What are the habits and skills a UPSC aspirant should adopt?

“The journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step”- This is something every aspirant should keep in mind while they prepare for the Civil Services exam. It is a highly competitive exam that is designed to test your knowledge, ethics, critical & analytical thinking and perseverance, and is sure to test your mental strength along this arduous path.For this, every aspirant must possess certain skills and habits to ensure success. One must understand that these habits and skills must be cultivated over time, and not be pushed into your daily life. I will elaborate on this, and on how you should inculcate them into your preparation journey. Apart from regular studies, these seemingly minute things will become the central pillars of your preparation.

What are the habits and skills one must adopt?

• Critical and analytical thinking- Please keep in mind that rote learning is a thing of the past, and it doesn’t go well with the Civil Services exam. Hence, it is crucial to understand what a topic is, and how it would help you in your exam. It is also important to understand and analyze the kind of questions that can be asked, and to determine the right way to frame an appropriate answer. Memorizing from the reference texts and reproducing it does not ensure success as the exam has been designed to encourage meaningful learning instead.
• An effective study schedule– A timetable that fits your needs, and consistency in following it, enables you to stay on track, and helps you allocate the required amount of time as per your strengths and weaknesses. Please keep in mind that each aspirant is different, and hence, copying someone else’s timetable will only be detrimental. Many aspirants prefer to start with the perfect timetable to begin their journey. Instead of doing this, start with an imperfect yet fluidic timetable that slowly transforms into something that perfectly fits your needs. As time progresses, your timetable too would acquire perfection. Allocate time as per your needs and make sure that you keep the minimum study hours at any cost, which is 7 to 8 hours at least. Along with this, do not waste time on something unrelated to your preparation. Get ready to make sacrifices in your social and personal life for a higher purpose. Please avoid unnecessary social engagements that consumes valuable time.
• Learning from the past– Never be scared to look at the previous year’s question papers. What the exam demands, is clearly portrayed in these questions papers, and it helps you immensely in your preparation if you understand the context of the question and study accordingly when you start each topic. This preparation style can easily save your time as you would know what is redundant and what is not. As time progresses, your mind can automatically incorporate the necessary information faster. Please click here to go through the previous year’s question papers, when required.
• Learning from your mistakes– Ego can make and break you in life. Whilst preparing for the civil services, make sure that your ego does not affect your preparation. Accept mistakes with grace and try to learn from them. This would make you a better aspirant and increase your chance at success. Take as many tests as you can, understand what mistakes you made, and improve yourself in the areas where you seemingly lack. The chances are that those questions you attempted can be asked in the exam, and you can get it right. Please click here, to use our free NCERT based tests to start learning.
• Exercise and diet– This exam has to be treated like a test cricket match, and not a T-20. Months of preparation is needed, that can take a toll on you physically and mentally. Hence, keep yourself healthy at all times. Make sure you eat nutritious food to keep yourself healthy. Along with this, do light exercises / Meditation / Yoga as per your convenience. Not only does this help you physically, but it would also keep your mind fresh and energetic.
  And make sure you get enough sleep as per your needs. Kindly do not try to forsake the much-needed rest as it would be counterproductive. Try to have at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep every day.
• Revision– There is no easy path in understanding something, and an aspirant must achieve it through continuous revision. This would help immensely in retaining crucial information for the long term and reduce errors that one usually makes in the exam. There is no shame in revising any topic, and the more you revise, the better it helps you retain and recollect. It is not possible to memorize everything in one go, so revision is the key to success.

Multiple elements define your success in this examination. Please try to accommodate the habits and skills that I have mentioned into your preparation schedule, along with the regular classes, newspaper reading, current affairs etc. As I have mentioned before, you have to forego some pleasures you have had before, for a higher purpose. Try to keep a fighting spirit always and avoid negativity in your preparation. Please be in touch with family or close friends who can support you in your preparation. As long as you keep fighting, success is just a step away. I wish you the very best in your preparation.