Top 6 tricks to crack competitive exams

The first step towards your preparation for any competitive examination is to understand the per-requisites for the examination. Scanning through a few previous years' questions  papers helps to get an idea about the exam pattern

1. Make and follow a time table

Once you understand 'What to prepare?'  it's your turn to plan 'How to prepare?' Make a time-table with both short-term and long-term goals that would help you in timely preparation for the exam. A time table makes you more disciplined and helps you to get rid of haphazardness.

Few points that you can consider while making a time table are:

• Set realistic goals that you can achieve (neither too low nor too high targets)
• Block your study hours during those times of the day when you think you are the most productive & can concentrate better
• Block more time for the more difficult subject
• Do not block study hours at a stretch, block some time for short breaks in between

Making a time table is easy, but following the same is a more challenging part. Do not procrastinate, the tasks assigned for today must not be pushed to tomorrow. 

2. Stay positive and confident

'Belief' is a very powerful tool. You must believe in yourself and your preparation. Ensure that you study the same way throughout the year, to avoid last minute rush and stress. Spend 10-15 minutes before going off to sleep to quickly recap all that you learnt throughout the day.
A bit of physical activity and meditation helps to improve concentration. Do not take stress throughout the entire preparation time, infact, stay away from stressful people. Each and every moment you must tell yourself " I Can, I Will" and trust me you will do it!  

3. Self-evaluation is very critical

Studying alone doesn't make your preparation complete. You must evaluate yourself time-to-time for an effective preparation. You must write sample papers for the competitive exam you are preparing for.

4. Focus on concepts- No rote learning

Focus on understanding the concepts throughout your preparation. Do not adopt rote learning technique. Understanding helps you to remember the concepts for a very long period of time. Moreover, with a clear understanding of the concepts, you can comfortably handle questions related to those concepts.
You can also create your memory tips or interesting acronyms to remember formulae or equations or difficult terminologies.  You should always make your own short notes in your own way, as they help you big time to revise a few days before the exam. 

5. Have a shorter study period

Don’t keep your study period too long if you really want to excel in an exam.
It is really better to break your study sessions than going into a marathon. The thing with marathons is that they can help you cover a lot of stuff at one go but the downside is that it could really make you feel tired and frustrated.
And that is something you should avoid if you are aiming to ace a competitive exam. Study for two hours straight. Take a 15 to 20 minutes break and then get back again. Taking breaks is really  important.     

6. Take small breaks:

Next you must really remember to take a few small breaks. Taking breaks is very important. If you study too much at one go, you may not remember a thing during exams. If you are studying all morning, take some hours off during the evening and play a game or something.    all the best........