Toh bata do sabko 😂

Kya kijiyega itni bread ka 😂

Carbs are never not tasty… 🙃

From mid January till 30th January...I didn't know what productivity meant..If it was waking up at 7am and then after doing nothing sleeping at 11pm..(then yes.. i was highly productive)I don't know what it was..( may be the impact of 29th October when I didn't see my roll no. in the list + the ongoing struggle of being focused)

At times I clocked 8 hrs..7 hrs..even 9 hrs(kisi tarah i guess before prelims)..but for last few weeks it was only 3-4 hrs..NOT MORE THAN THAT..(even if I was sure that somebody might be studying in these hours..)but thankfully after sharing all my problems and thoughts now I'm back on track...

Coming back to the motive of the thread...On an average I spend 7-8 hrs a day...(LIBRARY+HOME EDITION)....BUT..BUT....( sometimes it depends) on a particular target..I think it is more than enough if THE FOCUS IS HIGH..people saying 10-15 hrs of study is good( I SERIOUSLY DON'T BELIEVE THEM)...ALSO making SLOTS is a very interesting activity..i follow this rule..

Well..depends P2P...:) At the end being mentally active is also a challenge..! So..give time to everything..(MEDITATION.. EXERCISE.. STUDY.. OUTING..).:) 

So, who am I? 

Didi is giving gems pe gems these days. :p

Masterpiece. Big fan. :P

She is always at it 

Aajkal packet m bohot kam gems aate h… capitalism ka nateeja

I don’t want to face the same fate of Marie Antoinette 

thanks for the appreciation 😂😂👍

Serious answer here. 

I'm facing the exact same problem, the perennial 'kitne ghante padna hai'. Tried app blockers also but seems like my own brain refuses to focus after an hour. Keep telling myself 'motivation is secondary, focus on being discipliner' but even my efficiency levels drop if I study for too long. 

My friend who is also preparing for UPSC claimed that she studied for 10-12 hrs. I have absolutely no clue how people do this. I've been a fairly meritocratic student throughout my life, went to two top tier colleges of India without having to study for long hours, but this exam is seriously making me doubt whether I'll ever finish the syllabus and revise in time. The hours debate may not be valid for any other exam but for UPSC I think it is. 

If anyone knows the answer, please enlighten the rest of us. I'm trying to search for solid answers to this question for nearly 3 years now. 

Maybe try not to fight your habits and make a way around that? Since you can't focus more than an hour in a single sitting, obviously 3-4 hour-long sessions won't work for you. Also, you've mentioned two top tier colleges, I'm assuming the latter is IIM.  CAT and CSE both are different in terms of sustained efforts required. You can try increasing the effort you've put in previous competitive exams with more discipline. Point is, you don't need to follow your friend who's putting in 10-12 hours. Personally, I find that unsustainable and so does people around me. In the end, we all are humans. 

For the first query about not being able to sit for long hours and that sitting for long number of hours impacting your productivity, I will suggest that then don't force yourself into it. I am one of those who can't sit for 2-3 hours at a stretch and I need some sort of break, however small it be. So now rather than forcefully sitting there and trying focus, I take a break  for like 5 mins and then come back. And in those 5 mins I will either listen a song or just chit chat ya whatever. I won't hide the fact that sometimes the break stretches to like 15 mins or more also, but I am trying to control it. You can do that as well.

And one should always know that what works for one, 10-12 hrs might be good for your friend but not for you, so you should accept that and not judge yourself according to her standards.

 Hours don't matter rather what matters is are you able to complete your targets and how focused you are during those hours.

hi. i have been (at least was) facing the exact same problem for long. been decently good at academics throughout, and yet, ever since i began preparing, i couldn't gather either enough motivation or enough discipline for this exam. and this has been the story for more than two years now. so much so that i began to doubt my ability to 'ever' be disciplined. 

but a few days back, completely tired at my failures to discipline myself (and after trying all sorts of time-tables, app-blockers, habit builders and other stuff), i made a small but very significant change, and also came to a little realisation:

1. i quit my smartphone. shifted to an old Samsung Guru that stays mostly with my Dadi. i have survived (rather, thrived) well without it, so at least i'm convinced that i'm not the compulsive procrastinator that i thought i was. not that you necessarily need to do it, but it does boost a lot of confidence, believe me. the idea that you control, and are not controlled, by technology is liberating. these days, like the old times, i check my social media (this forum, telegram, mail), only once a day on my laptop. and man does it make you feel old-school (and warm). 

2. that being said, i also realised that "enjoying the process" doesn't mean enjoying those grueling 10 hours. while discipline and consistency are a must, but in this exam, they are rather over-hyped. i mean, we all know that we need to do a decent amount of study everyday, but it doesn't really mean studying till you give up because of the pain in your eyes or mind. this is the routine of the last month, and it better be limited to that. in other words, you should be able to understand your own self, YOUR OWN 'process', before understanding anybody else's (and this includes toppers). and now that i study without any guilt of not doing enough, it is only now that i have actually begun to enjoy this preparation. it is a bliss. 

3. this doesn't mean that you shouldn't challenge your comfort zones, but doing so just for the sake of it, shouldn't be your aim. and this was the primary reason of my frustration this whole time. your preparation itself will tell you when the right time is to challenge yourself, and how. trust yourself in that too. (something that i noticed with some people who clock 10+ hours of study regularly on YPT- they started small, at 4-5 hours or so, and increased with time, of about 2-3 months, perhaps when they knew they could, sustainably.)

i hope this helps. all the best :)

6-8 hours max. with a moderate efficiency. 

also if anyone is studying more than 10 hours, they are not efficient or liers. 

also there is a lean season and peak season in studies. i think those who have emotional control keep at it even in lean season. their average comes out more and they succeed.

Hey guys, 

This is my first post here. I am clocking at 6-7 hours right now. My aim is to go upto 12 gradually and preferably one month before prelims. This is my final attempt and i have failed all my previous prelims due to various reasons ranging from casual attempts, losing steam and uninformed preparation. 

Here's what I do right now to get my hours. 

1) morning meditation and relaxing immediately after waking up.

2) exercise around 1 hour.

3) no compromise on sleep. I sleep when sleepy and wake up when feel like it. 

4) reduce screen time on social media, YouTube etc. 

5) not cutting off contact with family and friends, jus

I believe as everyone pointed out that quality topples quantity in terms of number of hours. But since this is my last try, i just don't want to leave any vagueness. I gave a few FLTs and my score was disheartening, so i really don't have the option to take it easy at all. 

All the best guys.