Sumit Kumar Rai IAS

All these hacks have been suggested keeping working profesionals in mind.

Strategy hacks:

1. You have to plan your studies in seconds and minutes and not in hours.
2. Utilize morning hours more compared to evening hours as the job stress and job fatigue factors are reduced in morning.
3. Have a good peer group, preferably on telegram.
4. In the morning download newspaper from The Hindu newspaper telegram group. Saves time.
5. A new document to be read in a particular way. First is to get a gist of overall document and then go into micro details. Works well for economic survey and ARC reports. Even if you have 15 minutes time at workplace, you can get the gist of Economic survey volume 1( given you have to be very very efficient with time, count the seconds you have).So utilize your tew breaks/Lunch break properly. Become more efficient in reading some document if you are a working aspirant.
6. Get a room near the office as much as possible. Don’t be hesitant if you have to pay a little higher.
7. Listen to AIR news or audio lectures during travel time.
8. Keep soft copies of all important books. Since You are a working professional, you might have to travel, you can’t carry every single book.
9. Make online notes preferably( I used evernote). You need access to a working platform all the time.
10. Reduce social gatherings on purpose.
11. Limit your friend circle during preparation phase, especially those who can create problems in your preparation( I got many friends online through telegram who later became my real life friends also, but when I was preparing for this exam along with a job, I hardly had a close friend in real life- with whom I can hangout or talk about UPSC things. Time is of essence and for that such actions might have to be taken)
12. Avoid social media as much as possible: My FB was deactivated, I was not on Instagram before this year’s results, didn’t use WhatsApp much.
13. You can read even in train or flights.Time is money for you.

Mindset hacks:

1. Treat your job as a temporary phenomenon. Always say “ This is just a job” and I have a small role to play in this. Do your part, be happy and keep working on your larger goals. Don’t run after appraisals or becoming the best at workplace. Stay average, but stay sincere.
2. If you are in private sector, I would suggest keep your preparation to yourself. Let the brain be your best friend and do all the mental churning in your brain.
3. Avoid confrontation or ego-clashes at workplace. This keeps you focused at your UPSC preparation.
4. Be sincere at your work. This is important as if you slouch too much in your work, it will affect you negatively. Sincerity would help in reducing your job anxiety and peer pressure at work.
5. Whenever you are doubt, ask yourself and remind yourself this : “Remember, why did you start in first place?

I was going through forumias pages. There was a thread by a fellow aspirant named “ENDGAME. Whatever it Takes!!!”.

He has described his attempts and how he is determined to give his best this year. Reading through his write up, I felt a deja vu. We do different things, seek motivation from different sources, persons etc to find a way to stay motivated through this gruesome journey. I wanted to highlight one important point that your pain is your biggest motivator. Some people can relate with it, especially those who have given many attempts.

This is what I wrote as a reply on that forum thread, produced verbatim:

User: Sleeping warrior writes:

My UPSC journey has been soul-sapping, non-recognising, cruel, non-appreciative and buried deeply in a cascade of bad luck. But, I don’t have any regrets for the choices I made since it was based on free-will. When I look back, the dots somehow do not connect. Maybe one more attempt might somehow make sense is what my rational (irrational) mind convinces. I might be far from the truth. I am sure many of the aspirants are caught up in the fight between reality (minimum govt maximum governance) and illusion (one candidate, one seat). Amidst the political upheaval, diminishing hairline, deteriorating health, excruciating sacrifices, isolation, and most importantly lost time and depleting willpower what choices do we have?
Well, we do. But, the question is, are we making the right choices?
In my opinion, the best choice is to convince your mind and heart of this to be your last attempt. Your best attempt instead. It’s the ENDGAME fellas. Like the Avengers going all out against Thanos (presumably), we also have a similar opportunity to avenge for what has been taken from us in due course. It is going to be my last attempt, and I will make sure every bit of pain and suffering inflicted upon me will be worth it. But, I can’t do it alone. I need your help. Instead, we as a TEAM can scale heights unscaled until now. The most feasible way is to record the hours of quality study and maintain an index of your performance.

My reply:

@sleepingwarrior Reading this makes me proud of the people like you. You are what makes an aspirant a true philosopher.

I see you are in pain and belive me this pain is going to be your biggest weapon. Today, standing on the other side of the line I feel thankful to the pain I had. After CSE2017 crash out I never let that feeling go away: that how I felt, how it made me feel, how much it shattered my own personal being, my own very existence ( I know some people cannot associate with this, especially those who make it in 1st or 2nd attempt). It was not only about UPSC, it was not only to prove something, it was also a promise to myself: that you mean something, that you have something, and that it was not all for nothing.

I just waded through pain, pushed the boundaries, wrote 2 tests in single days many times( I had backlogs due to my field duty).

“It has to be done…karna hai to karna hai…What do we say to the god of death…Not today(Arya/GoT).. Remember that day…Do you want to repeat that(CSE16&CSE17 results declaration days..It’s all gonna end someday….Just few more minutes buddy…”

These were just some random thoughts which used to run consciously/sub-consciously during that time, especially during answer writings. You see, I never let that pain go away. I made it my guide, my constant motivator, my best friend.

Now, today after all the post selection rituals (celebration, felicitations, meeting with unknown relatives etc) whenever I find myself alone and in peace with myself, I find a sense of gratitude to that pain I had. I miss the person I used to be who used to carry that pain.

So what I want to say to you is this: It is absolutely normal what you feel and it is very right to have that maniac mentality, that brutal commitment, that self promise to trample the things which demean you in the first place.

Own your pain, wade through it. It will one day give you what you ever wanted.

I answered following set of questions for a magazine.

This will cover a lot many questions on my upsc journey.

Questionnaire

Civil Services Examination 2018

Medium of writing Exam………..English……..

Medium for Interview…………..English……..

1. Why career in civil service: I come from a rural background and had seen problems of people from vary close quarters. I had seen limitations and shortcomings in rural areas, so always had a desire to contribute to society through a big platform like civil services. Also,In my college (IIT-Dhanbad) I got involved in KARTAVYA, a student initiative to teach underprivileged children living in slum areas near the campus. All these experiences strengthened my faith to join civil services and contribute to the welfare of society, especially weaker and marginalised sections.

2. Anything special that contributed in your success.: I had developed habit of self dependency during the preparation of IIT-JEE itself. This helped me in CSE preparation also. As I was a working aspirant I couldn’t join classroom coaching but my habit of “doing it by yourself” helped me in covering syllabus through self study.

3. Keeping in mind unpredictable nature of this examination how one should prepare?: There are 4 key mantras to clear CSE: 1. Understand syllabus 2. Keep your resources minimum and study as per syllabus 3. Revision 4. Answer writing practice. It is true that unpredictability is there in exam but by following these steps we can reduce the unpredictability up-to a great extent. Ultimately it is 80% handwork and 20% luck that goes into final selection. So our focus should be on controlling the “ controllables “ rather than worrying about what is beyond our control.

4. How important selection of optional subject is and role it can play in final result: Optional becomes a crucial factor as poor optional choice can be the difference between getting selected and being out of list. So choose optional as per your interest and after doing thorough analysis. A score of 300+ in optional is a must these days for having a good rank in final list.

5. How you look at General Studies and approach towards each paper: General studies (GS) is becoming more and more analytical these days. The preparation has to be tuned accordingly. GS-1 which has relatively much static content compared to GS-2 & GS-3 still needs answer writing practice from an analytical approach. A test series along with toppers copy review can be a good way to start. Also, please understand the syllabus thoroughly and prepare each topic in 360 degree manner. Answer writing practice (AWP) and Revision must be continuous throughout preparation.For GS2 special focus on constitutional articles, supreme court judgements, bills etc should be given and these should be duly mentioned in answers. For GS-3 which is the most dynamic paper of all GS paper, focus should be on Indian economy and latest developments. Economic survey, Budget documents, NITI special reports can be utilised for marks enhancement. For GS-4 focus should be on writing answers in your own language and this should be supported by good examples which shows your understating of ground realities.

6. Essay Preparation & Topics you picked: Essay preparation needs focus on introduction, body and conclusion, especially the introduction and conclusion should be well thought of and should be engaging in nature. Personal anecdotes or a story used to be my preferred way of starting an essay. One should work on collecting some useful quotes and anecdotes. The preparation of broad topics like women related issues, education, health, human development, poverty, digital revolution, AI etc can be done well in advance. This will provide fodder material for writing a good essay. One should also focus on practicing some philosophical essays as at least one essay will have to be written on such topics. In CSE-2018 I wrote essay on these topics: 1.Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. 2. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.

7. Interview Board, Date of Interview and Questions asked (Attach Interview Transcript, if made): Date of Interview: 28th March 2019, Interview board: Smita Nagraj ma’am.

8. What role Essay & Interview marks played in your success. Was your final score near your expectations? : I got 127 in essay. Given this year’s essay scores it can be considered as a decent score. I was expecting essay marks to be in between 135-140. In interview I was expecting a decent marks given my interview went well. I got 182 this year which is my highest interview scores in all UPSC attempts (I have given three CSE interviews in 5 attempts). A decent essay score and a good interview marks helped me in getting a good rank finally.

9. Brief about family & their contribution: My father is a farmer, my mother is a homemaker and my elder brother is a station master in Indian Railways. My family has immense contribution in my success. My father always motivated me, especially when I faced failures. He always spoke in a comforting tone making me believe ki “Thik hai, koi na, is baar nahi to agli baar sahi”. He will keep bringing various stories to keep me motivated. My mother always had greatest faith in me. She will pray to God a lot for my selection. Ultimately God helped me in the end. 🙂 A supportive family and a positive environment at home helped me in reaching my dream.

10. From where got the right advice on preparation plan: Unfortunately I didn’t have right guidance in first two attempts. I explored all these aspects myself.I went through various toppers blog, got active on few websites, formed a close peer group on telegram. All this happened in a gradual manner. By 3rd attempt I was much aware and had a greater understanding of what I need to read and how I need to read.

11. What contributed the most in getting top ranks in this attempt: A decent performance across all papers and a good interview score. In previous attempts I was missing selection by few marks only.

12. Anything specific that can motivate future aspirants: UPSC journey is full of unpredictability. There will be moments of failures at various stages. What is important is protecting yourself in all such moments. I say this because I know how difficult it is to not see your name in the pdf, either after pre, after mains or after interview. In those dark moments be a little kinder to yourself. Look in the mirror, look at the person looking in the mirror, feel a little proud of the journey you have taken so far, sacrifices made so far. Give that person a pat on the back, and smile a little bit. “Not today” as Syrio Forel told Arya Stark, you tell yourself the same thing…” Not today”. Today is not the day you let your guards down. Be the finest warrior you are. Be the best on those days. It’s a game of mental strength. You need to become that person, same way Arya stark becomes the sharpest warrior through years of pain and training.

Success will be there eventually with such an attitude

13. Secret of Success: DCP strategy: Dedication & Discipline, Consistency and perseverance. Being a working aspirant I had to show utmost level of discipline in time management and always be dedicated to CSE preparation. There were ups and downs but I did ensure a consistency in my preparation despite having a challenging work environment. Ultimately this exam is also a test of your mental strength and a lot of perseverance is needed to keep going through different failures.

14. Optional Subject: Public Administration

15. No. of Attempts :5

16. If not your first attempt, how you visualize your previous attempts: In first two attempts I was still trying to understand the demand of the exam.Managing preparation along with a full time job was challenging and lack of proper guidance did lead to some misdirected efforts. In next three attempts I was able to reach interview stage and was finally selected in my 5th attempt. There were few areas which needed improvement and one can only learn from one’s failures. However I am also glad that I was able to withstand all the pressure that comes with repeated failures. It ultimately made me a more stronger person and gave me a chance of self-discovery.

17. Any Previous Selections: None

18. Book List (If available)

19. Credit for your success – who deserves the most… My parents and my big brother

20. In the end most important question: Is crossing Preliminary Examination really a challenge as some candidates say it is pure luck: It is true that prelims has become very challenging these years. The nature of question is such that it demands an in-depth study of various issues. Now UPSC is checking the analytical abilities of candidates at prelims level also. Given these dynamic changes aspirants need to tune their preparation accordingly. Unpredictability is definitely there but we can only control the controllable. So one should focus on preparing as per the changing demand of the papers,

Also please send 3-4 Photographs (preferably a family photo also) along with summary of DAF and mark-sheet.

I got AIR 54 in CSE 2018, result of which was declared on 5th April 2019.

In previous two attempts I missed final selection by few marks and major reason for failure was poor/below avg marks in interview.

In CSE 2018, I got 182 in interview.

IMO, following needs to be done for PT:

1. Mocks must be minimized. Don’t over do it.
2. Focus more on yourself, by yourself.
3. Have a conversation with yourself, look within, know who you are.
4. Play with words, focus on clarity & brevity. Don’t say extra things if not asked.
5. Have a person who motivates you in this journey. I was lucky that I had some good friends and I owe a lot to them for my success.

In this short article, I am detailing to-the-points strategy for aspirants.

1. Complete NCERT
2. Do basic books like Laxmikanth, Spectrum etc
3. Do mocks
4. Plan your GS & Optional along with pre. But closer to prelims day, your focus should be solely on prelims
5. Post prelims join a test series. Be regular with respect to answer writing.
6. Enrich and improve your answers . Make notes. I used to make notes on evernotes. This will augument marks.
7. Post mains, focus on PT. Don’t overdo mock, prepare yourself thoroughly by yourself and with help of friends. Stay positive.

All the best.

On notes making:

I have compiled my GS notes in the below link. They are mostly on evernote. Being in a job I found evernote useful as I can access it from anywhere. My handwritten notes are very few.

These notes have been made from various sources: forumias material, visionias material, toppers answersheet, economic survey, heavy use of internet, NCERT books etc.

Many of these are not very neat and have been made for revision purpose.

Many notes are very small and serve only an indicative purpose like what are the various things one should cover (like NCERT Crux, Economic survey notes).

IMO aspirants can benefit more from my essay and GS-4 notes as it takes some time to collect good examples, quote for these two papers. I have worked upon these and you can further build upon that.

GS1,GS2,GS3 notes are more of compilation of various things I read. I just segregated them for easy revision.

I also made a number of notes on current affairs.

All these are listed in the link below. If not the line-by-line reading, then a broad perusal might help you in understanding the architecture of notes making.

General Studies Notes

I have been asked this questions hundreds of time. I qualified UPSC Civil services exam while working in an oil and gas company. I gave 5 attempts at UPSC, all while working. I will share my experiences and insights to help all working professionals in their journey of UPSC.

1. First of all, you need to have a mindset about your current job. It should be treated as a temporary phenomenon in your life. Assume that it is just a job, it is not something where you want to spend your entire life. Your passion and that burning desire for civil services should be your guiding criteria at your work place. So, treat your job as it is: It is secondary to your preparation. By this I don’t mean that you become too negligent at work. That should not be the case and an aspiring civil servant should never do that. You should have that adequate level of efficiency and professionalism and you should be able to complete all your deliverables within time. Don’t run after appraisals. Even if you get a bad one, it is not the end of your life. A little sacrifice is needed for a noble cause.

2. I suggest that you keep your UPSC preparation a secret affair. I understand that this is applicable mostly to private sector as in public sector one might have to submit NOC and hence revelation.

3. Plan your time up to minutes and in some cases up to seconds also (I actually calculated how much time it takes to remove a laced shoes and a slip on shoes once I come back from office. I know it does not make much sense, but those who fight for seconds will look for all possible savings they can and that’s what I did. By changing from laced shoes to slip-on shoes I saved 30-40 seconds)

4. In initial years of preparation when the focus is on building foundation one will have to work extra hard. I remember waking up at 4 AM and reading for 2-3 hrs before leaving for office by 8 AM. So you have to show extra discipline and hardwork in initial years.

5. It gets difficult to read in evening sometimes due to office fatigue and stress. So set a manageable target in evening, don’t be too greedy.

6. Mornings are best for working professionals as chances of getting disturbed in morning is almost zero. So plan your sleep cycle accordingly. It is better to read with a fresh mind in the morning

7. Don’t wait for hardcopy of newspaper. Start reading pdf copies of newspaper (The Hindu/India express). These are easily available in various telegram groups.

8. Avoid reading on office computers, avoid discussing UPSC topics with colleagues. Stay committed to your work. You can read some news or some articles on your mobile though but do that during tea breaks or during lunch hours. I used to skip lunches and used to read something in that break. You see, you got to be hungry to qualify UPSC :p

9. You have to avoid social gatherings and office parties on purpose. It is just one of the sacrifices you have to make for UPSC.

10. Avoid confrontation at work place as much as you can. A disturbed mind is not good for preparation. You need to be calm as rock to keep your preparation on track.

11. Be respectful and kind: everyone you meet is fighting a different battle. Help someone at workplace if you can. I don’t know how it works but positive energy and blessings find a way to help you.

12. Use telegram extensively as it is faster, saves time and helps in network learning.

13. Use evernote or other online note making platform for making notes. As a working aspirant it is crucial to have an accessible note making platform in any situation. (I have shared my notes at the end of this write up, will give you an idea on how to use evernote).

14. Don’t take decisions in haste if you face any setbacks at any stage of exam: pre, mains or interview. Give a week time and get back to preparation again.

15. Quitting job is not really a solution. Take it as a challenge and assume that you might have to work in even harsher situations and deliver more difficult targets once you become a civil servant. Such a thinking will bring that positive boost to complete you assignments in your current job. It is important to balance UPSC preparation and your professional responsibility.

General Studies Notes

All the best.

SKR

How did you manage your UPSC preparation with a job?

1. First of all, you need to have a mindset about your current job. It should be treated as a temporary phenomenon in your life. Assume that it is just a job, it is not something where you want to spend your entire life. Your passion and that burning desire for civil services should be your guiding criteria at your work place. So, treat your job as it is: It is secondary to your preparation. By this I don’t mean that you become too negligent at work. That should not be the case and an aspiring civil servant should never do that. You should have that adequate level of efficiency and professionalism and you should be able to complete all your deliverables within time. Don’t run after appraisals. Even if you get a bad one, it is not the end of your life. A little sacrifice is needed for a noble cause.

2. I suggest that you keep your UPSC preparation a secret affair. I understand that this is applicable mostly to private sector as in public sector one might have to submit NOC and hence revelation.

3. Plan your time up to minutes and in some cases up to seconds also (I actually calculated how much time it takes to remove a laced shoes and a slip on shoes once I come back from office. I know it does not make much sense, but those who fight for seconds will look for all possible savings they can and that’s what I did. By changing from laced shoes to slip-on shoes I saved 30-40 seconds)

4. In initial years of preparation when the focus is on building foundation one will have to work extra hard. I remember waking up at 4 AM and reading for 2-3 hrs before leaving for office by 8 AM. So you have to show extra discipline and hardwork in initial years.

5. It gets difficult to read in evening sometimes due to office fatigue and stress. So set a manageable target in evening, don’t be too greedy.

6. Mornings are best for working professionals as chances of getting disturbed in morning is almost zero. So plan your sleep cycle accordingly. It is better to read with a fresh mind in the morning

7. Don’t wait for hardcopy of newspaper. Start reading pdf copies of newspaper (The Hindu/India express). These are easily available in various telegram groups.

8. Avoid reading on office computers, avoid discussing UPSC topics with colleagues. Stay committed to your work. You can read some news or some articles on your mobile though but do that during tea breaks or during lunch hours. I used to skip lunches and used to read something in that break. You see, you got to be hungry to qualify UPSC :p

9. You have to avoid social gatherings and office parties on purpose. It is just one of the sacrifices you have to make for UPSC.

10. Avoid confrontation at work place as much as you can. A disturbed mind is not good for preparation. You need to be calm as rock to keep your preparation on track.

11. Be respectful and kind: everyone you meet is fighting a different battle. Help someone at workplace if you can. I don’t know how it works but positive energy and blessings find a way to help you.

12. Use telegram extensively as it is faster, saves time and helps in network learning.

13. Use evernote or other online note making platform for making notes. As a working aspirant it is crucial to have an accessible note making platform in any situation. (I have shared my notes at the end of this write up, will give you an idea on how to use evernote).

14. Don’t take decisions in haste if you face any setbacks at any stage of exam: pre, mains or interview. Give a week time and get back to preparation again.

15. Quitting job is not really a solution. Take it as a challenge and assume that you might have to work in even harsher situations and deliver more difficult targets once you become a civil servant. Such a thinking will bring that positive boost to complete you assignments in your current job. It is important to balance UPSC preparation and your professional responsibility.

General Studies Notes

All the best.

SKR