How to study like a Topper.
Part 1 Cheat Sheet
Step #1. Manage Your Time in 5 Min/Day
• Jot down to-dos and deadlines on a list whenever they
arise.
• Transfer these to-dos and deadlines to your calendar every
morning.
• Plan your day each morning by labeling your to-dos with
realistic time frames and moving what you don’t have time for
to different dates.
Step #2. Declare War on Procrastination
• Keep a work progress journal, and every day record what
you wanted to accomplish and whether or not you
succeeded.
• When working, eat healthy snacks to maximize your energy.
• Transform horrible tasks into a big event to help you gather
the energy to start.
• Build work routines to make steady progress on your
obligations without expending too much of your limited
motivational resources.
• Choose your hard days in advance to minimize their impact.
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Step #3. Choose When, Where, and How
Long
• Try to fit as much work as possible into the morning and
afternoon, between classes and obligations.
• Study in isolated locations.
• Take a break every hour.
Part Two Cheat Sheet
Step #1. Take Smart Notes
• Always go to class and try to take the best notes possible.
• For nontechnical courses, capture the big ideas by taking
notes in the question/evidence/conclusion format.
• For technical courses, record as many sample problems
and answers as possible.
Step #2. Demote Your Assignments
• Read only the favored sources on the syllabus in detail. To
decide how much time to spend on supplemental sources,
remember the importance hierarchy:
Core books.
readings that describe an event or person, which are
more important than
readings that only provide context (i.e., speech
transcripts, press clippings).
• Take reading notes in the question/evidence/conclusion
format.
TG: https://t.me/UPSCprepIAS YT: https://youtube.com/@UPSCprepIAS Whatsapp: 8209416936
• Work in groups on problem sets, solve problems on the go,
and write up your answers formally the first time.
Step #3. Marshal Your Resources
• Figure out exactly what the test will cover.
• Cluster your notes for nontechnical courses.
• Build mega-problem sets for technical courses.
Step #4. Conquer the Material
• Embrace the quiz-and-recall method. It’s the single most
efficient way to study.
• Spread out memorization over several days. Your mind can
do only so much at a time.
Step #5. Invest in “Academic Disaster
Insurance”
• Eliminate the question marks for topics covered in class or
from the reading that you don’t understand.
Step #6. “A+” Attempt
• Look over the whole test first.
• Figure out how much time you have to spend on each
question (leaving a ten-minute cushion at the end).
• Answer the questions in order of increasing difficulty.
• Use any and all leftover time to check and recheck your
work.
TG: https://t.me/UPSCprepIAS YT: https://youtube.com/@UPSCprepIAS Whatsapp: 8209416936
