With the Civil Services Preliminary Exam just a month ahead, almost all aspirants are likely to experience stress and anxiety. This is true of all examinations. The first time a student experiences this is during the Class X Board examination when undue pressure is exerted on the student by friends and family, as if this is the examination that will define the course of his life. However, stress and anxiety are not bad in moderation.
During preparation
Most aspirants attempt to cover every resource that is available in the market (visit bookshops, photocopy shops, online portals and collect all available resources). As the material piles up, stress and anxiety are created. Instead, gain thorough knowledge about the syllabus first. Then, one NCERT book should be focused on with an additional book used as reference. UPSC exam: Manage your stress
Lack of Proper Plan
Lack of proper planning and time management make aspirants feel exhausted. There is a common myth that studying 12-14 hours every day would help them prepare well. In truth, this is an unplanned schedule, which only creates stress and makes the preparation process even slower. Proper planning is a must throughout. A plan should include short-term, middle-term and long-term targets. Rather than making the preparation quantitative, aspirants should rather make it qualitative. UPSC exam: Manage your stress
In order to get an edge over the competitors, instead of focusing on their own strategy and level of preparation, aspirants try to imitate others blindly. In the process, they fail to understand their own strengths and weaknesses. Aspirants need to understand that everyone has his/her own potential, learning ability, perspective and way of understanding things. So instead of following others’ strategies, aspirants should analyse their own weaknesses and strengths.
Myths
Because of several myths, aspirants believe that they have to sacrifice their social life and study day and night. As a result, they end up confined to a room for long hours. This is a major cause of stress. Aspirants should not only focus on enhancing academic knowledge but should develop the right personality traits, which are prerequisite to successful get through all three stages of examination. So it’s important for aspirants to go outdoors, play a sport or discuss the current events with others to know others’ perspectives and to think like an administrator. UPSC exam: Manage your stress
A day before the exam
There are different approaches to study for the examination:
- Study till the last moment, or stop studying a day before the examination and relax.
- During the exam, Don’t feel stressed if you are unable to answer a question.
- Try to attempt questions you know and leave the ones you have no idea about.
- Making a few informed guess is inevitable for most aspirants.
UPSC exam: Manage your stress, UPSC exam: Manage your stress
