TIME MANAGEMENT FOR CSS CANDIDATES
I come across this question almost every day:
How to manage our time during studies and during paper?
Today, I will answer these questions in two parts.
1. Time Management During Preparation.
If you can master your time, you can master your destiny.
Time is the most essential asset you have. Regardless of the financial conditions, everyone has the time to spend, and the minutes in the day are the same for all.
But what matters is how you spend your time. Do you reap the maximum fruit from your time? Do you invest this invaluable asset in your future? Do you realise that the time you have now will not be there the next moment?
A few days back someone asked me to suggest her some tips and techniques to avoid boredom during studying. I answered, “Find your passion.”
If passing the CSS examination and joining civil service is not your passion, it will always be drudgery. You will have to drag yourself through the day every day. But if this desire to be a civil servant drives you, it will be enough to remove all the monotony from your preparation.
Similarly, if you are passionate, you will also realise the value of your time.
I have written this time and again that you should give at 4 to 6 hours to your studies, neither less nor more.
Utilise this time period to study in two sessions. In the morning session, do some practice related stuff such as idea expansion, précis writing, comprehension solving et cetera.
In the evening session, focus on any subject of your choice. But my recommendation would be to start with easy subjects first and then move to the hard ones progressively.
2. Time Management During Exam Hall.
The toughest thing that I faced during my examination had never been the lack of ideas or information, my presentation skills were also good. But it was the time management that always gave me “tough time”.
So, how did I cope with it?
First, mock exams. I appeared in mock exams every time I got the opportunity. I appeared in tests conducted by my academy frequently. My last 3 months were all about practice.
When you practice, you develop a sense of time proportion. You know exactly how long will you take to finish the question.
My calculation was like this.
First 30 minutes for the MCQs. After that, I used to cut 10 minutes from the remaining 150 minutes (2.5 Hours). After that, I would divide the remaining 140 minutes into 4 sessions allocating each to a question. That’s how it used to be. I would allocate around thirty-five minutes to each question. In those 35 minutes, I would make an outline, attempt the question and even review it sometimes.
You should also do timed-practice. Take a timer (even a phone would be fine), set the timer to 35 minutes and then attempt the question.
You will not be able to finish your question in the first attempt. This skill would come very slowly, but it sure would ultimately.
So keep writing and keep practising…
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