CSE 2021: Plan / Strategy / Daily Routine
Hello 2021 aspirants. I thought it would be nice if we can share what we are doing and intend to do with one another here.
This could be a thread for discussing everything prep for 2021.
No one method fits all but to see the plans and progress made by fellow aspirants might help with the finer details of preparation and also keep one on track.
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Targets for the day:
1. 4 Econ booklets
2. 1 backlog booklet
3. Incidentals
Did nothing except 3. And even 3 was barely done. Ugh why are my productivity levels constantly on a roller coaster?! Feeling unwell today, will go to bed early. Tomorrow was supposed to be my designated break day, but I haven't been productive enough to take one full day off. So tomorrow's my half break day. Will try to clear off as much backlog as I can. No new targets.
Hi friend, its alright to have up-down-right-left productivity days. I would say that take your break day tomorrow as you’d initially planned. You’ll be more replenished after that. There’s no use in punishing yourself, it rarely ever helps in increasing productivity, or so I have noted in my case. Take your break as a bit of a reset so that you can approach your targets from a fresh perspective. I also try not to turn my break days into rewards that I must necessarily work towards because then I end up resenting the work i have to do in order to achieve my rest day. Take a rest day because you need it, not because you feel you’ve completed X amount of work for it. It helps to decouple the frustration you feel at not having achieved your targets.
Just a bit of free ki advice, feel free to disregard it if it doesn’t resonate with you. :)
Agree 100%. For me, even half a day break with my favourite meal+ ice cream and a full sleep without alarm does the trick!
Treat yo’ self
Hi friend, its alright to have up-down-right-left productivity days. I would say that take your break day tomorrow as you’d initially planned. You’ll be more replenished after that. There’s no use in punishing yourself, it rarely ever helps in increasing productivity, or so I have noted in my case. Take your break as a bit of a reset so that you can approach your targets from a fresh perspective. I also try not to turn my break days into rewards that I must necessarily work towards because then I end up resenting the work i have to do in order to achieve my rest day. Take a rest day because you need it, not because you feel you’ve completed X amount of work for it. It helps to decouple the frustration you feel at not having achieved your targets.
Just a bit of free ki advice, feel free to disregard it if it doesn’t resonate with you. :)
Thank you for the message! I absolutely agree with the idea of decoupling breaks from productivity. That's something that I've been trying to work towards too. But I have such little self control that I ended up doing some fun things that I had reserved for my break bit by bit already :( So I also don't have things that I want to be doing tomorrow haha.
Another reason I was thinking of cutting down the break by half was because I find it really hard to get back in the groove when I restart. Let's see what tomorrow brings us though!
Haha no worries, tomorrow is full of possibilities :)
whatonly,fortarach63
17/6/21
Maths remaining portion of Reimann Integral done
CA class done
Ethics 1 answer written (out of 2)
Newspaper done
I had a slow start. Today was the first day lockdown began easing in our area. So went to buy some stuff in the morning. Spent about an hour doing that. Oh how beautiful is the outside world! I never ever thought I'd miss traffic this much :P
Once I came back, I found it difficult to focus. My study sessions were in bits and pieces.
Whatever meaningful work I did, I got it done post 7pm. Before that everything was scattered.
One thing that helped me push myself late in the day was the realization that I had failed to hit my targets for some days in a row. This despite me setting mediocre targets. A further failure today would have been bad news. The thought of posting about this here gave me some motivation to study more. So I did my best to somehow get to a respectable level.
Tomorrow I'll try to increase my output a bit. Targets are uniform convergence in Maths (one of my most feared topics), current affairs class, ethics 2 answers, newspapers
So Goodnight all gentle, loving and wonderful peeps :) (plus every other adjective you desire).
Keep striving y'all!
Went quite off track in past two days. I was living without pretty much everything except telegram to keep distractions at bay. Mood swings got me to install bumble and activated my insta account. Completely lost sense of preparation mood tab. Back in the business now. :)
A friend called up to remind my target of attempting mains 2020 paper as simulation in feb. Massive guilt trip. Starting with ethics vision test, I'm hopeful of writing that in July mid. Let's see.
I started studying after 4 pm instead of morning. Still, was able to take out 5.5 hours post that. Starting with thermo today, almost 1/3rd of the portion got covered. Now that I'm finally in sync, I hope tomorrow would be a productive day too. It's always sweet if your day is bittersweet and sweet is how you end.
Someone over this thread mentioned how one shouldn't take the complete day as a whole but in different sessions. If you didn't do well in morning and afternoon sessions, don't wait for another day. You still have half of the day left. Thanks to whoever mentioned this.
I hope I'm able to internalise enough hawabazi in ethics to write the answers. :)
Woah! Probably for the first time since the second lockdown and library getting closed, I'm able to finish the target. 
Planning to do answer writing for ethics tomorrow as well and write a vision ethics test by the weekend. Thermo should get over in a similar time frame as well.
Random cliche advice but worth highlighting again =>you feel sad as you couldn't study but now you can't study as you're sad. Break the chain :)
Good morning peeps!
18.6.21
PSIR- Financial organisations
Ethics
Daily C/A
Editorial- IE+ Hindu
AWP
Writing with right hand
Its great to know that its a Friday already, not that it means anything for us, but here’s me clinging to the vestiges of normalcy and celebrating mentally as part of the “one foot forward at a time” plan. Here we goooooo *spongebob theme song intensifies*
Contrary to my wishes, today turned out to be a very unproductive day. Since my sleep cycle isn't really in sync, the body forced me to sleep in the morning itself. Although the second half still ensured that the day didn't go entirely to waste.
Things done:
- Modern Algebra Theory (40% complete)
- Ethics Answer Writing
Targets:
- Modern Algebra Theory (Try to finish half of ring theory)
- Modern Algebra PYQs
- Ethics Answer Writing
The good: Finally getting back in touch with writing decent answers.
The bad: My nemesis Modern Algebra is still as bad in my third reading as it was in my first! Going to delay Society VAM until I get a hold on it.
Things done:
- Modern Algebra Theory (60%)
- Ethics Answer Writing
- Modern Algebra PYQs (few)
Targets
- Finish Modern Algebra Theory
- Modern Algebra PYQs (1/3)
- Ethics Answer Writing
- Newspaper
Realised that I'm going to forget the proofs irrespective of how well I do them now. Have shifted that to post prelims period now. Time to solve PYQs and get in the groove!
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