Role of Time Management in preparation of Competitive Examination

Why the Role of Time Management is important? Have you ever thought off?

Time management plays the most crucial role in the student’s success in the most competitive examinations, such as GATE, ESE, SSC, and individual PSU examinations. It is even applicable to folks in other professional areas who have to stick to severe timelines in their work profile. Professionals working in these sectors are very well aware of the role of time management and its importance. Then where does the problem lie?

How often do you find yourself unable to finish the mock test or exam on time? Are you unable to allocate enough time to cover all subjects? Can’t figure out how much and how long should you study? Do you have ample time for revision? If these are the problems you are facing, it is time you hone your time management skills and build a strong skillset. Time management helps boost confidence and eliminate panic a few weeks before the exams due to the panic situation.

Competitive exams such as GATE, ESE, and other competitive exams have a vast syllabus and specific time limits. One of the few reasons why most fail to crack these competitive exams is the lack of the required time management skills. Such competitive exams test several aspects, including efficiency, alertness, and knowledge.

More often, students feel the first step towards preparing for competitive exams effectively is studying and going through the entire syllabus specified for the respective examination. However, in reality, it is best to start with understanding and working towards managing the time so that everything can fall into place.

Tips for Effective Time Management

How to manage time while preparing for competitive exams?

Each aspirant creates his/her preparation strategy based on his/her requirements. However, we have enlisted major areas with time management tips below. Along with this, you will also get assistance to understand how you can manage time during different preparation stages:

Preparation Phase

1. Prepare a structured and detailed plan
   • Helps get an overview of the syllabus, subjects, and topics that need to be covered.

2. Understanding the exam pattern and trends
   • Most students jump straight away into studying the topics present in the syllabus.
   • The best way to tackle any competitive exam is by going through the previous years’ question papers.
   • It will help you understand the exam pattern and assess subjects or topics that often receive the most importance.

3. Self-Analysis
   • The most important aspect of time management for exam preparation is figuring out your peak learning time during which you stay most productive. The self-analysis tool aims to help you figure out if you are a person who prefers to study at night.
   • Figure out your habits associated with the body cycle and plan your routine around it to gain the best possible results until the time of your competitive exam preparation.
   • Aligning your habits with the actual exam time duration helps to make your brain used to performing its best at that particular time.
   • Make sure to include your daily tasks in your schedule – recreation, sleep, study, and other activities along with the study routine.
   • Conduct weekly performance reviews right from the time you begin your preparation associated with the competitive exams – assess yourself and review how much study plan you executed successfully. In case, there is a gap in your study routine, you can work on it and reach your desired goals.
   • Figure out the topics or subjects that fall into the categories that associate with the strengths and weaknesses. Prioritize your valuable time in your study schedule accordingly.

4. Make a time-bound to-do list every day and stick to the list
   • Make realistic goals and allocate adequate time.
   • Follow a calendar – set aside time for default tasks such as classes (online or offline), part-time or full-time jobs (if any), recreation, and exercise.
   • Paste a planner on the wall present adjacent to your study area or study table. Mark important deadlines and dates in this planner or calendar. It helps you keep track of the available time and study schedule. Although this technique is an old-school technique, it is much more effective when compared to the new-era applications also known as apps.
   • Do not make a strict schedule. Make sure there is some flexibility in your study routine. For instance, if you feel sleepy after a meal, go ahead, and take a nap. Make up for the lost time elsewhere in the timetable.
   • Do not forget to take short breaks in regular intervals, i.e., after every 2 hours.

5. Do not succumb to peer pressure
   • Earlier, students experienced peer pressure when they met each other during outings or picnics. Nowadays, there is a vast availability of study materials across the internet world and even in the offline markets.
   • Most students have the urge to read everything they find around them. If you read everything, you will find it confusing which will also have a negative impact on your chances.
   • You must understand that using the right material and more revisions is the key to achieve success in competitive examinations.
   • Social media is a complete whirlpool in itself. Once you step into it, you lose track of your precious time and tend to get absorbed into the algorithm’s recommendations as per your past activities and save history.
   • It is essential to adapt smart study patterns for competitive exam.
   • Do not choose or follow an one-size-fit all approach. It will hamper the results associated with your competitive exams. You need analyse a few strategies properly and find the one, which suits you best. Do not compare yourself with your peers.

6. Maintain calmness
   • To remain calm throughout the phase of preparing and appearing for competitive exams is essential.
   • One must take care of their body and mind by including stress-reducing activities as per your liking in your routine. For example, playing games and sports, reading, and meditation are useful in reducing stress and maintaining calmness in life.

7. Balance in life
   • Too much study or too less study is both harmful to an aspirant’s competitive exams preparation.
   • Striking the right balance between sleep, study, and recreation is important, which requires proper understanding and implementation of the role of time management.
   • Students must figure out an effective way to keep possible distractions away in today’s world where information is available in abundance across several well-known and less-known websites.

Revision and mock exams

Revision sessions are highly beneficial for competitive exam aspirants as they help them retain the important information in the respective subjects in mind along with the formulae.

1. Planning recurrent revisions
   • One-time revision is not useful to secure top marks in the competitive examination. If you are aiming to crack PSU examinations with the best results, you need to focus on conducting revision sessions at least 3 to 5 times until the actual exam. Aspirants preparing for the mock exams can maintain a planner or even a diary, where they can list the daily tasks included in the routine. It will help them plan their revision sessions time and
   • Keep track of topics of which you have good knowledge. Then, create a separate list where you can write down the sections or topics on which you need to work during the entire competitive exam preparation journey.
   • Build a habit to plan daily, weekly, and monthly revisions with the aid of the same planner for the effective execution of your revision schedule.

2. Writing practice
   • With the digital world having a great influence on us, most of us have lost touch with the exercise to write regularly.
   • It will help you write quickly and effectively during competitive exams and manage time efficiently.
   • Attempting writing practice will help you get better at writing and figure out where you are falling back.

Main exam

1. Time allocation for questions
   • Read all the questions.
   • Follow the easy to hard order while solving questions.
   • Always try to choose and attempt the questions that are easy and ones you are confident about in your competitive exam
   • It helps you get ample time for the tougher questions that require more time to solve each question.

2. Plan your answer
   • Despite the time crunch during competitive exams, allocating some time to plan and structure your answers save you time and make your answers look better to the examiners.

3. Never spend too much time on a single question. If you do not understand it, do not waste time on it; instead, move on to the next issue and solve it.
4. Reach your examination centre on time. If possible, visit the venue a day before the exam. It helps save time and avoid panic situations on the day of the exam.
5. Keep track of time during the exam.
6. Take your time, think, and plan your answer for the respective question(s).
7. Stay prepared with the required stationery items and related things you will need during the competitive exam period.
8. Marking questions helps a lot. This includes the following:
   • You can deal with the questions regarding which you are sure (about the answers).
   • You can mark the moderately difficult questions and get back to them later for another reading and attempt.
   • Lastly, you must mark the questions regarding which you do not possess any knowledge. In this way, you will not end up wasting your precious time.

9. Allot some time towards the end to ensure that you have marked all the answers correctly. Check and re-check the entire paper to see if you have missed any questions.

 

Best ways to study smart:

1. Effective study plan
   • Flexible time table
   • Time-bound tasks
   • Realistic plan
   • Add 2 – 3 subjects in the mix across a week
   • Avoid monotony
2. Conduct revision sessions
   • Avoid mugging – learn concepts
   • Revision notes
   • Keep small note cards and mind maps for important topics.
3. Mock exams
   • Helps secure marks
   • Solve questions across various subjects and chapters
4. Learn shortcut methods
   • Practice shortcuts as much as possible
   • Practice helps you use the shortcuts by way of habit
   • Helps speed up during exams
5. Memorize tables and formulas
   • Saves time
   • Helps answer complicated questions without much time wastage
6. Practice through online tests and previous years’ question papers
   • Helps identify weak and strong points
   • Reduces chances of making silly mistakes in the exam
7. Use of online tools
   • If you are someone who prefers to study online, you can maintain notes on digital notebooks.
   • It is not an activity that includes cut, copy, and paste activities. Once you have content on a topic picked up online, read, edit, and make it concise, so that it is revision-worthy.

8. A combination of online and analogue study will take you a long way in your competitive exam preparation.

 

Benefits of Time Management

• Time management helps reduce stress and eliminate panic as competitive exams such as GATE, ESE, SSC, and other PSU examinations conducted at the national level have a vast syllabus to cover in available months.
• Boost confidence and enforce discipline until the time of examination.
• Makes it easier to cover the entire syllabus along with preparing you to manage time while attempting questions during the actual competitive exam.
• Increase the chances to crack the exam with better marks and scores.
• Adds a feeling of fulfillment – when the day goes as per plan there is a feeling of fulfillment that seeps into your conscience and brings about positivity.
• Helps keep distractions away throughout the exam preparation phase.

 

Now, let us dive into some most frequently asked questions (FAQs) associated with competitive exams:

1. What is time management?

Ans. Time management is the activity in which the respective individual can organize and plan the division of the available time between a series of activities.

 

2. How do I study for long hours to prepare for competitive exams?

Ans. It might sound difficult to sit for long hours and prepare for competitive exams, but it is possible if you decide to do it. You can start by noting down the total time that you possess for your exam preparation. Create a timetable and ensure that you add the subjects as per your exam (GATE exam and PSU examinations).

 

3. How many hours of study is sufficient for competitive exams?

Ans. If you can study for 6-7 hours every day with proper revision sessions till the actual exam, you can easily score a decent rank in the respective competitive exam.

 

4. How to know if I am following effective time management?

Ans. It is quite easy to follow effective time management during the crucial phase of competitive exam preparation. You need to ensure that you opt for the best time management tips to manage time effectively. Keep an eye on the total number of hours available to study every day. Write down in your planner, diary, or journal regarding the timeframe when you prepared for the respective subject. Finally, you need to ensure that you are religiously preparing for the respective competitive examination.

 

5. How do I improve my time management skills?

Ans. You can follow the above-mentioned time management tips to polish and improve your time management skills, especially time management for exam preparation. In this way, you can stop complaining that ‘I do not have time for this.’

 

Conclusion

As easy as it is to make timetables and schedules, adhering to and implementing them dedicatedly is essential. Trust the complete process and be positive. Plan your preparation with a logical mindset and stay focused, as we know that time waits for no one.

All the best for your competitive examination!

 

 

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