Month 1 is supposed to be the honeymoon phase. The motivation is high, the system is freshly designed, and the plan looks airtight on paper. You have colour-coded your schedule, decided on your sources, and told yourself this time it will be different.
Here is what month 1 actually looked like for me.
What I got right
The morning block held
The 6–9 AM morning study block, the most important part of my preparation system, held for 24 out of 30 days in month 1. Six days were disrupted by early work calls, travel, or illness. That is an 80% consistency rate. I am satisfied with that number for month 1.
The phone-on-Do-Not-Disturb rule was the single most important factor. On days when I forgot to enable it, the block was almost always compromised. The correlation was immediate and obvious.
Geography Optional, started on time
I began Leong in Week 1 as planned. By end of month 1, I have completed Parts 1 and 2 of Leong, Lithosphere and Atmosphere, with notes and diagrams. This is on schedule. The Lithosphere took longer than expected (16 sessions instead of 12), but the depth of notes justifies the extra time.
The Hindu – consistent
Daily newspaper reading happened every single day of month 1. Even on days when nothing else happened, The Hindu editorial was read. This was the easiest habit to maintain, partly because I genuinely enjoy reading and partly because it requires no special environment or energy.
What I got completely wrong
The evening block : significantly overestimated
I planned 3 hours of productive evening study on weekdays. The reality: on most weekdays, I got 90 minutes of genuinely productive study in the evening. The remaining time was spent either unwinding from work (necessary), eating dinner (also necessary), or sitting at my desk with a book open while my brain refused to engage (counterproductive but honest).
I am not adjusting the plan to match this failure. I am adjusting my expectations of the evening block. The evening is now primarily for current affairs, light revision, and PYQ reading. Heavy conceptual work stays in the morning.
Answer writing : did not start
I told myself I would start answer writing practice in week 3 of month 1. It did not happen. The reason I told myself: I haven’t covered enough content yet. The real reason: it felt uncomfortable to write bad answers, and it was easy to keep pushing it forward.
This is the classic answer writing avoidance pattern. I recognise it. Starting in week 2 of month 2, no further delay.
Polity: barely touched
Laxmikanth was allocated Wednesday mornings. In month 1, I opened it on four Wednesdays. On the other Wednesdays, I extended Geography Optional reading instead because I was mid-chapter and didn’t want to break flow. This is a sequencing mistake that needs a harder boundary.
The fix: when Wednesday arrives, Polity happens regardless of where I am in any other subject. Incomplete chapters will be completed the following Tuesday.
The number that matters
At the end of month 1, I track one question: am I further ahead than I was 30 days ago?
The answer is yes. Leong Parts 1–2 are complete with notes. Three months of The Hindu reading have accumulated. Polity has begun, even if inconsistently.
But the margin of progress is smaller than I hoped. I am approximately 10–12 days behind where my original plan projected I would be at end of month 1.
That gap is recoverable. Two bad weeks of it is not. Which is why the changes for month 2 are specific and immediate, not aspirational.
Changes for month 2
- Evening block expectations reset : target 90 minutes of productive work, not 3 hours. Plan accordingly.
- Answer writing begins week 2 : one GS answer and one Geography answer per week. No further postponement.
- Wednesday Polity block is fixed : no extension of other subjects into it.
- Monthly tracking : chapters completed, answers written, PYQs analysed. Written down, not just estimated.
Month 2 update will be here. Whether it shows improvement or another honest accounting of failure.
नौकरी भी। तैयारी भी।