In preparation for the Civil Services exam, aspirants are under a lot of pressure because of the cutthroat competition and end up taking a lot of stress. UPSC aspirants have to do many things like covering the syllabus, doing revision, taking mock tests, reading newspapers to be up to date with the current happenings, and much more. These things are to be done in a certain period of time, and thus it gets more difficult.
All of the stress building up will end up taking a huge toll on the aspirant’s mental and physical health. To deal with it, in this article, we will be discussing some tips to beat UPSC exam stress.
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Tips to Beat the UPSC Exam Stress
Clearing the UPSC exam in the first attempt is not an easy task, but no need to worry, all you need to do is follow these tips to beat UPSC exam stress.
1. Maintain a Diet
Aspirants should maintain a healthy diet, and it should consist of vegetables, fruits, juices, etc. Eating the right food will make the learning procedure much easier and improve concentration. We all are well aware that it is difficult to maintain a diet during exams, but it is a vital part as only with a healthy body will the mind be healthy too. Avoid eating junk food items, snacks, and beverages with high caffeine because they would make you feel lethargic and tired. Instead, pick foods with a high nutritional value and are easy to digest.
2. Exercise Daily
Aspirants should maintain a routine of exercising daily, as it would allow them to be active and fit. Exercise releases endorphins and adrenaline and makes one feel energized. You can choose to do a complete workout, go for a walk outside, or do yoga from the comfort of your home.
Read More: Mistakes to Avoid in UPSC Preparation
3. Meditation and Yoga
Yoga and meditation will offer you maintain mental and physical health. Meditation will enable you to be focused, stress-free, and feel calm. This keeps your mind and body functioning properly and can retain information easily.
4. Get Good Sleep
While preparing for the exam, follow a routine of getting enough sleep each day. Getting enough sleep will ensure that you will be able to study and absorb information much more easily. Switch off the mobile phone and laptop before sleeping and avoid studying from your bed, as then it might become a habit. In the UPSC exam, aspirants are expected to stay up all night and burn the midnight oil while preparing for the exam.
Keep in mind that your brain and body will need enough rest so that you can continue to still be able to retain the information the very next day. When your body does not get enough sleep, you would feel grouchy. So, it is advised to sleep for 6 to 7 hours each day. This is one of the most important tip to beat UPSC exam stress.
5. Devise a Study Plan
While preparing for the exam, it is best to devise a plan and adhere to it. It will help you in many ways as you won’t be looking for what to study, when to study, and how much to study. Follow a schedule for all the syllabus topics and keep at it. It will also ensure that you will be focused on what you are studying rather than just studying all the topics in the end and being stressed about covering the remaining topics.
6. Take Small Breaks
Taking small breaks between studying is essential for a seamless preparation for the UPSC exam. Small breaks will boost your attention capabilities and would also ensure that you would study without getting bored. Because a point will come when you feel like you can’t study anymore, you would want to take a mini-break to relax. Furthermore, make sure that you take a small break and avoid spacing out because it will waste time for the entire day.
Read More: Which Newspaper is Best for UPSC Preparation?
7. Maintain a Hobby
Maintaining a hobby can be an excellent way to relieve UPSC exam stress. But that doesn’t mean that you give all your time to a hobby. Just have something to look forward to each day, such as writing a journal, painting, or doing some gardening. It will tremendously help you in studying.
8. Avoid being Distracted
In this age, there are various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram which will distract you while studying. Keep your phone on Do Not Disturb mode and focus on studying. Deactivate all your accounts from the social media platforms for some time.
9. Have Faith in Yourself
It is okay to have doubts and fears about not being able to clear the exam but have some faith and believe in yourself. Get motivation by reading the success stories of IAS toppers. Follow a study plan, stay focused, be calm, cover all the topics, do revision, and everything else will work out smoothly.
10. Refer to the standard books
Reading and referring to the standard books is advised while preparing for the UPSC exam. As referring to many books would lead to chaos, you would be stressed. So refer to the standard NCERT books.
11. Gain Confidence
Some aspirants might be students, or some might be working professionals, so keeping that in mind, make a step-wise preparation on how you want to accomplish your goals in a single day. As time goes by, you will gain confidence in all the covered topics.
12. Revise all the topics
Revision is the mantra for achieving success in the CSE exam. Furthermore, you would find it difficult to recollect the information you had already studied without revision of the topics. It will be hard to retain new information in the brain.
Read More: 1 Year Study Plan for IAS
13. Be Practical
In the preparation, have practical goals for the exam and begin with the preparation. Avoid being stressed and under the pressure of completing all the topics. Make sure to try as many exam papers from previous years and in this way you will get a lot of practice.
14. Improve Your Attention Abilities
Many aspirants face the problem of not being attentive enough to their studies during the exam, leading to a big problem. When a person is stressed, they would find it very difficult to concentrate on their studies. So it is best to study with a free mind and have a goal to get good results.
15. Understand the Topics
Give as much attention as you can to understanding all the topics in depth. As cramming the information will do no good because you would find it difficult to recollect all the information while writing answers for the exam.
16. Avoid Overthinking
While preparing for the exam, man aspirants think about what is more to come in the future and keep wondering about the outcomes. Avoid overthinking the IAS exam, and stay focused on your exam preparation.
17. Listen to Music
Music is a great stress buster. And it is seen that music has a positive effect on a student’s mind and allows them to study by being stress-free and more efficiently.
Read More: NCERT Books for IAS Preparation
Final Word
So, to wrap up this topic, I hope that this article was helpful to you. The tips to beat UPSC exam stress above will prove to be beneficial in relieving UPSC exam stress.
Just remember that you cannot get more time or be able to focus only on studying. But instead, you get the option to make the most of the time and the resources available to you in the best manner. Develop a plan and gradually keep working on all your goals for the exam. Follow a schedule, be consistent and try to cover the topics in a certain period of time. Get good sleep, work out, be positive and give it your all to clear the IAS exam. You can also join a good IAS coaching for your preparation.
Aspirants should not be afraid of not being able to clear the exam; rather, they should focus on being prepared thoroughly for the exam. Follow all the tips to beat the UPSC exam stress.
All the best!
