too silly to ask this, but how are you guys planning to revise the whole of Laxmikanth just before prelims? 
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@DeekshitaP @sjerngal Thanks a lot. I'm off to make notes now. :blush:

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I don't know if it's too early or too silly to ask this, but how are you guys planning to revise the whole of Laxmikanth just before prelims? 

Dubara padh ke.

Thank you.

2.8k views
I don't know if it's too early or too silly to ask this, but how are you guys planning to revise the whole of Laxmikanth just before prelims? 

Depends on which cycle of revision you are. PYQs+ self-made ANKI cards works for me. Someone here on forum shared this wonderful list of questions from laxmikant last year. attaching it here. Polity-Revision1051600018789.docx 

Can also head to ANKI thread to find some more resources, but be careful about the resource overkill. Good day. 

This file is GOLD. Thanks for sharing : )

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Good morning

Targets for today (7.7.21)

  1. Newspaper 
  2. CA mcq (April - May) 
  3. CA class
  4. Optional answer writing 
2.9k views

Good morning

Targets for today (7.7.21)

  1. Newspaper 
  2. CA mcq (April - May) 
  3. CA class
  4. Optional answer writing 

Found out that CA class had been cancelled. Could complete about half of the remaining targets. Guilty of wasting the day watching TBBT. Hope tomorrow turns out to be productive. 

2.4k views

Targets for today (8.7.21)

  1. Newspaper 
  2. World history notes (1/7)
  3. CA notes
  4. CA mcqs 
  5. Optional answer writing 
1.9k views

Good morning

Targets for today (7.7.21)

  1. Newspaper 
  2. CA mcq (April - May) 
  3. CA class
  4. Optional answer writing 

Found out that CA class had been cancelled. Could complete about half of the remaining targets. Guilty of wasting the day watching TBBT. Hope tomorrow turns out to be productive. 

What is a TBBT? 😶

The tv show The Big Bang Theory... 😂😂

2.6k views
How do you guys prevent sleep while studying 😴😴 sometimes even tears came out of my eyes.......any tips will be helpful 

If you like quizzing you can check out JetPunk. Their quizzes are a great pick-me-up whenever I feel sleepy. Some of their map quizzes can be pretty useful too for map-based questions.

https://www.jetpunk.com/



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Deleted
After vaccine effects are not good at all. I have been suffering from headache, little cough, dizziness and fever. People who took Covishield , pls tell for how many days this would continue and is this normal?

2 days to rest kro pura tb tk to chla hi tha baki kuch 3rd day bhi tha uske baad shi tha

Don't worry, it's completely normal. My fever ran to 104 degrees within 24 hours of vaccination. It came down to 100 after taking paracetamol. 

2.6k views
After vaccine effects are not good at all. I have been suffering from headache, little cough, dizziness and fever. People who took Covishield , pls tell for how many days this would continue and is this normal?

Don't worry, it's completely normal. My fever ran to 104 degrees within 24 hours of vaccination. It came down to 100 after taking paracetamol. 

2.6k views
Please suggest a good source for the Representation of People Act. Is it necessary to read the bare act?
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Those of you who cleared, please share some tips... 
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Those of you who cleared, please share some tips... 

Dont ignore history NCerts, especially ancient and medieval..
This is my only tip..

Will keep it in mind.😊

It's amazing to see the YPT people on the list. All the very best everyone!!!@sjerngal @LetsGetThisBread @Celeborn @HeNeArKr @Shailputri 

3.8k views

Did not know where to post.

I have few questions and doubts regarding mains preparation (one silly). People who have written mains please answer if you get time.

1. If comfortable, What was your score in previous mains and what did you learn from it- what mistakes should not be made ?

2. Which pen to use? I had seen a poll here but still could not decide. :(

@SergioRamos@LetsGetThisBread 

I scored 323 + 132 and 331 + 120 in GS + Essay (in 2019 and 2020 respectively). These are really low marks if one has any ambition of getting into the services. Here are some things I learned. 

1) Mains is as much a test of your temperament and mental strength as it is about your knowledge and writing skills.  Don't lose this battle. No matter what you have done in the past, a lot depends on how intensely and seriously you work in these 2-3 months. Atleast 9-10 hours of sitting are required are every day to boost your chances. Learn how to manage your anxiety. Learn how to be resilient (that is, how quickly you can bounce back after a setback - like a poor test score, a bad start to the day etc.). In the past two attempts, I felt these are the areas where I lacked mostly. 

2) You can't just write general answers in easy to understand words. You have to use the keywords specific to the subject + substantiate with data & figures. I made this mistake in society, social justice and governance. I just studied them from newspaper and current affairs compilations. This time I've prepared from standard sources. 

3) Practice writing. Take as much tests as you need. And write all of them on time, a) because it prepares you to be able to write answers to questions you didn't know, and b) if you postpone even one test because you're not ready, you'll postpone the subsequent tests until you end up not writing the last few tests. Again even though I enrolled for MGP+ last year, I just wrote the first 5 tests. Affected my performance in the exam hall. 

4) Don't take anything lightly. Give adequate respect for every paper. I made this mistake with the essay. Since it was supposedly my strong area, I just practiced 2-3 essays (to spend leftover time for GS + optional). In the exam I wrote a beautiful first essay. But managed my time badly plus got mentally tired. So lost a lot of marks in the second essay. 

5) Keep adequate time for revision. I'm keeping the last month exclusively for that. 

6) Decide what you're gonna do for the remaining days, fixing your sources as per the time left. Don't chase new material, compilations no matter how attractive (until and unless you feel you genuinely need it). Don't expect to cover every aspect of every topic. It's a good practice to allocate yourself the time you'll do something and then move on, even if you haven't finished. 

7) Also the answer writing video uploaded by Ayush sir last week is gold. It's a must watch. And it has showed how much was wrong with my answers. I'm working on everything he mentioned. Hoping it pays off. 

These are thoughts highly influenced by my particular failings. See what seems useful to you. Ultimately, everything depends upon how you execute what you planned, in these coming days. 


Could you please post a link of the video by Ayush sir? Can't seem to find it anywhere.

4.7k views

Did not know where to post.

I have few questions and doubts regarding mains preparation (one silly). People who have written mains please answer if you get time.

1. If comfortable, What was your score in previous mains and what did you learn from it- what mistakes should not be made ?

2. Which pen to use? I had seen a poll here but still could not decide. :(

@SergioRamos@LetsGetThisBread 

I scored 323 + 132 and 331 + 120 in GS + Essay (in 2019 and 2020 respectively). These are really low marks if one has any ambition of getting into the services. Here are some things I learned. 

1) Mains is as much a test of your temperament and mental strength as it is about your knowledge and writing skills.  Don't lose this battle. No matter what you have done in the past, a lot depends on how intensely and seriously you work in these 2-3 months. Atleast 9-10 hours of sitting are required are every day to boost your chances. Learn how to manage your anxiety. Learn how to be resilient (that is, how quickly you can bounce back after a setback - like a poor test score, a bad start to the day etc.). In the past two attempts, I felt these are the areas where I lacked mostly. 

2) You can't just write general answers in easy to understand words. You have to use the keywords specific to the subject + substantiate with data & figures. I made this mistake in society, social justice and governance. I just studied them from newspaper and current affairs compilations. This time I've prepared from standard sources. 

3) Practice writing. Take as much tests as you need. And write all of them on time, a) because it prepares you to be able to write answers to questions you didn't know, and b) if you postpone even one test because you're not ready, you'll postpone the subsequent tests until you end up not writing the last few tests. Again even though I enrolled for MGP+ last year, I just wrote the first 5 tests. Affected my performance in the exam hall. 

4) Don't take anything lightly. Give adequate respect for every paper. I made this mistake with the essay. Since it was supposedly my strong area, I just practiced 2-3 essays (to spend leftover time for GS + optional). In the exam I wrote a beautiful first essay. But managed my time badly plus got mentally tired. So lost a lot of marks in the second essay. 

5) Keep adequate time for revision. I'm keeping the last month exclusively for that. 

6) Decide what you're gonna do for the remaining days, fixing your sources as per the time left. Don't chase new material, compilations no matter how attractive (until and unless you feel you genuinely need it). Don't expect to cover every aspect of every topic. It's a good practice to allocate yourself the time you'll do something and then move on, even if you haven't finished. 

7) Also the answer writing video uploaded by Ayush sir last week is gold. It's a must watch. And it has showed how much was wrong with my answers. I'm working on everything he mentioned. Hoping it pays off. 

These are thoughts highly influenced by my particular failings. See what seems useful to you. Ultimately, everything depends upon how you execute what you planned, in these coming days. 


Could you please post a link of the video by Ayush sir? Can't seem to find it anywhere.


Thank you 🙂

4.5k views

AJ_said

Q1: I revised my notes ~ 2 layers (1 layer for some topics). These are mostly just the important IMS questions, either from their notes or test series. After that focused on practicing more and more:

- Did IMS 2020 TS in Practice Mode (only 2 tests in TEST MODE)

- Did IMS 2019 + 2018 TS in Practice Mode.

- Did Shankar 2020 TS + SuccessClap TS for Practice.

- Did PYQ 2011 to 2020 in Practice Mode 

- Any other Question Bank/Source

Revised the notes made on the basis of above.

Also revised micro notes (which are formulas + some tricks). See Kanishak Sir's Micro Notes for reference.

Q2: If you haven't done either before. I think do the PYQs from 2011 to 2020. Then move to IMS test series. But if you have done till 2011, then go for Test Series instead of going beyond 2011. This is keeping in mind the paucity of time.

Thank you for the detailed response! And wow you worked really hard!! 

@AJ_ 

This answers most of my queries too!!

I just have one more thing to ask, is it necessary to do solved examples and practice problems from standard books (MDR, Krishna series etc) ?

Also, congratulations and best of luck 😀😀

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AJ_said

@sator My advice regarding newspaper: Skip the backlog. Use a coaching compilation to get up-to date with major events. And henceforth, read newspaper regularly.


@sstarrr 

Q1: Everyone has a different strategy. And you can see this in my and Arrokoth's Case. He decided to go for very little tests and more of base material. I went for "TESTS, TESTS and MORE TESTS" type approach :D

At the end of the day, it all comes down to "reading more content, more number of times". And whether you do it by reading new material or solving more tests is entirely your choice.


Q2: I'll avoid answering this, as my answer would be biased.


Q3: I joined SFG multiple times. In short, extremely helpful. It's however to SUPPLEMENT other test series and NOT SUBSTITUTE because of the basic nature of questions asked.


Q4: Maybe try practicing more philosophical themes. Practice a broad structure, instead of writing the full essay. And do this for multiple Essay Topics. Try reading some Topper Copies too. Maybe that will help.


@Indian_Human If time is less, "delegate" the responsibility of PROBLEM SELECTION to coachings. If you still feel underconfident in a topic, then you can go for basic books. But within these 3 months, it can be avoided. As it becomes difficult to identify the stopping point in a book.


@sjerngal I mean the LEARNING PORTION and BROAD TOPICS must have been covered. That is to say, one should not be joining a course or, say start a new book on World History after 10th November. Also everyone has their own strategy, and if you feel reading a new book is crucial (even in December), please go for it. 


Thank you 😊

4.8k views

Taking a break from forum and YPT for a while.. In a complete mess at the moment... I don't know how many days will it take for me to get back to be how I was a week ago...  These few days will make or break me... 

I wish I was stronger enough to handle all this pressure and anxiety... 

Somehow, I am just not able to handle it at all right now. 

I just wish I had not qualified prelims in the first place.. I was clearly never prepared for mains. 

You're one of those people on Forum whose comments I follow regularly (silently obviously, however creepy that might sound). Clearing a prelims paper like THAT one, is a feat in itself and everyone who did that shouldn't doubt his/her capabilities. I believe this is just a phase and you'll definitely make it through. 

3k views
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