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3/26/13 Mrunal [Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 4 of 5): Time Management, Coaching, optional subjects Print

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[Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 4 of 5): Time Management,Coaching, optional subjects

1. Act IV: Conquering your own brain2. Doubt: Should I join coaching class or not?3. Option one: You study back home without Coaching4. Option two : You go to Delhi to attend coaching.5. If You join a class6. #1 dont take mock tests lightly7. #2 Classmates are not your enemies8. #3 clarify your doubts9. #4 follow up action immediately

10. #5 Never remain absent11. If you dont join a class12. #1: dont feel guilty13. #2: Self control14. #3: Company15. Doubt: Optional subjects will be removed or not?16. Doubt Hindi Medium aspirant17. Doubt Non-Hindi, Non-English Medium aspirant18. Doubt: Inferiority complex19. Future Candidates Still in College20. Doubt: Taking a job / PG21. Doubt: Working Professionals: Leave the job or not?22. #A: you leave the job23. #B: you cant leave the job24. #1: Rent a room close to office25. #2: Burn the midnight lamp26. #3 Use pendrive27. #4 Use mobile28. Time Management29. Mood swings30. Technical doubts

Act IV: Conquering your own brain

You already know the mindset of your enemy: Act Iyou already know the weapons required to defeat him: Act IIyou already know how to effectively utilize the weapons: Act III

but before you defeat him, you must conquer your own brain, cleanse it from all thedoubts and weaknesses. Else you cannot concentrate in studies. The first andforemost doubt, faced by every new player:



Doubt: Should I join coaching class or not?

Answer is: If youve the time, money and mood, join them, else dont feel guilty orinferior about it.

Im copy pasting the Cost comparision by Mr.Gokul G R (IAS, AIR 19, CSE-2010)

Option one: You study back home without Coaching

1. General Studies

1. Books : Rs. 3000 40002. Newspapers : Rs. 250 monthly ( Total : 6000 for 2 years; you will anyway

subscribe, whether you are preparing or not)3. Periodicals : around 15004. Internet Net connection : 250 per month ( Total : 6000; you will anyway

subscribe, whether you are preparing or not)5. Total Cost : Around 17000 ( over 2 years )6. Total Extra cost : Rs. 6000 maximum (minus newspaper and net )

2. Optionals:

1. Books: 4-5 books for humanities optionals ( Mostly Indian Authors). Totalcost : Not more than Rs. 3000.

2. 7-8 books for science optionals. Total cost: Not more than Rs. 5000 ( If youare not downloading pirated copies).

3. Total Extra cost : Rs. 14000 ( Highly liberal estimate and spend over 2 years).Use library, old books and you can bring that down to a few thousand rupess.

Option two : You go to Delhi to attend coaching.

1. Coaching fees :

G.S : Rs, 50,000Optionals : Rs. 30,000 eachTotal : Rs. 1,10,000 (spot payment)

2. Periodicals, newspapers, net for personal use : Rs. 13,000 over 2 years.

3. High rent and cost of living : Around 10k every month.

Total extra Cost : Around 3 Lakhs ( Conservative estimate; multiply with no.of failed attempts, extra fee for extra coaching etc).

And even after paying such huge, exorbitant costs, the quality of teaching ( as i getto know from fellow aspirants) may not always be up to the mark.

End of copy paste.



If You join a class

Types of coaching class sirs

Type of teacher Your action

1. He is awesome at teaching. Doesnt talk anything exceptteaching. From Day 1 to last day, his teaching qualityremains the same.

Keep notingdown whatever hesays- atleast insummery form.Even if it given inthe books, notedown becausethat will help youin quick revision.

2. Initially he teaches some topics over which he has goodcommand (monsoon, fundamental rights etc) so studentsfeel he is good. But once the fees are depositedHecomes late. During the lecture, He wastes too much timeciting how awesome he is, how he knows everything aboutUPSC and all other personal side talk. (which is usually asign that he doesnt have rock solid command over thesubject, hence trying to brainwash you.) And when time isover but topic is incomplete, hed say read it in my printedmaterial/books.

Curse yourselfthat you joinedhis class.Makefriends with someserious players inhis class and dogroupstudy/discussion.

3. Some retired Professor. He teaches stuff in way too muchdetail like it is a college lecture. Too much details andPh.D from academic point of view.

Just note downany importantfact/foddermaterial, elseCurse yourselfthat you joinedhis class.

In case you wonder why Type#2 teacher behaves in such bad way, Wont it hurt hislong term business prospects?

1. No it wont. Hed simply setup shop in a new city or change his brand name.Besides, people usually dont drag him to consumer court, so he neverchanges his ways.

2. And hes good at marketing tricks, so hed keep getting new sacrificial lambsevery year.

And never join a coaching class only because the ad says XYZ topper was from theirclass, such ads are usually false or half-truths!

There are some State Government run coaching classes in various parts of India

For example



Gujarat has SPIPA, AhmedabadMaharahstra has SIAC,MumbaiTamil Nadu and UP too have it, I cant remember the name.

Apart from that, many Caste based coaching classes.

While the teaching quality may not be very good in such classes, but fees arecheap, library and atmosphere, peer-group is good.So if youre not a working professional, and not going to Delhi mainly forfinancial reasons, then just go ahead get admission in such classes. (PSsometimes theyve entrance exam, but theyre usually similar to UPSCPrelims)

Anyways, once youve joined a class anywhere, what to do?

#1 dont take mock tests lightly

If there was a school-test, youd be worried because your parents or teachers wouldscold you for low marks. But in coaching class, there is no such pressure.

So, many people take the mock tests very lightly. For e.g. there is mock test ofancient History topic, but youre preparing polity as per your own time table. Soyou appear in the mock test only for namesake, =you get low marks but you try toplacate yourself and make excuse to yourself koi nai, I had not prepared so I didnot get the marks this approach is wrong. Prepare seriously for every test.

#2 Classmates are not your enemies

In the mock tests, If someone is getting more marks than you. He is not yourenemy. Try to learn what are you lacking that he has? And make amendmentsin your preparation accordingly.Make friends with people whore as serious or more serious than you instudies. Keep in touch with them even when classes are over.

#3 clarify your doubts

During class, many people have doubt in a topic, but they dont ask the teacherthinking I would look silly, or other people will also know the answer andtheyre my enemies!.Usually teachers immediately leave after the class, because theyve classeselsewhere (or because they dont want to be bogged down by all querries afterclass hehehe).So, whenever youve doubt, immediately ask it.

#4 follow up action immediately

If your sir taught xyz topic today. Then go home, immediately read therelevant printed material / books/ internet at home. Prepare or upgrade notes



if required.In this way, youll get better command over the topic.If you postpone this work for 15-20 days, then youre digging your own grave.

#5 Never remain absent

Some distant relative/friends marriage is no excuse to remain absent in theclass. In fact ignore all such marriage ceremonies whether youve coaching ornot. Your main aim to clear UPSC exam, everything can and must wait.Even if the sirs teaching quality is bogus, still attend the class, youll comehome learning two three more things (or revising them during his class)

If you dont join a class

That is- youre doing self preparation.

#1: dont feel guilty

First of all, throw away any doubt, guilt or inferiority complex that you havee.g.Im not going to Delhi so my success chances are less.Dont think in that manner. please avoid company of people whore thinking inthat manner. Because negative vibes are infectious. It creates demotivationand affects your studies.And once youve decided, then dont doubt your decision or caliber.Success is very much possible, without coaching. And Following peoplecracked the exam without coaching (list is not exhaustive):

All India Rank (2011) YearHarshika Singh 8 2011Om Kasera 17 2011

Gokul G.R. 19 2010Mohd.Safi 55 2009

#2: Self control

If you goto gym, you see other people are doing more exercise, and got betterbody than yours. It automatically motivates you to do exercise further.But if youre at home, it is easy to lose track, and become complacent aboutpreparation e.g. koi nai, thik hai, there are still many months left before theexam, Ill manageSorry you cant manage. Weeks and months will pass like this and just 30days before the exam, youll realize that you havent really prepared muchthroughout the year. Then you start looking for shortcuts i.e. readymadecurrent affairs material etc. = #epicfail.Dont let your mood dictate your studies. Spend majority of your day withbooks, magazines and newspapers only. (if youre not a working professional).



#3: Company

Make a few friends from the field, either in real life or on internet. Peerpressure helps in keeping the tempo and motivation for studies.More time Management tips are given separately in the later part of thisarticle.

I hope the coaching doubt is clear. Now to the second doubt that is bothering everyaspirant:

Doubt: Optional subjects will be removed or not?

Answer.

1. Will UPSC remove Optional subject from mains?=Yes.2. When exactly will UPSC remove the optional subject from mains? Is it 2013

or 2014? =I dont know yet.

Few months back I had filled an R.T.I to UPSC regarding this question,

they replied weve appointed Committee headed by Prof. Nigvenkar, to look intothe matter. We cannot tell when optional will be removed

(click me to see the whole R.T.I reply)

At the moment, The aspirant community is divided into two viewpoints: both basedon the timetable published on official site:http://upsc.gov.in/exams/exams.htm#PageTop

Viewpoint: Change Viewpoint: Status Quo

Optionals will be removed in 2013because

Optionals will not be removed in 2013because,

Fact: Usually UPSC gave notification inDec/January. This time notification isgoing to come in February.Fact: usuallyUPSC started Mains exam in October,this time it has been shifted toNovember.All this suggest that UPSC isplanning to remove optionals and changesyllabus.

Agreed but, The same page of UPSC mentions that UPSC Mains starts from 08.11.2013 (FRIDAY) and duration 21DAYS. So how can exam duration be 21days if there are no optionals?

Last month I filed another R.T.I to seek the status update of this Prof.Nigvenkar Committee.Im yet to receive a reply from UPSC. Although Im not really sure UPSC willgive clear cut answers, given its history of taking sadistic pleasure by keepingthings in limbo, else UPSC can issue a Press-statement right now to clear theair on this matter and save aspirants the agony and stress theyre goingthrough.Anyways for the moment- finish the syllabus of topics that are present in GS



mains but absent in prelims i.e. first aid, statistics etc. and do the Yojana,Kurukshetra issues from Jan 2012 onwards. There is enough food in yourplatter, try to finish most of it.

And once this optional subject controversy is settled (most probably in February2013 notification), there will be some new conspiracy theory -most probablyregarding separation of IPS exam. So overall how to deal with rumor bombs? ClickME.

So this doubt of optional subjects =remains unsettled (for now). Moving on to nextdoubt

Doubt Hindi Medium aspirant

Booklist and strategy remains the same. Only titles change.

English Hindi

NCERTsAvailable in Hindi, both in market as well as official site:http://www.ncert.nic.in/

NOS (National openschool)

Some are available in Hindi, some arenot.http://www.nios.ac.in/online-course-material.aspx

General StudiesManual

Samanya Adhyayan

India Yearbook (India2013)

Bharat 2013

Indian Polity byM.Laxmikanth

Bharat Ki Rajya Vyavashta by M.Laxmikanth

Indian Economy byRamesh Singh

Bharat ki Artha-vyavastha by Ramesh Singh

Yojana Kurukshetra,PD,CST

Available in Hindi

Spectrum publicationbooks (History,Culture, Statistics)

Available in Hindi

Bipin ChandraHe has books in Hindi,but Not really sure of about exacttitle.

2nd ARC Available in Hindi on their official website

The Hindu No alternative. Must be read in English

IGNOU BA/MA PDFfiles

Available in Hindi. www.Egyankosh.ac.inSome file are notuploaded. Have to purchase Hindi booklets from university.Instructions given here: click ME

Doubt Non-Hindi, Non-English Medium aspirant

Starting with Gujarati aspirants.

1. For prelims, consult the same books English / Hindi, because youve to only



tick the MCQ answer.2. Gujarati books for IAS exam= useless and waste of time. (Amuk loko ujjad

van maa erando pradhan thayi ne behelaa chhe.) But for mains, to writedescriptive answers In Gujarati.you need the Gujarati Vocabulary forGeography, Polity etc. buy any ^one of them or any GPSC material.

3. If you think you can rely Gujarati books meant for GPSC and succeed inUPSC = mistake. Because there are always some senior players who keepreading English newspapers, magazines, reference books and convert theminto their own handwritten notes in Gujarati so their answer quality will bebetter than yours. Therefore Always prefer to maintain your own notes fromstandard reference books of Hindi/English.

4. If UPSC keeps optionals use the Hindi/English standard reference booksand then consult Baba Saheb Amedkar Univ.s material for Gujarati BA/MAexam (where applicable) or books from University Granth NirmaanBoard to get the vocabulary and formal answer writing.

5. The Hindu/Indianexpress =must. You may read Gujarati newspaper columns,only for getting Gujarati vocabulary for Essay. But your essay quality, contentand depth should be higher than them.

Now Marathi,Tamil,Punjabi,Telugu etc. similar advice as above.

1. For prelims use either English /Hindi books as such.2. For mains, you need to write descriptive answers, so you need the formal

vocabulary for your language. So to get that vocabulary, buy any book or StatePSC material written in your language. Using that vocabulary, maintain yournotes from standard reference books / English newspapers.

3. For more suggestions, consult some senior players in your area/ via internet.

So this Hindi/Gujarati/Marathi/Tamil language and material doubt is partiallysettled. Now moving to next problem.

Doubt: Inferiority complex

Some people have this feeling of insecurity, throughout preparation

1. Im not from a reputed college.2. Ive very low score in graduation, I failed in some semester.3. I dont have work-experience or extra-curricular certificates.4. Im not from English mediumAnd so on.

^dont worry. Many People with such profile have cleared the civil service exam.

When an examiner checks your mains answersheet he doesnt know about allthose things.Even in interview, they dont really dwell into those topics (unlike IIMinterviews hehehe), and even if they notice it, your interview score doesntdepend on a single variable or single question.So stop all those negative thoughts. And avoid company of any other personwho is spreading such negative vibes.



Besides you cant go back in History using a time-machine to fix all thosethings in your life. So just keep moving forward.

Having said this, Im must also precaution the

Future Candidates Still in College

Please donot ignore your college studies. You must strive to get atleast first class(60%) in college exam.

Why?

Because usually your backup plans will require it. For example

1. A General category candidate cannot apply for CAT, if he has less than 50%.2. In certain specialized State PSC jobs*, Bank recruitments, they explicitly

mention it that youll need minimum xyz score in your graduation or postgraduation.

3. Whenever you go for private company job interview, they look into yourgraduation score especially if youve zero or low work experiance.

*In State PSC there are two type of recruitment one is general large scalerecruitment e.g. Deputy collector, DySP, Range Forest officer, Sales Taxinspector etc. in such exams, college marks dont matter much.And other type is specialized small scale recruitment e.g. only one or twovacancies in Food and drug Department. Then they want to reduce numberof applicants to save time. So they device high graduation marks e.g. onlyminimum 60% in Graduation or 55% in PG can apply Same goes forcertain Banks. So dont ignore college studies.

In some colleges and universities, you can get first class with almost zeropreparation. But it doesnt mean you should completely ignore studies.

Again why?

Because during interview @UPSC, State PSC, or any private companybasically at any interview, they usually ask a few questions on your graduation.And you cant make an excuse that sorry I dont know the answer because Iwas preparing for UPSC/CAT during college!That answer will ruin rest of your interview because then board will startasking uncomfortable questions and turn it into a stress interview.I hope this doubt is settled. Moving on to next doubt

Doubt: Taking a job / PG

Q. I just graduated from college. Should I take job, or pickup Post-Graduationcourse or directly start preparing for UPSC?

Ans. Depends on your financial situation and family support.



Job part:

If Civil Service is your ultimate goal, you just want a job for pocketmoney andpreparation, then look for a job that has minimum workload and travel time =then you can allot max energy for preparation.For example Computer Lab assistant, receptionist, temporary lecturer etc.Ofcourse there are no big salaries or quick promotions in such jobs but thenyou cant eat Laddu with both the hands.

PG part:

Pros: atleast your backup is secured i.e. if you fail in IAS, you can go back privatecompany at a decent job (compared to having single bachelor degree)

Cons:

1. Doing PG from some half**** bogus college hardly has any market value.Youre way better off in bank clerks job than the amount of salary one getsthrough such overhyped PG courses. (more explained in backup plan, in ActV)

2. To get admission in reputed college, one has to give some sort of entranceexam.

3. In reputed college, You may not be left with sufficient time left for UPSC preparation due to assignments and semester exams. But still there is moretime and energy than available to working professionals in some fields.

In the end depends on your taste for career backup. Consider all factors and thendecide.

Doubt: Working Professionals: Leave the job or not?

Question: Im a working professional, find it hard to allot time for studies. Should Ileave job or not?

Answer:

1. There are toppers who cleared civil service exam without leaving job (OmKasera, Mohd.Safi to cite a few)

2. On the hand there toppers who left the job for preparation because it hadbecome impossible to manage studies with job.

So door swings both ways. Whether you should leave the job or not, depends onmany factors

1. Your age2. Marital status, support of the spouse. (if they superficially support but then

they and their relatives indirectly keep nagging you all the time =problem.)3. Family support and family responsibilities (e.g. father is retired or not,

sisters wedding etc.)4. Financial situation, outstanding loans and EMIs (do you have enough bank



balance from your job to survive for next one or two years)5. Work load, travelling (if it is very low, then no point in leaving job.)6. Opportunity cost of leaving the job- in terms of promotion and seniority in

the private sector (particularly for 27-35 age group candidates.)

#A: you leave the job

Then proceed according to the suggestions given for coaching/no-coaching case.

#B: you cant leave the job

Five rules for working professionals, already given CLICK ME.

Here are some more

#1: Rent a room close to office

Travel-fatigue is the main cause of under-preparation. If youve to commute for 3-4hours a day to and from home to office, then it becomes very difficult to wake uptill late night. So ideally try to rent a room very close to office (but usually roomsnear office, have higher rent- life is always cruel to UPSC aspirant.)

#2: Burn the midnight lamp

Irrespective of travel fatigue, try to wake up till 12pm to 1AM. Ya all the fancymedical talk and arguments of long term negative impacts on health. But 6 hourssleep Is sufficient.

a. Lot of teenagers and college kids in metro cities, they usually wake up untilmidnight doing nothing but facebook, internet surfing and yahoo chat.

b. On the other hand those Corporate barons, IIM grads etc. who mint lakhs ofrupees per month. Yes once in while they can indulge in luxuries and fun butotherwise they too work until late night. They may not have travel fatigue butmental stress is even higher.

So on both ends of the spectrum, if people can wake up until late night- whycant you?You dont want to leave job, you dont wake up till midnight, .well onceagain cant eat laddu with both the hands. Success requires sacrifice.Plus late night preparation would be necessary during loading doze period.Not much during maintenance doze. So consider this as a temporaryproblem.

#3 Use pendrive

Prepare some notes/mindmaps on homePC or laptop.Transfer them to pendrive/mobile phone so that you can revise it in office PCor on your mobile phone (if it has windows or android system with all those



funky softwares) tablet during free time. Or upload It on google docs for syncbetween office vs home PC.

#4 Use mobile

If youve a mobile with Windows system, you can install following softwares

a. Caligrapher (it lets you convert handwriting into textif phone comes withstylus). There are other programs as well.

b. Evernote or Phatnotes (for arranging notes and data, maintaining diary)c. Freemind (mobile version)d. Or export mindmaps made in home/office PC into .jpeg or .png files, transfer

it into your mobile/tablet and review them when free.e. Record notes in your own voice, listen to them when free (instead of listing to

music)

These are just examples, there are many good softwares, just google (or trySoftpedia.coms mobile section)

And There will be similar apps for android phone/apple/blackberry/tablets.In the end use whatever technology or gadget you can afford or use, to helpyou in preparation.Now moving to the doubt/issue that affects everyone irrespective of hislanguage medium, job and coaching situation.

Time Management

1. Donot try to quantify your study in terms of hours. dont consciously look atwatch oh yes, Ive been studying for 1 hour 34 minutes, so let me watch TVnow to get fresh. This is not a board exam.

2. Some people start drinking tea/coffee or cigarette after every 2 hours. Theythink it helps them concentrate in studies. (a habit usually picked up duringhostel days). Real men dont need external stimulants. Drinking tea only takes5 minute, but theyd spend next 30-40 minutes chatting with their buddies attea stall or doing nothing on mobile phone. This is not how your prepare forIAS exam.

3. Grow up. Stop sending chain emails and chain SMS around.4. Avoid pseudo-IAS aspirants. Theyre looking at the finger rather than

moon type. They spend more time in chit-chat, UPSC rumors, politics etc.Can be found on internet, and in coaching classes and library.

5. Avoid Chipkoo people in life and on phone. All they care is timepass.6. Always Remain offline in gtalk/facebook messanger/yahoo messenger.7. Einstein said time is relative. You can easily waste 20 minutes surfing TV-

channels even if there is no good program on TV. Previously there was orkut,now weve facebook. You can easily waste 45 minutes to two hours, doingnothing but clicking your mouse. There is no need to comment on every photoyou get tagged in, there is no need to give birthday wishes. There is no need toadd more friends to your profile.

8. Fix your email checking time. E.g. only @2PM or 7PM. There is no need to



reply to every mail. Use the Gmail filters to get rid of bogus people whosend Chain email, jokes etc.

Mood swings

1. There are somedays when youre in absolute good mood and read for 7-8-12-15 hours. There are somedays when youve no mood and you dont even touchthe newspaper.

2. Perseverance is necessary for success in any competitive exams. Donot letyour ^mood to dictate your studies. (Although it is easier said than done.)

3. The mindset haa thik hai, ho jaayegaa, abhi bahot der hai (ok, Itll bedone, there is still lot of time left). With this attitude, youll digup your owngrave.

4. Peace of mind is most important. You fight, debate or argue with someone,then even after the argument is over, you still keep thinking about it, I shouldhave said this or that. Saale ko thik kar doongaa (Ill teach him a lesson).No my friend, your primary target is UPSC, put your time and energy instudies. Everything else is secondary- dont waste your time or energy inthem. So, Avoid arguments, debates, fights both online and offline.

5. Therefore Avoid people that ruin your mood: both online and offline (exceptyour boss or client!).

6. Avoid Dukhi Aatmaa (cry-babies). Theyre just too worried abouteverything. My friend from Delhi said, UPSC is going to remove optionalsand introduce paper on policy sciencewhat will be do!? Xyz sir saidUPSC will reduce age limit! They spread their negative vibes on you.

7. Girlfriend usually leaves after 2nd failed attempt in UPSC (cant blame, youcant and shouldnt expect her or her parents to wait for you that long.) Then itcreates more heartburning, depression= not good for studies. ThereforeUPSC and love affairs are usually not compatible. Pick only one at a time.

8. Similarly avoid temptation or persuasion from parents to get married. Dontget married until youre selected in UPSC or youve fully executed yourcareer backup plan.

Life of a UPSC aspirant is very cruel. Outsiders cannot understand it and theyruin mood with their questions and unwanted advices. For example

AHe is a UPSC Aspirant. Minding his own damn business, busy eating daal-chawal @wedding reception.

B Kya kar rahe ho? (what are you doing?)

A Preparing for UPSC.

B Still preparing for that exam? You said the same thing last year!

A(In his head) because UPSC is three stage process, takes one year to complete.(on face) some diplomatic answer.

B Acchaa, my uncles son got selected. Why dont you take tips from him?

A(In his head) If UPSC is hellbent in scaling system and BackbreakingTM, thereis nothing anybody can do.(on face) sure Ill contact him.



B Leaves

A Resumes Minding his own damn business, busy eating daal-chawal.

C Makes entry. Repeats the question :Kya kar rahe ho? (what are you doing?)

A Same answer.

C

(He has no interest in knowing what youre doing. He asked you questiononly to start conversation and show off how his son is better.)Acchaa.. MySon **** has done MBA from ****. Salary Package is * lakhs and he has **number of people under his command. So, you Leave this IAS, Bi-AS, join thatcollege!

A(in His head) Why the hell do I care how much he earns or how much staff hegot! My definition of success is different. (on face) That is really good.

C Leaves

A Resumes Minding his own damn business.

D D is an old-college batchmate. Same question cycle.

DDo you know that our batchmate Mr.X has left company Y and joined companyZ and now his salary package is 6 lakhs. He also bought a Honda city (car) andgetting married next month.

A(in His head) Ya but he was a complete *Gangaajal adjective* so even if heearns 60 crores, buys a Ferrari and marries Katrina Kaif, he is not going to earnmy respect or even jealousy. (on face) very good yaar.

DDo you remember that girl **** from our college, she and ***** got married/she started affair with *****, recently I spotted her at *****.

A(in His head) because of my UPSC (mis)adventures, Ive grown up: mentallyand emotionally. I dont care about those things like I used to, during thecollege years hahaha. (on face) some diplomatic answer.

D Ok then best of luck.

EFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTsame things.

Throughout your journey, these conversations are going to repeat in one form oranother.Very few people actually understand the pain and struggle involved, rest of them arejust phony lip service and mood killers. Therefore:

1. Have tough skin of a salesman. Dont let their talks affect you. When youcome back home, your head should be clear else you cannot concentrate instudies and will ponder more and more about the past. Sometimes you mighteven start thinking of quitting UPSC game to join their world- dont.

2. Dont announce to everyone that youre preparing for UPSC. Keep it toyourself, and very few close friends.

3. Avoid social gatherings unless absolutely necessary.4. Never compare yourself with your batchmates, colleagues, kids of relatives

and neighbors.



Now some other technical doubts

Technical doubts

Question Answer

Age and attempt limit

http://mrunal.org/upsc/faq-age-trialsCentral Serviceemployees dont get age relaxation.But CRPF,BSF etcnow comes under Ex-servicemen category hence getage relaxation.

Physical requirements /Medical checkupdisability related queries

http://mrunal.org/2012/07/med-gazette-upsc.html

OBC Creamy layerhttp://mrunal.org/2012/05/q-creamy-layer-obc-gets-4-attempts-only.html

Postal Graduation/Distance EducationDegree and its validityfor UPSC exam

http://mrunal.org/2010/12/update-my-distant-education-degree-is.html

Remaining Part of the UPSC Strategy

1. (Part 1 of 5): Exam Trends and Changes2. (Part 2 of 5): Notes, Newspapers and Books3. (Part 3 of 5): General Studies for CSAT prelims and Mains4. (Part 5 of 5): Career Backup Plans: How to prepare for State PSC etc

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2012/11/strategy-upsc-civil-service-exam-ias-ips-ifs-part4-time-management-coaching-optionals.html

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Mrunal » [Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 4 of 5)_ Time Management, Coaching, Optional Subjects » Print