Well this will be my first comment on this thread,
I failed the prelims and next yr will be the 3rd prepared attempt, was a silent follower of the 2022 thread, will try to be more active this time around. Nice to see some familiar faces.@LetsGetThisBread @D503 @Ghostwalker @DM
Have joined YPT group of this thread, have also joined MGP which is starting from tomorrow, we can make a group for the same , if anyone has already made a group, kindly invite me.
My optional is Philosophy (If there's anyone with the same, feel free to dm).
Lets have a productive next year guys :)
i am preapring from home
and i have a broad plan of completing syllabus, but
i cant figure out how to PLAN revision
i dont have any peers, no coaching
joined forum pre test series but its schedule doesnt align with the broad plan so i havent given any tests yet
this is my first attempt
and i am mainly concern about revision strategy
please give advice
thankyou
You could start by broadly dividing the syllabus over the remaining months of the year and trying to revise in large blacks. Alternatively, you could also peg your revision schedule to a test series schedule. Usually they happen once a week so you can keep that much portion to be revised in that week. This might be a systematic method of completing revisions if you have no clue about how much time to allocate to finishing off your syllabus.
It is said to make your revision schedule daily , weekly and monthly for longer retention.
Personally i think its very hard to do especially when you have a large chunk of syllabus hanging over your head.
I have in my previous attempts revised on an circular basis , i.e. when all subjects have been read, come back to subject 1 .
Not recommended.
Now, I am trying to allocate 1 day a week for revision.
Also @Raksh2100 I am writing MGP 2023, will starting writing from this weekend,
If there is anyone else, please DM or reply here , It would be good to discuss MGP specific things.
Here after 1 week , was under the weather
Also tried to change the schedule (waking up at 4am) , was successful
for about 8 days
woke up today too, but was too bored so took a break and slept , anyways may try it again
Good last too days, long time after i completed the targets along with it
@LetsGetThisBread @mightyraju Isn't Delhi governance model good . I was sold on it , with the Mohalla clinics and all..
Mom (except last season)
Today my 6 year old headphone lost a limb and that prompted me to introspect about my own tortuous journey into the abyss of cse. Am i also not being worn down by circumstances, chewed by the sharp teeth of time,consumed by profound grief and guilt, undermined by my sheer lack of discipline. My hairs are graying , my health is deteriorating , my parents are growing old, my friendships have passed into the black hole of oblivion. What am I doing with my life.
A mocking voice came wafting from next room : making a mountain out of a molehill.
"It's just a headphone silly",shouted my sister over her lungs in her quirky voice.
" Would it have killed you to feign some sympathy", said I.
" I don't have any sympathy for petty bourgoise who plunge into existential crisis for a stupid overpriced product of a capitalist system that exploits the labour of the third world poor workers ,and that makes a lot of noise about sustainability and ESG corporate pradigm to whitewash its products; and then sell these products to the same gullible bourgeoisie who lap it up, thanks to the blietzkrieg of modern marketing techniques that have succeeded in transforming the multidimensional man into a unidimensional consuming man who defines his identity in terms of what he owns, and of which brand", came the retort.
Needless to say my mood was runined and i knew exactly the thing that could cheer me up. So , i went out to have a pizza at bominos. After that i went to the shopping mall to buy some expensive branded tshirts (made in Bangladesh in a sweatshop) , and some Jodhpurs at a steep discount( they said it's limited time deal so my fomo kicked up and i forgot that they have been offering the same discount since forever. Great strategy, mark your product at 7k give 3 k discount and it's still expensive af) . nevertheless, After suffusing myself with capitalistic gratification , my senses were pleasantly calmed. Took an uber back home and gladly reasured my self with ' Isn't life amazing'.
Oh! About those headphones. The company just released a new improved version which will make me feel as if the celestial nymphs themselves are doing a live concent in front of my eyes. This made me wet at my mouth, that is to say i was salivating like Tommy , my neighbour's dog. Cant wait to get my hands on them, that is to say the headphones , not the dog. I hate dogs. They remind of my own pavlovian conditioning.
Marx cheers for you and your sister :)
@SergioRamos @LetsGetThisBread @sjerngal Thanks for the inputs , even though it wasn't my question, appreciate it.
I am myself in the process of making notes. And it is so much hard work, I envy people who have already done it.
Up until now, I have been consistent in my prep, at 70 percent i would say, but was orienting more towards Routine based study, like 8 hrs nikalne hai, 3 subah 3 din me 3 sham me. Even when i was posting targets, this routine was always at the back of my mind. And therefore, i think, i failed and changed targets.
Reorienting strongly towards weekly goals process, This is for the 1st week
Zyada nahi hai , but i want to put a green highlight on them very strongly.
@SergioRamos @LetsGetThisBread @sjerngal Thanks for the inputs , even though it wasn't my question, appreciate it.
I am myself in the process of making notes. And it is so much hard work, I envy people who have already done it.
Up until now, I have been consistent in my prep, at 70 percent i would say, but was orienting more towards Routine based study, like 8 hrs nikalne hai, 3 subah 3 din me 3 sham me. Even when i was posting targets, this routine was always at the back of my mind. And therefore, i think, i failed and changed targets.
Reorienting strongly towards weekly goals process, This is for the 1st week
Zyada nahi hai , but i want to put a green highlight on them very strongly.
Happy Rakshabandhan to all of you.
Hi guys, prep wise things are going okay. Not great, not too bad either. Writing tests and doing newspaper regularly, although syllabus completion is not upto satisfaction.
Need some advice on non-academic problems. The thing is I have two crippling addictions that are affecting my efficiency a lot.
One is my smartphone,(YouTube and reddit) I know that I have to stop it and reduce it. There are a few days when I have it under control and then it goes haywire again. I tried reducing the time, locking my phone etc but doesn't work in the long run. I somehow slip off. When this smartphone addiction is at it's peak my sleep cycle gets disrupted and preparation also gets affected due to erratic timings.
And the other is addiction for sweets and chocolates. Late night snacking is one problem. Also during the day I have my fill and sometimes doze off, again wasting my time. My parents also don't seem to bother with my unhealthy eating habits.
Both the problems are quite long term and started primarily in college as a sort of escape from stress. Haven't been able to shake it off even after 1.5 years of graduating.
Can you guys suggest some ways to overcome this? I am putting around 4-5 hours of productive study every day but I want to get around 7-8 benchmark. Please help a fellow UPSC marathon runner out.
I am suffering from this too, phone addiction i mean , however it's not long hours of phone, its the lack of focus i develop after using phone/ screens/ seasons.
Past 2 weeks have been bad due to this. However i have managed it in the past, and i will manage it.
Things that have worked for me in past
1) Don't use screens for entertainment/any notifications etc. , until at least 3-4 hours of waking up and studying.
Develop pockets where you allow yourself to enjoy it. e.g After lunch , after dinner. Attaching it with another activity will make for a fix starting time.
2) Delete Reddit. Its cancer. (Already don't use twitter)
3) A good habit is to replace your entertainment needs with something less addictive. E.g. music
4) Meditate
I have found i gravitate and get tempted more when i am stressed and don't have a clear headspace. Meditation helps (which is also not easy, I've heard but again attaching with another activity has worked for me. )
Anyways these have worked for me, there are also some other improvements I will be trying. There are also some other extreme measures you can try like if you live with your parents, deposit it to them and tell them when you'll be using it again, for how much time.
Depends on how extreme you want to go. I've heard of a stanford professer who locks his phone in his car when he feels too much tempted by it.
Just realised, 3 months have passed since Prelims, 2 months since the results. I am preparing way too slowly and unproductively.
All i have to show for past 2 months, is GS2 and around 1/3rd of the optional.
If this is the way i will move i should forget about selection
This weeks targets
And i tried to not do daily goals, switching back to it again for accountability
Not a good day yesterday, Didn't achieve most targets.
Also I need some help, Are there people here who have completed Economy via Mrunal notes ?
How are you managing, I have completed at least 2-3 revisions still find myself struggling due to the amount of information and bulkiness. All suggestions welcome. 
P.S. Also please tell if you have joined Forum CA classes .. Was thinking about it but then i realised most of the syllabus will be an overlap with Mrunal
Science background here
Boss, can you be a Lil bit more specific as to what you really want to internalise and memorise?
Concepts of polity can be understood by creating algorithms of 'if,not and while format' eg. All three emergencies.
If you want to understand the philosophy behind it, then that's a different ball game.
While to retain those articles you'll need to juxtapose them. How is A358 different than A359 etc.
You can also try to understand the ordering of articles.
A constitution of a country would first want to define what the country is, it's boundaries, it's citizens and it's state etc. Hence A(1-12) and so on.
@Morticia Science background too
I think above advice by Siddhant is pretty good "If, not, while format" pretty much sums my approach.
May be you can also try to develop an interest in Polity, Its beautiful (in some aspects). And if you would like a fresh perspective on Polity you can try the Magna Carta crash course by Atish mathur sir, free on youtube. Its pretty short.
@SiddhantW Thanks. Also,nothing specific per se. Just an overall hold on the subject.
@Aazaad I'll surely have a look at the course, thanks for suggesting.
Also, can you guys give an example of the "If, not, while format" for clarity.
Most basic scenarios will be - "If bill passed by a house what happens , if not what happens"
"If governor reserves a bill what happens, goes to president , if passed again what happens"
If you've anything specific in mind, please go ahead.
You can also use comparison and contrasting between functions and powers of bodies/post etc.
Refer to PYQs to ensure you are learning right things and not worrying about memorizing stuff that doesn't matter. It was the biggest problem in my prep.
Have not been posting targets since many days. Bcoz not been able to complete targets since then. Have been reading though. Best wishes to you@Tata
Joined a reading room, there are no upsc aspirants there (Tier 2 city issues) , no known people. Kewal 5 ghante sannata aur painful chair.
Read an emotional article on Supreme court , thought i'll share
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/four-years-after-landmark-lgbt-verdict-the-march-to-full-citizenship-8132569/
Posting targets for tomorrow-
"Dost banana h toh dost dhoondo, sirf preparation mates nahi. You’ll feel less lonely, if you make friends whom you intend to stay in touch with beyond this preparation as well, irrespective of whether you actually end up doing that or not."
Lines to remember @LetsGetThisBread , also pretty hard to do at least for me.
@Ghostwalker There are already such good advices on this thread. Would just like to just add , Sometimes Acceptance is the way forward.
“Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final” – Rainer Maria Rilke
@Tata Happy to hear about your progress. May you recover very very soon and be back to the grind with a much stronger physical and mental being. Also, Sapne dekhne se hi poore hote hain so why not! Glad you're dreaming again.Manifesting Dher saara juice and fruits your way (well because abhi manifest hi kar sakte hain XD)
Keep doing well@Tata . All the best wishes to you.
वो लोग बहुत ख़ुश-क़िस्मत थे
जो इश्क़ को काम समझते थे
या काम से आशिक़ी करते थे
हम जीते-जी मसरूफ़ रहे
कुछ इश्क़ किया कुछ काम किया
काम इश्क़ के आड़े आता रहा
और इश्क़ से काम उलझता रहा
फिर आख़िर तंग आ कर हम ने
दोनों को अधूरा छोड़ दिया
Faiz Ahmed faiz ♥️♥️
@mightyrajuOkay.. Yep thats another approach.
@DancingMasterKyu le rhe ho bhai zindagi se break, UPSC is a part of life
