Hi All, I am not sure if I was the oldest here among the aspirants for 2019 but definitely not the youngest.
Have been an upsc aspirant since 2011. Yes it's been 9 long years.
Brief about me-
Graduate from a decent national college in engineering
Working professional in a reputed MNC in India
6 Prelims, 5 Mains and 4 interviews (no guesses on why the name now 😊)
3 years of teaching upsc aspirants, proud to have 2 of them clearing the exam in 2017 and 2018.
Hoping for another 3 to break the ranks in 2020. (Watch out 😋)
The Gyan-
1. Working in a private firm, you need to know how to manage your time both for preparation and work life balance.
2. For working people, discipline is the key and there is no substitute to it. My schedule transformed to waking up at 4 and scrapping away 2-3 hrs on weekdays for preparation and 10-12 hrs on weekends. Define weekly hours of preparation and move your way forward, last weeks acceleration is of little use
3. Always and always seek professional help in your preparation and areas of syllabus(most of us have not even read the actual syllabus completely- I did read it completely only after 3rd attempt). Joining classes for mains and optional is important - Don't think you can read and know it on your own in isolation. Study in a class and have a group to discuss your newly acquired knowledge.
4. Choose your optional wisely. I had geography as my optional (and I have taught 2 batches of students of it as well 😊). It wasn't my core +2 subject nor was it my graduation subject. Hence if you pick such an optional, join a class and seek coaching from a regular teacher. It will only help you as the person teaching you knows better on providing conceptual clarity and better understanding of the topic. Also his/her analysis of previous year papers is not something easy to find.
5. It's not about the number of books you read, it's about re-reading the same old multiple times. ( Golden Rule). Authors of any book cant change the facts on the ground, hence all books are good in terms of content. For conceptual clarity some are better, but for that refer point 4.
6. Dont plan multiple times on your strategy, just execute any strategy once. That's the most important thing to remember. We usually plan more than execution.
7. Maintain a work life balance - Dont over burden your self with preparation and think this exam is your life and only career option. Take breaks, they actually ease your mind to prepare better. Extended studying days develop mental fatigue and builds frustration. So take small breaks to meet your friends, go for a trip or something that your like.
8. Analyse the papers and even your mocks on what went wrong and what went right as well. Usually aspirants dont analyse their answers but only check their mark ( inclusive of prelims as well).
9. Know where to stop, many topics are always over prepared and few under prepared. You should have a balance of ticking off all the points of the syllabus. Any topic you read you should only have about 500 words of notes on it and not more. There can only be one question and one question only on a topic. Hence maintain a balance within the syllabus.
10. Key areas missed by many aspirants -
a) Give mocks essays - atleast 5 to 6
b) Focus on ethics paper, it's not a book to read or knowledge to acquire in a couple of weeks but a process of atleast a month or two
c) Read newspapers of atleast two years before appearing.
d) Dont give multiple back to back attempts, take a break and prepare better. Then give it your last and best shot.
Overall, gyan as always thoda lamba hee hota hai.
Currently I have no regrets or feeling of sadness about the missed opportunity. Just enjoy the process it will transform you completely and you need to feel proud of your hardwork that you have been putting.
Always there to assist and help anyone in their prep.
Thanks if you have read it till the end. Hope it was of value to you.
Cheers
