Today’s world has become a more distracting place. Ever-increasing interruptions impact UPSC aspirant's productivity and if remain unchecked could end up in the catastrophic result. In this article, we will be sharing few feasible ways in which a student can improve both his efficiency and productivity-two most important attributes in civil services examination preparation.
1. Develop
a plan/routine:Aspirants feel that they are running against the time as
they are under a constant popular belief that everything under the sun should
be known and that too in a limited amount of time. A student should
always remember that UPSC has a well-defined syllabus and it is incumbent upon
him/her to follow it religiously and sincerely. UPSC is less a platform to
evaluate your knowledge and more to show how effective one has outlined his
strategy that should preferably be weekly and executed the same for the exam.
It becomes imperative for a candidate to design an executable strategy.
An organized way of study
consumes less time and increases productivity as aspirant defines a
well-demarcated boundary under which he navigates. One must heed to the saying
that, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
2. Revision
and Mock papers:We all have heard the cliché that “practice makes a man
perfect” and certainly clichés have their own value. A timely revision is a
sine qua non for this exam especially because one has to study so many
different subjects. Revision increases our productivity as it helps us in remembering
topics, facts, concepts that we have studied and equally make us more efficient
as we become well acquainted with the subject and syllabus. It also increases
our confidence and reduces our anxiety as aspirants find their preparation far
more predictable and manageable.
A serious candidate should
also join mock test papers of prestigious coaching Institutes such as GS SCORE.
Mock papers are designed in the Institute in such a way that it covers almost
every syllabus of the topic and hence solving at least two mock papers every
week will help students in getting a systematic revision of the syllabus in a
very coherent manner.
Both solving mock papers
and regular revision mechanize our entire preparation for the exam and an
aspirant will find himself into a structured rhythm. This continuous momentum
would eventually increase the productivity and efficiencies of an aspirant.
3. Relaxing
and de-stressing: A student should understand that Human beings
aren’t designed to expend energy continuously. We are meant to pulse between
spending and recovering energy. The overwhelming syllabus of UPSC mold students
in such a way that he ends up living an unsustainable life which eventually
reduces his productivity during study hours. We must understand that both time
and energy are finite but energy is renewable. A student must incorporate a
healthy lifestyle like eating nutritious food, regular exercise, Yoga, sufficient
sleep and meditation to reinvigorate his body and mind which will logically
boost his productivity. Also, spending time on hobbies such as jogging,
singing, poetry, playing video-games, etc not only makes us happier and more
relaxed but also improves our productivity, focus, and creativity and
eventually it will allow a candidate to excel in the exams.
4. Minimize
distractions: The technology of the internet has made us capable of
entertaining our desires and fancies so affordable and accessible but it should
for no reason affect one’s productivity especially that of a UPSC aspirant.
Incorporation of social media platforms such as Telegram, YOUTUBE has become
imperative and unavoidable for the aspirants but it must not come at the cost
of valuable and irretrievable time. The student needs a mentor who can guide
him to find lectures or shows on YOUTUBE and to participate in which virtual
community of like-minded people to share and discuss their doubts that are
important, meaningful and relevant to him. Candidate must cultivate the ability
to use the empowering tool of the internet to increase his productivity by
accessing only those resources which would add value in one’s preparation.
MS
Dhoni once said that the “process is more important than outcomes”. We all know
that UPSC is a very long drawn, rigorous and multi-level examination, so in
such case making small but significant targets which are in sync with our
larger aim of qualifying the exam are extremely helpful in increasing productivity. Candidate
should not live in the delusion that there is a commodity in the market that
will overnight increase their productivity. It will take some time. During exam
preparation, we must learn to value and cherish our long but meaningful journey
because as nature has taught us “evolution is the real revolution”. We at GS
score hope that a candidate by steadfastly following the above-suggested
measures, along with the personal guidance under our reputed faculties and
being honest with himself the aspirant would experience a positive gradation in
his productivity and logically would qualify in the civil services examination.