How well you succeed in UPSC CSE heavily depends upon time management, especially during the preparation stage. Time is indeed the most important resource an IAS aspirant has in hand as per leading all India civil service coaching centre Chennai.
Every test-taker has the same 24 hours in a day. How they utilize those 24 hours for IAS preparation can impact your score. Those who do it efficiently will pass with flying colors. Those who squander away the time will have to sit for the exam for another year.
Given how crucial time management is to clear the civil services examination, here are ten guidelines for IAS aspirants.
- When creating a time-table, pen down an achievable goal. For example, thinking you will read the next 20 pages in 20 minutes is an unrealistic aim. Even if you do it, your brain will not retain the majority of it. Therefore, design your IAS preparation strategy with attainable tasks, such as “I will complete this topic in 3 days.”
- Create a study plan that spans only three months. Anything more is unproductive. During those 12 weeks don’t make drastic changes to the schedule. Little adjustments are okay but keep them to the bare minimum. Try to adhere to the plan as much as possible.
- The study plan should not be exhaustive, i.e., it should not account for every second of every day. A rough timeline for targets and goals is much more doable.
- After you have accomplished a task or assignment, always assess it. The evaluation will tell you if any value addition occurred or not.
- Every day should have a reading slot. It could be an NCERT textbook or the newspaper, but read every day for 2 to 3 hours. During this time, keep the mobile away as it is the biggest time-waster of all.
- Always set aside time for mock and practice test. Answering previous years question papers is one of the best ways to prepare for the IAS exam. It not only adds knowledge but also helps you learn how to answer all questions in a limited time.
- Make a strict routine for the day and follow it. For instance, get 6 to 8 hours of sleep, slot out 6 to 9 hours for studying and keep 1 hour for breaks and physical exercise. Creating regular routine trains your mind and body to perform better. Remember, if you make changes to the routine, it will not be beneficial.
- A lot of IAS aspirants waste time in asking advice and tips from others. Every other test-taker they meet or a current IAS officer, they will ask for the formula for success. You may think of it as time well spent, but it is not. Focus on your strategy because only you know the best way of directing your efforts.
- When you are designing a time-table or study plan, do not create a Plan B. That way leads to failure. If you want to succeed, you need to have one clear and set path to follow. A back-up plan seeds doubts and loopholes, precisely what you don’t need for civil services preparation.
- The last trick to managing time while studying for the UPSC CSE is to make smart utilisation of time. The idea is not to consume the maximum time possible in a day for studies. It is to make optimum use of the hours at hand.
The Final Few Words:
A well-known all India civil service coaching centre Chennai advice to always set aside time for revision. 40% of the time should be set for new readings and 60% of the time for revision because without revision; you will not recall even a single topic.
Chanakya once said that a delay of even a moment could lead to a loss. Therefore, an IAS aspirant should not waste even a second executing a plan once it is made. A second lost here is a mark lost in the Prelims exam. So, use the time management tips given above and get cracking now! The sooner you begin studying, the better your chances of success.
