Hello, people!
I have been reluctant to post on this thread earlier.
Yesterday night, I spent a good half an hour going through the posts posted by fellow aspirants and the way they have been incorporating their previous day's learnings into their following day's schedule. Forty days away from Prelims, I think I have to dive right in!
25/08/20: To start off, I will allocate today's time to Environment and Polity in the ratio 70:30.
Hello, people!
I have been reluctant to post on this thread earlier.
Yesterday night, I spent a good half an hour going through the posts posted by fellow aspirants and the way they have been incorporating their previous day's learnings into their following day's schedule. Forty days away from Prelims, I think I have to dive right in!
25/08/20: To start off, I will allocate today's time to Environment and Polity in the ratio 70:30.
It was a productive day. I have completed the Part 1 of Indian Polity by Laxmikanth (till Chapter 11); Have revised 40% of my own Environment notes. Quantitatively speaking, I have studied for 7hrs approximately.
On the flip side, I was feeling very weak due to the lack of sleep the other day. I am trying to shift my sleep schedule – from sleeping everyday at 3am to falling asleep by 11pm.
I am mostly proud of actually sticking to my study schedule (which is not my forte). A good first day!
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26/08/20: Sticking to the same two subjects, considering their weightage in Paper-1 of CSP. And, yes, try to study for more than 7hrs.
Help- how to effectively learn mapping of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries?
and is there a comprehensive source to study Buddhism and Jainism topics?
To answer your first question, the ideal thing to do is to have your own notes or a comprehensive source of various protected areas in India (including their descriptions), categorised state-wise. With 38 days left, doing that would be unwise.
However, we can't give up entirely. So, I would recommend you to have a list of protected areas with you. I am attaching my own list here.
https://www.evernote.com/l/Ajg9LeShtb9Ox4BKoKf0Qb40AB0P_6kKSZ0
1. Google Maps is your friend.
2. Regarding the list, you can search for the various Biosphere Reserves in that list, proceed to World Heritage Sites, and read Ramsar sites selectively.
3. Give yourself multiple cues on how to recall that particular protected area effectively. For instance, search for Ranthambore in Google Maps. You can just hover around that area to notice that the confluence of Banas and Chambal is near that National Park. You would also notice that it is on the Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border.
4. If you find a very important fact, note it down in the primary Environment source you are using (preferably where that Park is mentioned in your source).
Hope this helps! :)
26 & 27/08/20.
- I have completed revising Laxmikanth until Part 9;
- Revised my Environment notes; and
- Attempted Vision 16 and completed analysing my mistakes.
Not going to go beyond Part 9 in Laxmikanth anyway. Satisfied with Environment.
Regarding the number of hours I am putting in, I am now in the 8hr territory – which is an improvement, but marginally short of my targets.
Coming to the physiological aspect, I am bungling my sleep schedule yet again. My target is to be mentally alert by 8.30am at least. In reality, I am still wrapped in my blanket by that time. Have to fix that.
Also, instead of posting during the start of the day, I am going to post my daily update at the end of the day.
Plan for 28/08/20: Equally divide the number of hours to Current Affairs & New NCERTs of History and A&C.
28/08/20: Yet another productive day, although the number of hours I put in are hardly increasing. I am plateauing at 8hrs. The thought of "at least, I am being consistent" is driving me while we approach the D-Day.
- completed just the first two chapters of Themes in India Part 1;
- dedlcated a significant chunk of time to Current Affairs – arranging my notes, printing it out, and reading it.
Plan for tomorrow: allotting the entire day for CA. The postponement of CSP20 sure made CA bulkier than usual. :P
29/08/20.
The situation I was dreading about has hit me today. I got burned out.
I was at crossroads – choosing either to continue studying to the point of exhaustion or to take the day off. I chose latter. Since 2pm, I did not read/do anything remotely connected to this exam.
I learnt that Chadwick Boseman has passed away. I admit that I had no knowledge of his work apart from his role in The Avengers franchise. So, went through his profile on IMDB to stumble uponMarshall (2017). What better way to honour a person's life than to celebrate his/her work?
Watched the movie; admired Boseman's work. More importantly, was inspired by the work of Thurgood Marshall (1908-93). Spent a good time of my day-off researching about him. And then, a thought struck me.
Why do I only get to know about people's work (and admire them) once they are gone? Chadwick Boseman is a case in point. Closer to home, I only got to know about the work of Leila Seth once she has passed away in 2017 and when Mint reported on it. I learnt that she had published On Balance,her autobiography way back in 2003. When I completed reading that book, I was both happy and distraught. Happy because she remains a beacon to many young girls across the world; distraught because I learnt about her in 20–SEVENTEEN.
Spent the rest of my day having a face-to-face conversation with my childhood friend for three hours on the terrace. A day well spent. :)
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Target for tomorrow: Pick where I have left off. Get on with those Current Affairs.
Hopefully, this rejuvenation will help me in my productivity.
01/09/20.
Well, here we are! In the month of September.
30 days to Prelims; and add another 3 months to the mix, there's CSM 2020!
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First things first, I am guilty of not posting for the past couple of days. I promise to be regular from here on.
Today was an especially productive day. I always lacked in the number of hours I put in consistently everyday. What generally happens is that I tend to taper off once I reach 7-8hr mark. I lose interest and tend to plan for the next day. I got some advice regarding how to go beyond that mark. It worked like a charm.
So, to whoever is struggling with the same problem as mine: Try to divide the day into two equal halves; Nap for 45 minutes in between – which splits the day into two and gives the brain a much needed reset; Sleep for 7-7.5hrs in the night. Voila! You feel fresh for the whole day with no yawns or concentration lapses.
I have given three tests – Vision 37, Vajiram 24 and 23 – today. Solved and completed analysing them. Felt pretty good about the progress I have made.
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I will continue to solve tests tomorrow too.
I hope all my fellow travellers are staying healthy and productive during our common pursuit.
Until tomorrow.
