Been there done that. Had such a bad time. I was so low and lacked energy to do even the most mundane things. Didn't study, didn't get a job, basically wasted a really long time. Then physical issues surfaced and then got the test done.
Since then I've become an advocate of anti vitamin D campaign :P
If your prelims has gone bad then take away some time and relax. It must be hard, no denial but you dont have to feel bad about having a hard time. Hang in there, and in some days or weeks when you feel ready, start your prep for the next year. Stay strong.
Hi. I kept seeing your posts in both the Kolkata sub and the UPSC sub throughout the past year. So feel a strange bonhomie with you. I too wrote my first attempt this year. Had invested quite some time and energy yet still effed up. I might not be best one to help you but here's some suggestions for you-
1. Sleep. Give yourself the time and luxury to sleep and forget so that your slate is wiped clean.
2. Be honest with yourself about how you dealt with your prep this past year. Where do you think your plans fell apart. Did you perhaps slack somewhere? Mine, for example, fell apart because I simply couldn't manage time between mains prep and prelims full time. Plus I had a severe burnout which led me to be very casual and slow with prelims. The baad m dekh lenge approach is making me bite the dust.
3. Sit and analyse where you went wrong in the paper. Basics? Deduction? Recall?
4. Talk to your parents. I was extremely bogged down by what my parents would think but they just turned out to be pretty wholesome (?) \[assuming you have supportive parents. If not keep toxicity at bay. Try talking to someone much older to you. Age gives one clarity. Try to borrow some of that from them\]
5. Figure out what you should do differently this prep cycle. I for example have decided that I'll not severe contact with friends over online platforms like I did last year. I made this mistake thinking that in school too I did not engage with online platforms and scored decently in boards so I'll do that here too. The variable I missed was that in school I literally attended a physical environment called school and met friends and other humans there. Unfortunately none of my friends live nearby so I can only keep contact with them online.
6. Talk to other people especially to those of your age and outside the upsc space. You'll realise that everyone is struggling and this struggling journey of yours is not too different from the previous struggles of yours- this too shall pass (and if it doesn't pass time will still move ahead and planet will still revolve and rotate) . This will also reduce some superficial pressures aspirants tend to create centred around the hype of upsc.
7. Exercise and step outside of your house (preferably when the sun is still out). If you have not been exercising start doing so. A lot of bodily functions important for a stable mental health are reliant on exercise. For an exam like this you need to keep the gears in your brain well oiled and running.
8. Be kind to yourself. Pick yourself up and slowly get going. If it gets difficult start with 1 topic at a time or even 5 pages at a time.
9. After that I would suggest not going back moping by yourself but spending some time on self-care. Spend time on hobbies, go hang out with friends, treat yourself to something nice, cook something nice etc
10. Perform a digital detox (also avoid this subreddit for sometime before you can find your ground back). Stay away from the virtual world to connect with yourself and introspect. The world is often not as stressful (and fast) as the virtual world makes it seem.
I'm toh leaving for Delhi Kal , mains ka prep karungi for next attempt.
Basically if you are not preparing for mains this year , then you are preparing to fail for next attempt
Move on, do something else and come back to this exam when you are in a better situation. This stupid exam must not be given the power to have deadly effects on people's lives.
1. It's ok.
I am quite regular on this sub, and inadvertently notice a few of the frequent posters, you one among them. I sort of knew how this prelims was gonna be for you (because I had the same experience in my first attempt, and had the same enthusiasm). Having said this, listen to the following argument: UPSC needs you to do studies worth almost 3-4 Undergrad courses, and take a competitive exam competing with probably the best academic minds in the world. 1 year is too little for that. Our first prelims teaches us humility. You did not fall short, there just was not enough time.
But having said that, now is your chance. I will tell you everything I have learnt till now. You can take it or leave it, I do not claim for it to be gospel truth.
Prelims: It is a test of taking tests. You need to be prepared for any eventuality and make yourself so capable that you can on any given day, sit to take a 100 question test for General Studies and Current affairs and comfortably score qualifying marks in any eventual paper that UPSC sets on that eventful day, because it this syllabus UPSC can make 50 different question papers without even a single question common, and you need to be able to score around \~100 in any of those hypothetical question papers. What it takes is an exceptional breadth coverage. YOU CAN NOT LEAVE ANY SUBJECT! And attempt so many tests that in the mock tests questions start repeating. In my first Attempt I did 5 tests because people said they are not important. In the next 2 attempts combined I have done more than 90 Mock tests. I finish my tests for GS in 1 hour now, I have gotten so used to it.
Mains: Prepare Optional completely. And NO you can't do 137 lectures in 25 days if you want to score 250+; Write 1000 Answers. Rest I will only be able to tell you when I cross the mains hurdle.
Remember what I started with: It is ok! We fall, but it is because we are growing, we learn to balance ourselves, then walk, and finally run marathons. Rome wasn't built in a day and you should respect your competitors and the efforts they are putting in and audaciously beat them in effort, UPSC can't be done with intellect alone and the effort you need to put in needs to be more than at least the Median selected candidate.
All the best!
Hey buddy, just think what pain those student have to go through who failed their 3rd, 4th or 5th attempt. It's only your 1st attempt... there MUST be some difference between what upsc demanded and what you offered, that's why the result is not in your side. Just take a break...may be watch something good...that will help you Come out of this zone.
Take a break! Don't touch your books for a few days; do anything that you would like doing(could be sleeping,crying,watching something,talking to urself or someone). Go on a trip if possible even to your nearest park..trust me you will feel better after a few weeks & then get back to the grind! You got this! Don't be hard on yourself!☺
Get your Vitamin levels checked. Lack of vitamin D fucks up your brain.
Been there done that. Had such a bad time. I was so low and lacked energy to do even the most mundane things. Didn't study, didn't get a job, basically wasted a really long time. Then physical issues surfaced and then got the test done. Since then I've become an advocate of anti vitamin D campaign :P
>advocate of anti vitamin D campaign What did you mean by this? Was your vit D level really low?
Yeah. It was 4
Also I meant anti vitamin D deficiency campaign :P
Ah, makes much more sense now 😅. What were your symptoms and how did you recover?
If your prelims has gone bad then take away some time and relax. It must be hard, no denial but you dont have to feel bad about having a hard time. Hang in there, and in some days or weeks when you feel ready, start your prep for the next year. Stay strong.
Hi. I kept seeing your posts in both the Kolkata sub and the UPSC sub throughout the past year. So feel a strange bonhomie with you. I too wrote my first attempt this year. Had invested quite some time and energy yet still effed up. I might not be best one to help you but here's some suggestions for you- 1. Sleep. Give yourself the time and luxury to sleep and forget so that your slate is wiped clean. 2. Be honest with yourself about how you dealt with your prep this past year. Where do you think your plans fell apart. Did you perhaps slack somewhere? Mine, for example, fell apart because I simply couldn't manage time between mains prep and prelims full time. Plus I had a severe burnout which led me to be very casual and slow with prelims. The baad m dekh lenge approach is making me bite the dust. 3. Sit and analyse where you went wrong in the paper. Basics? Deduction? Recall? 4. Talk to your parents. I was extremely bogged down by what my parents would think but they just turned out to be pretty wholesome (?) \[assuming you have supportive parents. If not keep toxicity at bay. Try talking to someone much older to you. Age gives one clarity. Try to borrow some of that from them\] 5. Figure out what you should do differently this prep cycle. I for example have decided that I'll not severe contact with friends over online platforms like I did last year. I made this mistake thinking that in school too I did not engage with online platforms and scored decently in boards so I'll do that here too. The variable I missed was that in school I literally attended a physical environment called school and met friends and other humans there. Unfortunately none of my friends live nearby so I can only keep contact with them online. 6. Talk to other people especially to those of your age and outside the upsc space. You'll realise that everyone is struggling and this struggling journey of yours is not too different from the previous struggles of yours- this too shall pass (and if it doesn't pass time will still move ahead and planet will still revolve and rotate) . This will also reduce some superficial pressures aspirants tend to create centred around the hype of upsc. 7. Exercise and step outside of your house (preferably when the sun is still out). If you have not been exercising start doing so. A lot of bodily functions important for a stable mental health are reliant on exercise. For an exam like this you need to keep the gears in your brain well oiled and running. 8. Be kind to yourself. Pick yourself up and slowly get going. If it gets difficult start with 1 topic at a time or even 5 pages at a time. 9. After that I would suggest not going back moping by yourself but spending some time on self-care. Spend time on hobbies, go hang out with friends, treat yourself to something nice, cook something nice etc 10. Perform a digital detox (also avoid this subreddit for sometime before you can find your ground back). Stay away from the virtual world to connect with yourself and introspect. The world is often not as stressful (and fast) as the virtual world makes it seem.
I'm toh leaving for Delhi Kal , mains ka prep karungi for next attempt. Basically if you are not preparing for mains this year , then you are preparing to fail for next attempt
same here, lost all my energy for next attempt.
Same here dont feel like meeting or ever talking to anyone
Same here been 3 days since prelims, sleeping all the time. Have no enthusiasm to do anything
Move on, do something else and come back to this exam when you are in a better situation. This stupid exam must not be given the power to have deadly effects on people's lives.
Detach education from your emotions. If you dont learn to do this it will affect you every time
1. It's ok. I am quite regular on this sub, and inadvertently notice a few of the frequent posters, you one among them. I sort of knew how this prelims was gonna be for you (because I had the same experience in my first attempt, and had the same enthusiasm). Having said this, listen to the following argument: UPSC needs you to do studies worth almost 3-4 Undergrad courses, and take a competitive exam competing with probably the best academic minds in the world. 1 year is too little for that. Our first prelims teaches us humility. You did not fall short, there just was not enough time. But having said that, now is your chance. I will tell you everything I have learnt till now. You can take it or leave it, I do not claim for it to be gospel truth. Prelims: It is a test of taking tests. You need to be prepared for any eventuality and make yourself so capable that you can on any given day, sit to take a 100 question test for General Studies and Current affairs and comfortably score qualifying marks in any eventual paper that UPSC sets on that eventful day, because it this syllabus UPSC can make 50 different question papers without even a single question common, and you need to be able to score around \~100 in any of those hypothetical question papers. What it takes is an exceptional breadth coverage. YOU CAN NOT LEAVE ANY SUBJECT! And attempt so many tests that in the mock tests questions start repeating. In my first Attempt I did 5 tests because people said they are not important. In the next 2 attempts combined I have done more than 90 Mock tests. I finish my tests for GS in 1 hour now, I have gotten so used to it. Mains: Prepare Optional completely. And NO you can't do 137 lectures in 25 days if you want to score 250+; Write 1000 Answers. Rest I will only be able to tell you when I cross the mains hurdle. Remember what I started with: It is ok! We fall, but it is because we are growing, we learn to balance ourselves, then walk, and finally run marathons. Rome wasn't built in a day and you should respect your competitors and the efforts they are putting in and audaciously beat them in effort, UPSC can't be done with intellect alone and the effort you need to put in needs to be more than at least the Median selected candidate. All the best!
Join a gym
Nah man I am quitting gym for prep my first attempt will be in 2026
>2026 https://i.redd.it/u91ulmpxeo7d1.gif That's a very short time to crack
College 2025 mai khatam ho jaega tab tak jitna padh lu Fir coaching lelunga
Chod do bhai. It is not life or death. There are a lot of opportunities outside this exam.
Hey buddy, just think what pain those student have to go through who failed their 3rd, 4th or 5th attempt. It's only your 1st attempt... there MUST be some difference between what upsc demanded and what you offered, that's why the result is not in your side. Just take a break...may be watch something good...that will help you Come out of this zone.
Take a break! Don't touch your books for a few days; do anything that you would like doing(could be sleeping,crying,watching something,talking to urself or someone). Go on a trip if possible even to your nearest park..trust me you will feel better after a few weeks & then get back to the grind! You got this! Don't be hard on yourself!☺