Time n Anxiety Management

Daily Schedule;

 -on an average i used to study 10 hrs.though could vary in range of 5-15 hrs(5 hrs when i take a break out with friends n 15 when when i get engrossed with some topic) more than time ,quality matters.
-I used to divide my day into 4 time slots;
8:00am-12:00,  12:00-4:00,  4:00-800pm and finally 8:00-12:00.
after every time slot I preffered to give five/ten minutes for analysis of what has been studied.is it good enough? if yes, i can relax a bit n have a pep talks with friends else have to sincerely concerate in next time slot.
at the end of the day,i would review the whole day study,was it satisfactory? if yes, i will go for peaceful sleep...(where is the tension?)
and ya,once a week, i allowed myself a day out with friends,movies,eating chat at meerut wala.this is a way to give mind a break. its the limitation of mind(learnt this in psychology classes-spaced learning).else after ten days of intense studies mind will automatically take the break.
-my day used to start with hindu at around 7;30 or 8:00,read it for 1-11/2 hrs.
-some breaks with friends,families or activites onee enjoy are important as it relaxes mind . when we start studying after this break,its with increased vigour n hence more productive.

time distribution for gs n optionals;

 -the initial time should be given for second optional as first optional has just been prepared for prelims.
-as time of mains near, try studing all three so that u maintain tough with all n dont get anxious over losing control on one specific thing.
 -initial months for clearing concepts and later ones for studing currents in detail(by this time which issues r important for this year will be clear) and value additions.
-dont waste time in day dreaming,believing rumours(which r abundant in mukherjee nagar) and arguments or anxiety about the results(anyways our mere thinking wont change them).

total time for preparation and my experiences:

 on the whole i gav approx  two  years.in this period also did job.
 i didnt knew even basics about three  stages when i started preparation in oct 2007 when i was also doing internship(morning 9-1pm).i did gs n socio from 2-5pm n then gs from 5-7:30. by 8:30 i was dead tired n just used to revise a bit or sleep straight away.
 after march i started my self study,focus on gs(which was actually wrong,coz optional had more weightage)gave pre in may n then psycho coaching with june 2008 batch.results came in aug n i didnt qualify.
 around oct when psycho coaching ended ,i started with only pre preparation,gav raj pre in jan,haryana pre in april . result of both came before upsc prelims n was positive. i then gav upsc prelims n was sure of qualifying it. so joined test series n essay classes straight away.i also did one month job in this time as it was not much demanding one(was in ENT dept n had no night duties)  aug i gav raj n haryana mains n got to know requirement of stamina n value of answer writing.
after result of prelims joined vajiram refresher course for old students.by around oct 12th my prepn was over n satisfactory. 23 rd mains started .thereafter i joined job in jan(where i m still continuing), did self prepn for intw. in march when mains result came joined vaji ram n sankalp n my intw was in march end itself.
wel,my this part was not the ideal one as not clearing prelims in first attempt spoiled many plans of mine.basically, i feel that be one needs to giv a complete focussed effort of 1 year before exam,esp if both optionals r different from background n atleast 6 months if optional r related to background. exam's level demands much effort,else we may get struck at some stage.wel, its my thinking what i learned from my first attempt.

ANXIETY MANAGEMENT:

-basically,its human to b anxious before exam...but it can dangerously eat up our time n energy esp just before exam...what to do? here is what i did :-
-i had planned every time slot even for days before exam,so i was forced to focus on completing that topic than thinking anything else.
- i was in close communication with reliable friends,teachers n parents n had candid discussions whenever i was tensed.
-more importantly,used to enjoy what i was studing.was interested n curious while learning,rather than only thinking about  appearing for toughest exam n what will b the results...thus developed a genuine interest .
-when u dont find a way out-hav faith in god n leave it to him.