I grew up with a dream of joining the civil services. My first introduction to the prestigious examination and the career it leads to came through the monthly quiz competitions and their preparations at my first school, Government UPS Vithura, right from my lower-primary years.
That childhood dream, however, had to wait.
After spending two years working as a bank employee in the corporate sector, I finally decided in August 2024 to take the plunge and prepare full-time for one of the toughest competitive examinations in the country.
Nine months of preparation later, I appeared for the Preliminary Examination. Nearly two and a half months later, I wrote the Mains Examination in August 2025. By January 2026, I had completed the Personality Test. Then came March 6, 2026 — the day the UPSC results were published.
The “Holy PDF”, as the UPSC final result PDF is fondly called by the aspirant community, was not merely a dream come true. For me, it was a reward for discipline, consistency and self-belief.
Having experienced the journey first-hand, I would like to share a few thoughts on what I believe helped me reach the goal — the three Ds: textdiscipline, direction and determination.text
Discipline Over Motivation
The first ingredient in my preparation was discipline.
Let us face the truth: preparing for the Civil Services Examination demands almost every ounce of effort you can put into it. And you are not going to feel motivated every single day.
For many aspirants, the preparation begins after three to five vibrant years of college life. The transition can be challenging. Civil services preparation demands that you become a slightly different version of yourself — without losing the lively, curious and energetic young mind that you already are.
What it requires above all is consistency.
My first advice would be to create a daily routine. Know what you need to accomplish during the day, the week and the month. At the same time, make the routine realistic. It is meant for the real you to follow, not the ideal version of yourself who exists only in your imagination.
During my preparation, my day broadly followed a routine.
After waking up, I would go through the previous day’s newspaper. I found it more efficient to do this the following morning because explanations of important news and current affairs were often available by then through online platforms and Telegram channels run by various coaching institutes. This helped me identify, read and understand relevant articles more efficiently.
I would then attend classes, which usually lasted four to six hours. After returning, I would go through the lecture notes and quickly revise what had been covered in class.
Another one to two hours would be devoted to the subject for which I had a test scheduled at the end of the week. The final study slot would depend on where I stood in the syllabus and my study plan. It could involve reading NCERTs or standard textbooks, covering the optional subject, practising answer writing or working on multiple-choice questions.
The routine was not about studying every waking hour. It was about ensuring that the hours I had committed to studying were used consistently.
textPick Your Sources — and Stick to Themtext
One of the most common traps in civil services preparation is the endless search for “one more material”.
There is always another book, another PDF, another video, another compilation or another set of notes that appears to promise better preparation.
But more material does not necessarily mean better preparation.
At some point during the first two or three months, identify the sources you are comfortable with for each subject. Then stick to them. Read them thoroughly, revise them repeatedly and practise applying what you have learned.
The fewer and more focused your sources are, the clearer your preparation becomes.
That, for me, was the second D — textdirectiontext.
textPractice Makes an Aspiranttext
We have all heard the saying, “Practice makes perfect.” It holds for the Civil Services Examination as well.
For me, preparation could be summed up in a simple text4R mantra: Read, Revise, Recall and Reproduce.text
Each stage of the examination tests a different aspect of your preparation.
The Preliminary Examination tests your breadth of knowledge, awareness, ability to connect different pieces of information and, importantly, your decision-making under a strict time limit.
The Mains Examination is a different challenge altogether. It requires you to perform under pressure while also testing your physical and mental endurance. Writing more than 20 pages in three hours across a wide range of subjects is not merely a test of knowledge. It is a test of how effectively you can organise your thoughts and communicate them within a limited time.
And then comes the Personality Test, commonly known as the interview.
Here, understanding yourself becomes extremely important. The board is not merely interested in your achievements and degrees on paper. They want to understand the person behind them — your views, thought process, awareness, temperament and ability to articulate yourself.
That is precisely why it is called a textPersonality Test.text
textYour Mindset Matterstext
The Civil Services Examination demands that you be a good student, but the preparation can also make you a more capable and mature individual.
We often hear successful candidates who cleared the examination after multiple attempts say that perhaps they were not ready in their earlier attempts or that they had to develop certain qualities along the way.
Equally interesting is how rarely you hear someone who could not clear the examination say that their years of preparation were a complete waste of time.
That is because the journey changes you.
You may enter the preparation as one person and emerge as a more knowledgeable, capable and poised version of yourself. The way you understand a problem, the way you analyse it and the way you try to find a solution — your overall mindset towards what is happening around you — matters greatly.
In many ways, the examination is looking for individuals who can eventually become part of the institutional framework that serves the world's largest democracy.
Your mindset also matters inside the examination hall.
Once you enter the hall, make a commitment to yourself that, come what may, you will give the best performance you have in you.
That day may not be perfect. You may be unwell. There may be noise and chaos around the examination centre. You may still be thinking about the one chapter you left unread.
But once you start writing, none of that should matter.
If you can remain composed in a tense and non-ideal situation, half the battle is won. If you lose your composure, however, you may not be able to make the best use of all those hours of study and all those revisions.
After all, the ability to make logical decisions and remain calm in difficult circumstances is also an important quality expected of a civil servant.
Do Not Make UPSC Your Life
As a closing thought, I would like to address those aspirants who gradually let go of every part of their former selves once they begin preparing for UPSC.
The expectations surrounding what a “good student” should be can sometimes push aspirants into a small shell. They stop socialising, stop meeting friends, give up hobbies and distance themselves from the people and activities that once made them happy.
In my opinion, that may only add to the burden you are already carrying.
It is okay to occasionally pick up that brush and paint. It is okay to meet your friends and chat over a cup of coffee. It is okay to go home and spend time with your parents and grandparents while you still can.
These things do not necessarily take you away from your preparation. Sometimes, they help you return to it with a clearer mind.
The Civil Services Examination is undoubtedly a demanding journey. It requires discipline, direction and determination. But while chasing the goal of becoming a civil servant, do not forget to remain a person first.
Prepare seriously. Work consistently. Give the examination your best. But do not forget to live a little along the way.
(By Athidhi Krishnadev B, AIR 451, UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025)