Try to be little strategic and mechanical in solving prelims papers. The less emotions you involve, the more efficient you'll become. It's all about conquering fear of failure in prelims. With a strategic approach, you'll get into a rhythm and worry less about the "toughness" of the exam.

It's like using Machine Learning on human beings! 😄

Sharing here the WhatsApp group chat where me and my friends - Ashish, Prateek and Ajay discussed MCQs.

It contains only the questions, answer you need to find yourself!

Many people have asked me about my booklist. It's more or less similar to my friend Prudhvitej's booklist (AIR 24 UPSC 2017) - replace all classnotes with Vajiram classnotes.

It'll take me sometime to arrange all the information. Till then you can refer to his sources: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lpa7-LoNMQ36OsDuyJtJDCpu89bMJ50f

Also, he has made some good notes from NCERTs. Those who want to make their own notes can "cross check" with his. I'll again emphasize that do not read from or copy his notes. Do it yourself.

If you see the sources are extremely limited, which is critical for quick revision. 1st timers do not have time to read more than this(specially with Maths optional!).

Build up basic understanding on issues and then start writing answers.

[Mathematics optional:]

People who are asking for Mathematics strategy and tips can refer to this video:
https://youtu.be/ZXePAS8Bjjk

The video is little long. But please listen if you have doubts in choosing optional or planning the process.

Since focus is more on prelims, I'm refraining from sharing extra information at the moment. Those who are preparing for next year and have already opted Mathematics, please wait for some more time. I'll share as soon as I have enough bamdwidth.

[Clarification post:]

I do not want people to be misguided or trapped in by the coaching institutes.

Though I took help for some specific issues, many of them are unfairly claiming me as "their student".

When I signed up for test series, mocks etc., I was aware of such practices but I had no clue what the future would bestow upon me! It can be termed as a measure to prepare myself in the best way possible.

I'm highly grateful for all the support(minor/major) I received but there is a lot which goes in form of self preparation as well.

It's my responsibility to convey which platforms I did use and what was my experience in it.

There were lots of challenges as well, specially in last 1 year when I prepared on my own in Jaipur. I would also share about them.

Vajiram and Ravi:

General Studies Classroom student (2017-18):
Excellent faculty, pathetic administration. Tortured in 1st week itself during registration process. Staff is more interested in running a business/industry. Apathetic to students' interests.
Had it not been for some truly amazing faculty like Vibhas Sir, Samyak Sir, Shivarpit Sir, Ravindran Sir, Abhey Sir, Gautam Sir (list goes on), I might have left it within 7-10 days.

Interview Guidance(2019):
One 1-1 interaction with Ravindran Sir. One of the best conversations I had during interview preparation. Ended on a high, so decided to keep it as my last session before UPSC interview. Hadn't received good feedback about mocks, so decided to give it a pass.

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Vision IAS:

Enrolled in Mains Test series in 2018.
8 Full length tests at Jaipur Centre. Detailed feedback after I receive my marks.
Also referred to some relevant compilations and supplementary materials.

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Triumph IAS:

Wrote 3 Essay tests at home and got them evaluated by uploading a pdf. I'll be able to gauge their evaluation only after I receive my marks.
The experience could have been better. I was promised quick personalised evaluation but sometimes I had to send reminder texts/calls after 12-13 days. Those who enroll from outside Delhi should keep this in mind.

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KSG:

Enrolled for Mocks. Very good experience. Khan Sir helped me a lot during the preparation phase.

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Chanakya / Dhyeya / Samkalp:

Enrolled for MOCKS ONLY. Nothing exceptional. I just picked them to cover a broader question set based upon my profile and practice as much as possible.

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Other online platforms:

1. Unacademy: tried in my 1st month of preparation. Didn't find it relevant for me. Sometimes had a look if I had to find some information. NOT A REGULAR LEARNER.

2. IASBaba: Followed TLP platform for Answer Writing Practice(AWP) after Prelims. It helped me get into the AWP groove. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND to those who want to get started with AWP. Quality of questions is good. But feedback is difficult as many people upload their answers. If you are able to get in touch with 3-4 people, it'll certainly be mutually beneficial. Otherwise you might feel a little lost.

3. InsightsonIndia: utilised for prelims (as explained earlier). Didn't find Mains answer writing platform relevant for me. Preferred IASBaba more for their quality of questions.

4. ForumIAS: utilised for prelims and few offline tests at home.

Additionally, I had joined "IMS" for Mathematics optional. Their notes are truly amazing and I fully relied on them. Just for a couple of sub-topics, I referred to some standard books.
If you want to maximise your returns in Maths, don't bank fully on coaching. Multi-task if possible and read topics at home. If you get confused or need some course correction, coaching is there. But most of the effort has to be self-driven.

Final morale is that the preparation needs to be very dynamic. There is no single platform which can make you sail through the process. You need to be quick in decision making and utilise whatever resources you have at your disposal.
There is lots of noise around you. Don't get distracted by them and follow your own process.

PS: I'll give detailed feedback on GS AWP, Essays etc only after seeing my marks breakdown.

Sorry for the delay.

Prelims

[Map Work:]

A highly recommended DO IT YOURSELF exercise, specially with Prelims in focus.

If you draw everything yourself, there is a better understanding of places and distribution of resources and biodiversity.

The exercise may take some good amount of time but I did it keeping the potential reward in mind, given the extra emphasis on "Environment" in prelims by UPSC.

Also, it can serve as a tool for quick revision of some topics like Soil, physiography etc in Geography.

I am sharing my Map book and exercises which I had done. Please Do It Yourself (DIY - henceforth) and don't merely copy it. You can use it as a reference. I relied on official government sources to mark all the places properly instead of an Atlas.

Also try to have correlated maps close to each other such as National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and species etc. It helps develop better understanding. This you'll realize after you complete the exercise as retention would be much more (A tip I got from Prudhvi).

The left pages have some basic information to revise or refer to for better reading of Maps on right page.

None of the maps were done in a single go. I took more than 3 4 weeks(specially River basins map). This way I revised what I did earlier and never got bored with mapping exercise.

Note on River basins map:

I only marked things which I could remember. If I felt I can't remember the tributary, I would just stop and move to some other river.

As I have said earlier, be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Don't waste effort in things you can't remember. Optimise everything!

Hi,
This is the link to the folder where I'll be uploading my notes and other relevant material.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivy07gel26vr2yf/AAArCurla9qsE-_0wqs3GFwLa?dl=0

It will contain my Vajiram classnotes and other Self study notes which I made mainly during Mains preparation.

Self notes were referenced from classnotes, Vision Mains 365, internet and other standard books. They became the primary source for quick revision.

Other material such as organized PYQs, Map work etc will also be made available.

The notes will be added over a period of time. I will send out a message here regarding the new additions. If I have enough time, I will also try to add an index for quick access and a guide to better understand the notes.

PS: I will again urge everyone to make notes on their own and use my notes only for reference. Notes by earlier successful aspirants are also present online. If they make more sense to you, please follow them!

The notes do not have any strict separation for prelims and mains. You need to identify yourself. Organization has been done in form of Mains syllabus for obvious reasons!

Also, please pardon me for sharing mixture of online and offline notes. I couldn't identify the correct way myself and ended up doing both instead of wasting time on choosing one. However, post prelims I made a conscious effort to make written notes. It helped me develop good speed, maintain rhythm and get into AWP groove.

While evaluating various platform, I missed out on one important place where I took interview guidance.

I had a couple of sessions at "Ianugrah" under the guidance of Sudhir Chandra Sir. He provided personalised guidance and some important tips for the Personality Test.

I would recommend the aspirants to give it a try. Sir has very important insights into the interview process which may be helpful to you.