Approach followed in the last month before pre:

Approach followed in the last month before pre:

1. PYQs are the sneak peak of UPSC. Every morning, I used to dedicate atleast 2 hours to solving PYQs (till 2000 for CSE, 2015 for CAPF and CDS) using Forum IAS’s subject wise compilation, irrespective of having done it earlier. I focused on the following while doing PYQ analysis:

• hotspot topic segments for Questions (Rahul sir from UP PCS Pathshala has a good excel as well)

• my understanding of the topic

• any patterns on what are some UPSC traps; Understand UPSC’s MAD series (free on YT) was also helpful to get me started here but its not full proof and needs common sense application

• identifying any options (even if wrong) to read on if I am unaware

2. Static is the king - most of my day was dedicated to revising my static notes in hotspot topics only

3. Current affairs - I used to revise only the most important elements from PT (that I highlighted in my first reading). At times, I would listen to Satyam sir (Understand UPSC) PT365 videos for revision if reading felt monotonous.

4. Mocks - I tried to attempt at least 2 mocks every week for revision, and tried to not get disheartened even if I scored lesser in some mock. My aim was to be able to answer every static question and learn from any relevant CA in the mock

5. Newspaper - I stopped reading newspaper over the last month to be able to save time

6. Micro notes - Prelims is more about retention than volume. Instead of picking up new sources, I used to revise what I knew extensively. Hence, 4 weeks before pre, I started preparing micro notes of anything I wasn’t able to recall otherwise (e.g., I wouldn’t write what is a money bill in short note but the article if I need to). Hence, I had 5-6 pager micro notes for each subject 2 weeks before prelims. In the last 2 weeks, I used to only revise these micro notes and highlight anything that I was still not able to recall. This approach helped me revise all my weak points 1 day before pre for each subject.