UPSC Civil Services Examination is one of the toughest exams of the country. It provides a gateway to one of the most elite services in the country. So, many graduates enter the race with a dream to enter the prestigious Civil Services. But only select few come out victorious. After all, given the competitive nature of the exam and the vastness of the syllabus, most beginner aspirants find it quite difficult to get hang of what the exam really is all about, and what preparation of this exam actually demands.
As a result many aspirants end up losing a very precious time of their early years of preparation making mistakes and learning from them. Given the stakes, it’s quite unwise to learn just from your own mistakes. Smart way would be to learn from the mistakes of those who have walked before you.
From my own journey and from writing answers on Quora regarding UPSC preparation, I have seen people with tremendous potential waste their years in IAS preparation. Here are 12 of the most common mistakes UPSC aspirants commit during their time of preparation and what you can learn.
1. Beginning without a proper plan.
Just joining the coaching, buying books and sitting for the kill isn’t enough. You’ll have to have a plan. How much time you’ll dedicate to each subject and how. Whether self study or through coaching, it’s important to spend time researching everything. Delhi vs Home town, Coaching vs Self Study, One optional vs the other etc are the things that should be researched well while keeping in mind your strengths, you weaknesses and your style of learning.
Unfortunately many students chose the path of least resistance and go with the flow. Let’s go to Delhi, join the most in demand coaching, chose the optional that toppers have taken seem to be the default path. Unfortunately enough, it doesn’t work that way.
Ideally,
- you should meet couple of college seniors and friends who are into UPSC preparation.
- watch UPSC toppers strategy videos to find of the common strategies presents in each of the topper’s plan.
- go through the official UPSC notification yourself to understand the nature of the exam.
- go through some of the previous years questions from UPSC website, just to see what type of questions are asked.
- go through the syllabus thoroughly to understand demands better. Of all the mistakes I personally made, this was the gravest. I took a proper and thorough look at the syllabus once I cleared pre. Before that, GS1 was just History Geography and Society. GS2 was Polity Governance and IR. GS3 was Economy Agriculture Science and Tech, Security. This way you’ll not cover the syllabus efficiently.
If you are well informed, trust me you are ahead of the majority who is just following every advice on the internet without really thinking much, and it pays off.
2. Depending too much on coaching classes.
Coaching classes play a crucial role in introducing students to the world of the competitive exams. They help you finish the syllabus in a structured way. They lay a foundation to your success. But too much dependence on them paralyses aspirants.
Once coaching classes strengthen your basics, it’s your job to build upon that foundation. Depending upon them for everything makes you a passive learner, which guarantees your failure. I know aspirants of UPSC who even after 6 attempts do not know how to read newspaper because every time they needed to study current affairs they opened YouTube videos on Current affairs instead of the newspaper.
There is no alternative to figuring things out. There’s no alternative to Back Breaking Labor. Sooner you accept this better it is for your results.
3. Not going through PYQs.
Take any government examination, go through last 5–10 years Previous Year Questions, and you’ll have figured out more than 50% of the topics to be asked in your exam. There might not be repeat questions but there are patterns and related questions to be deduced from PYQs. Through PYQs you know the high yield topic to focus on. This is even more true in case of UPSC CSE.
There is no test series as good as PYQ. Be thorough with the past papers and you’ll be ahead of more than 80 percentage of the crowd. Trust me on this one. Past year papers for both Preliminary and Mains, is by far the best test series you can solve to increase your chances.
4. Relationships in ORN.
New relationships bring with them the emotional euphoria. It is detrimental to focus. As much as possible stay away from romantic relationships in your preparation phase. Thank me later.
A similar kind of emotional disturbance is seen when a relationship ends. Before you begin your preparation, it is advisable that you sort out your relationship problems. Discuss with your partner your plan for next 2–3 years and all the possible ups and down. Stick with a supportive partner. Get rid of one who’s adding trouble. Be selfish. Thank me later. Again.
I’m not against relationships. I’m against new relationships during preparation. Relationships in ORN stay in ORN. Maintain a status quo. Your UPSC preparation should be your priority number 1.
5. Friendships in ORN & The COMPANY you keep.
You are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.
-Jim Rohn.
Make sure you surround yourself with sincere and hardworking friends. This is the single most factor that will decide your success. Make sure you are friends with the hardest working students of the class. Lazy, complacent and distracted friends will lose their battles and will take you down without you knowing. Be selfish and make sure you spend most of your time with the most sincere bunch of students.
5 years after your classes, you’ll hardly be in touch with these people. Get your priorities right. UPSC before crowd.
6. Inability to say NO.
“When you say yes to everything, you say NO to the most important thing.”
During the exam preparation, your ability to say NO is your superpower. Use it. Say no to doom scrolling social media, to birthday parties, movies, distracted friends, and everything that doesn’t serve your purpose. Have your own schedule of relaxation, do it on your own terms. Do not compromise on your deadlines.
7. Career distractions & Fantasies.
You began your UPSC preparation, why should anything else excite you? Your start-up ideas, stock market, Bollywood gossips, politics, your obsession with starting a cafe or a fashion brand or any business can wait. Certainly, it will bleed you if you keep daydreaming. Moreover, if you are obsessed with your business idea/passion, go do it. Don’t waste your time with IAS preparation.
If you genuinely want IAS, don’t waste time in vague ideas.
8. Indiscriminate use of attempts.
Just because there are six attempts given for general category, doesn’t mean all of them should be taken and exhausted. If you have failed consecutively for 3 attempts, take a break. See what’s going wrong. Reconsider your strategy, watch out for mistakes you are making and correct them.
If things are not working for you, then be brave and quit. There’s no shame in deciding to quit and try something else. Making one exam the center of your life and your entire identity would be lethal.
Find out your weaknesses and eliminate. Find your strengths and double down on them. Make a fresh plan and give your best. Don’t just mindlessly jump to your next attempt, audit your preparation.
9. No clear Exit strategy or a sound PLAN-B.
Most students begin preparation with the best possible outcome and keep on taking attempts. But, when things go sideways they are in for a rude shock. When we begin preparing, it is wise to have a plan of what you’ll do if things go sideways for 3 straight attempts, or two straight attempts, whichever way suits you. This way you can save yourself from being a victim of Escalated Commitment.
In preparation, No-one really likes the idea of a plan B as it may indicate the possibility of failure, but the UPSC is tough and not everyone who starts the preparation makes it to the final list. Having one marketable skill that can gain you an employment wouldn’t be a bad idea to entertain, would it?
If your graduation is in a subject that doesn’t provide employment soon after completion, make sure you learn at least one skill during your exam preparation that can earn you livelihood.
It is naive to keep preparing for one prestigious highly competitive, highly uncertain exam, and not having a plan if things don’t turn out as you expected.
Having a plan B is the wisest thing you’ll do.
10. Not knowing your WHY.
“He who has a WHY will figure out almost any HOW.”
–Nietzsche.
Many student start preparation for all the wrong reason. Some do it for money, fame and status. While some do it just to gain an employment, others do it in either peer pressure or parental pressure.
If you begin the preparation with extrinsic reasons then you will lack the drive to work hard and get through gloomy days. Know your reasons, make sure they are intrinsic and be 100 per cent sure that you are following your own goal.
I have written a full blog on WHY your WHY matters, read it here.
11. Ignoring Physical and Mental Well-being.
Unfortunately, most aspirants put their life on hold during preparation. As a result, the demanding preparation puts students into guilt-trapping even if they enjoy the basic joys of life. This translates to compromised physical health and stressors due to lack of relaxation.
This burnout is not good for productivity. to avoid this, you should consider having some time daily to exercise, play and meditate. As a matter of fact this time is like sharpening your axe.
12. Not Committing enough to the Labor.
While this one is quite obvious, you would be surprised to know how many people just go to Delhi and not work hard enough. There is no alternative to the actual, back breaking labor. No amount of tutoring, test series and fancy courses can replace the actual work and endless hours that you need to put in to actually win. the competition is cut throat and there is no place for casual aspirants.
Blaming UPSC is useless. There is a class of students that blames UPSC every single year when the CSAT papers is tougher than usual, or the GS1 prelims is a bit non-traditional. There’s no point in playing a victim. There are students writing mains every year. If it’s not you, it’s going to be someone else. Work on yourself. Play the game within its rule. Don’t play a victim.
These are some of the most common mistakes many aspirants make during the early days of preparation. Unfortunately I personally have made few of the mistakes myself and it has costed me years and attempts. Hope you learn from all of these.
In the end, preparing for exams like the IAS is not just a test of knowledge; it’s a test of clarity, discipline, and self-growth. Mistakes will happen, but they don’t have to define your journey. By learning from the experiences of those who walked this path before you and by preparing intelligently rather than blindly, you automatically place yourself ahead of the majority.
Approach your preparation with purpose, consistency, and self-awareness. Trust the process, refine your strategy, and stay true to your “why.” The road may be demanding, but every sincere effort you put in shapes you into a stronger, more resilient version of yourself.
I wish you strength and success.