Scheduling for UPSC CSE
Well planned is half done
The UPSC Examination can be overwhelming. It feels too long and uncertain and can be exhausting. But to be the change you want to see in your little exam world, you must ambitiously plan, expect to fail, and then plan once again.
Ideally, this is how one must make a study plan for the UPSC Examination. You should try to adjust this to your own needs and requirements based on personal strengths and weaknesses.
This plan is practical and doable, but it’s also the ideal world scenario. So do not expect yourself to be able to reach all your targets. Be kind to yourself and know that we’re all prone to mistakes. I could not meet about a third of my own targets, but having ambitious targets kept me going. The days I met my targets, I made sure to reward myself with a treat.
Personal note — No one starts out or finishes the examination with this much discipline. But when things get overwhelming, take life one step at a time. Don’t start imagining what answers you would give in an interview on Day 1 of UPSC prep (I used to, and it would stress me out). First understand the exam, read the newspaper, solve basic tests. Trust that the three stage process of UPSC will make you develop as a person worthy of clearing this examination.
Hence, I’ve divided an ideal schedule for UPSC into Macro Targets in 8 phases. After this, I would explain how to make Micro targets for each month, week and day. Assuming you’re starting about a year before prelims, this is how it’d go:
Macro Targets
Phase 1: June— Light studying
This month is important for getting into the groove of UPSC, and making informed choices. Do not commit too early to any test series/books/optional, because there are many options out there, and you might like one over the other. At the same time, try to lock down these in a month so you have plenty of time to study.
Checklist for Phase 1:
- Get into studying routine/moving to place where you are studying
- Make informed decision about test series and general sources
- Read past papers (prelims and mains)
- Choose and read the newspaper
- Choose an optional
- Buy books/materials as you decide sources
Phase 2: July to December — Focus on Optional and Foundation
Since you now have a fair idea of what the 3 stages of UPSC demand, you should get more into intense mode. You must complete all foundational books which are common for prelims and mains. Most important part of Phase 2 is to complete the optional syllabus. You will not get time to improve it later on, and its a very important part of your mains score.
Checklist for Phase 2:
- Read the newspaper and keep up with current affairs sources
- Finish optional with short notes/method to revise fast
- Finish the foundational books for Economy, Polity, Environment, Geography, Sci-Tech, Art & Culture and History
- Do some light answer writing practice — daily questions or previous years papers. I suggest not to go too intense with this until you are done with foundational books, as your writing would automatically improve
- Take simple tests — foundational ones for prelims and essay/optional for mains
Phase 3: January to March – Focus on General Studies
Since you would have completed optional by now, move on to GS. The reason for focusing on GS in Phase 3 and not Phase 2 is that it is closer to prelims and would help you for both prelims and mains.
Checklist for Phase 3:
- Read the newspaper and keep up with current affairs sources
- Full focus on completing prelims syllabus
- Finish off about 50% mains topics with short notes. These can be topics you are interested in mixed with topics you find difficult
- Write at least a test a week for prelims
- If you’re weak at CSAT, practice it once a week
Phase 4: March to Prelims – Aim for 110+ in Prelims
Now that you’ve reached the last 3 months before prelims, don’t worry about what you have done for mains, and solely shift your focus on prelims. Prelims has become seriously difficult and many people who have cleared UPSC also are not sure about clearing prelims. Failing at the preliminary stage means being unable to do mains at all, and that is really heartbreaking.
Checklist for Phase 4:
- Current Affairs would be kept up but parts of newspaper reading like editorials may be given less importance. You may also leave the newspaper about a month before prelims, if you feel you have less time (I did).
- Make small prelims specific revision methods — notes/flashcards/maps
- Revise and take 2 or 3 prelims tests a week. Get this upto 4 tests a week for GS and 1 for CSAT by the month of May. Try taking tests in the real exam environment
- Solve CSAT papers at least twice a week. Can even do alternative days for the last 2 weeks before prelims
- Intensify your prelims mindset through revision plans and quizzes — try to go for multiple institute’s plans and test series for diversity of questions
- Figure out your strategy for prelims — number of questions to attempt, elimination strategies etc.
Phase 5: Prelims to Mains — Maximize Mains Scores — Sky is the Limit
As soon as prelims is over, start mains preparation. Do not waste your time in answer key and cut-off speculation beyond a week. Check a few trusted sources. You need to study for mains of that year, or for next year in any case. Shift your focus to mains and you will be in a much better position once the result comes, whether positive or negative.
Checklist for Phase 5:
- Read the newspaper and keep up with current affairs sources
- Complete mains syllabus, ensuring you give adequate focus based on past papers, trends and your own strengths and weaknesses
- Make short notes with some data, statistics and standard introduction and conclusion for all topics. Google through toppers notes/coaching material and attempt to summarize them
- Complete ethics as early as possible so you can write 4 tests minimum
- Immediately start writing at least 3 tests a week — I recommend one optional test, one essay/ethics and one GS test. Try to complete 16–20 tests for GS and as many as you can for optional. These should be written in a timed environment as close to the real exam environment as possible
Phase 6: Mains to Mains Result— Relax, Reflect and Work
Mains is exhausting, and taking about 2–3 weeks off after mains is quite normal. I took about a month off. But try to just keep up with current affairs and newspaper throughout. Analyze your performance in mains, checking what papers you may have or may not have done well in. If some area has been neglected, then work on that as mains prep would be fresh in your mind. Think about DAF columns, especially hobbies and misc.
Phase 7: Mains Result to Interview — Showcase your personality and knowledge
Assuming you’ve cleared the mains, now comes the time to prep for interview round. This part is the most difficult to give guidance or advice for, so would just stick to explaining what I did, as different things work for different people. If your interview is closer to prelims, you have no choice but to balance both prelims and interview prep.
My Checklist for Phase 7:
- Read the newspaper and keep up with current affairs sources. Diversify sources you’re reading from as per background — e.g., I would try to read more on current legal developments, city specific issues.
- Make your DAF — write things you have the time or energy or knowledge to live upto in the interview
- Work on developing a balanced yet logical stance on various issues from your DAF and news
- Give 10–15 mock interviews as these help to develop confidence as well as content. In person is better than online
Phase 8: Post-Interview till Result—Brace yourself, and keep working
This is the most stressful phase. I suggest that you try as hard as you can to go back fully into prelims mode. Pretend as if you haven’t given the interview and you are just preparing for prelims. Brace yourself for either outcome and have a plan for both scenarios.
Checklist for Phase 8:
- Read the newspaper and keeping up with current affairs sources
- Fully focused on prelims, as explained in Phase 4.
It’s important to note that this is the framework and probably fits no aspirant fully.
For example, I did not worry too much about being unable to complete law optional (as it has a large syllabus) and moved on Phase 3 when I had 20% of law left. I also did not really focus on CSAT in Phase 3 (something that was a huge miscalculation, as I scraped through prelims) and answer writing too much in Phase 2 because I felt I could tackle those.
Micro Targets
Monthly targets
I would write down my monthly targets based on the broader framework on every note. At the end of every month, I would look back and see how much I could achieve, and what learnings I can take forward.
I also kept targets flexible. For example, I didn’t find reading each and every Yojana or Kurukshetra Magazine useful. Hence, as you can see in the image on the left, I have crossed out those targets.
Weekly Targets
Break your monthly targets into 4 weeks (with the extra 2/3 days a month as a buffer). I would suggest you write down the number of hours each task is likely to take, and then have some flexibility based on what you feel like doing on that day.
Daily Targets
There should be some things you do daily or else it’s hard to catch up on them. This is in addition to the weekly targets.
- Newspaper Reading
- Daily quiz or revision plan depending on the phase you’re in
- Editorial Reading
In an examination where the syllabus is undefined and outcomes are uncertain the best weapon in your arsenal is a good solid plan. When you have that, you can do wonders.
Please feel free to email me at nirjashahcse@gmail.com incase of any feedback, suggestions or queries.
