Consciously Deciding to Study | Crack Civil Services in First Attempt by Divey Sethi, IRS - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Consciously Deciding to Study: 
The When of it
“Nothing else to do but studying is not the same as studying and doing 
nothing else.”
There is no particular “right time” to start preparations for UPSC Civil 
Services. One can start even during college as an undergraduate at 
one end and can even begin preparations after a decade of completing 
college if the need arises, of course, due to several reasons. The more 
important aspect is how you define the fact that you have commenced 
preparing for the Civil Services Examination. In my opinion, the 
preparation starts right from the time you are even “consciously 
thinking” of starting your preparations because it is, or it should be, 
effectively addressing the question of why civil services should be 
your career. There is also a remarkable difference between 2 kinds 
of aspirants: one who starts preparing because he/she has nothing 
else to do and the other who takes up preparations and does nothing 
but prepare. The former starts preparing aimlessly without knowing 
the reasons why he or she has taken up the task. This kind of variety 
enrolls in the coaching institute not for guidance but mostly for falling 
in line or a need to be disciplined by an external ‘magical wand’ of the 
institute. How the coaching exploits you for having that ‘magical wand’ 
is a very interesting part of the complete story of UPSC Civil Services 
preparations, and details are found in the subsequent dedicated chapter 
on this.
But, for now, dear aspirants, take into account and let it settle subtly 
in your mind that there is a profound difference between starting 
preparation because you’ve got nothing else to do and doing nothing 
but preparing. The former may also become an aspirant of civil services 
Page 2


Consciously Deciding to Study: 
The When of it
“Nothing else to do but studying is not the same as studying and doing 
nothing else.”
There is no particular “right time” to start preparations for UPSC Civil 
Services. One can start even during college as an undergraduate at 
one end and can even begin preparations after a decade of completing 
college if the need arises, of course, due to several reasons. The more 
important aspect is how you define the fact that you have commenced 
preparing for the Civil Services Examination. In my opinion, the 
preparation starts right from the time you are even “consciously 
thinking” of starting your preparations because it is, or it should be, 
effectively addressing the question of why civil services should be 
your career. There is also a remarkable difference between 2 kinds 
of aspirants: one who starts preparing because he/she has nothing 
else to do and the other who takes up preparations and does nothing 
but prepare. The former starts preparing aimlessly without knowing 
the reasons why he or she has taken up the task. This kind of variety 
enrolls in the coaching institute not for guidance but mostly for falling 
in line or a need to be disciplined by an external ‘magical wand’ of the 
institute. How the coaching exploits you for having that ‘magical wand’ 
is a very interesting part of the complete story of UPSC Civil Services 
preparations, and details are found in the subsequent dedicated chapter 
on this.
But, for now, dear aspirants, take into account and let it settle subtly 
in your mind that there is a profound difference between starting 
preparation because you’ve got nothing else to do and doing nothing 
but preparing. The former may also become an aspirant of civil services 
because it is trendy! Saying, “I am studying for UPSC Civil services,” is 
and has always remained in vogue and probably buys a person at least 
one or 2 years, mostly after graduation, before finally giving up and 
surrendering what was initially not his/her cup of tea, only because of 
a casual or rather unconscious attitude toward life. The latter, on the 
other hand, is more conscious of his or her decision to start studying 
for civil services, and that creates enough motivation for doing nothing 
but preparing.
However, yet the aspirants would want to know when to start the actual 
preparations. When I refer to actual preparations, I do not merely refer 
to the idea of preparing for CSE subtly forming in your mind so as to 
decipher the reasons for studying, but now I refer to the actual and 
exact baby steps you would take in this direction, such as taking books, 
notes, or probably deciding upon joining a coaching or even taking a 
decision of not to join any coaching. The question is more important, 
especially for those prospective aspirants who have found the charms 
of civil services irresistible right in their college days. I am referring to 
those aspirants who are in the process of graduation but have made up 
their minds to plunge into the preparations.
Two schools of thought exist here. The former, which I refer to as the 
idealists, find the blood rushing into veins upon the very mention of 
such words or similar to these by college-going students, “I am trying 
to make up my mind to give civil services.” Or maybe, “How about a 
career in civil services? Is it worth it?” The idealists have all the guns 
loaded for their long list of how-tos, do’s and don’ts, and whatnot!
I take the liberty to narrate an incident or, rather, an encounter with 
one of my distant relatives who had been at a prestigious post of 
chairmanship of an institution of national importance. I somehow 
landed up at his house upon severe persuasion from my parents to 
discuss the present dismal state of my grades at college and what 
could have been done to circumvent the disaster of being stranded 
as an unemployable graduate after a few months! After briefing 
Page 3


Consciously Deciding to Study: 
The When of it
“Nothing else to do but studying is not the same as studying and doing 
nothing else.”
There is no particular “right time” to start preparations for UPSC Civil 
Services. One can start even during college as an undergraduate at 
one end and can even begin preparations after a decade of completing 
college if the need arises, of course, due to several reasons. The more 
important aspect is how you define the fact that you have commenced 
preparing for the Civil Services Examination. In my opinion, the 
preparation starts right from the time you are even “consciously 
thinking” of starting your preparations because it is, or it should be, 
effectively addressing the question of why civil services should be 
your career. There is also a remarkable difference between 2 kinds 
of aspirants: one who starts preparing because he/she has nothing 
else to do and the other who takes up preparations and does nothing 
but prepare. The former starts preparing aimlessly without knowing 
the reasons why he or she has taken up the task. This kind of variety 
enrolls in the coaching institute not for guidance but mostly for falling 
in line or a need to be disciplined by an external ‘magical wand’ of the 
institute. How the coaching exploits you for having that ‘magical wand’ 
is a very interesting part of the complete story of UPSC Civil Services 
preparations, and details are found in the subsequent dedicated chapter 
on this.
But, for now, dear aspirants, take into account and let it settle subtly 
in your mind that there is a profound difference between starting 
preparation because you’ve got nothing else to do and doing nothing 
but preparing. The former may also become an aspirant of civil services 
because it is trendy! Saying, “I am studying for UPSC Civil services,” is 
and has always remained in vogue and probably buys a person at least 
one or 2 years, mostly after graduation, before finally giving up and 
surrendering what was initially not his/her cup of tea, only because of 
a casual or rather unconscious attitude toward life. The latter, on the 
other hand, is more conscious of his or her decision to start studying 
for civil services, and that creates enough motivation for doing nothing 
but preparing.
However, yet the aspirants would want to know when to start the actual 
preparations. When I refer to actual preparations, I do not merely refer 
to the idea of preparing for CSE subtly forming in your mind so as to 
decipher the reasons for studying, but now I refer to the actual and 
exact baby steps you would take in this direction, such as taking books, 
notes, or probably deciding upon joining a coaching or even taking a 
decision of not to join any coaching. The question is more important, 
especially for those prospective aspirants who have found the charms 
of civil services irresistible right in their college days. I am referring to 
those aspirants who are in the process of graduation but have made up 
their minds to plunge into the preparations.
Two schools of thought exist here. The former, which I refer to as the 
idealists, find the blood rushing into veins upon the very mention of 
such words or similar to these by college-going students, “I am trying 
to make up my mind to give civil services.” Or maybe, “How about a 
career in civil services? Is it worth it?” The idealists have all the guns 
loaded for their long list of how-tos, do’s and don’ts, and whatnot!
I take the liberty to narrate an incident or, rather, an encounter with 
one of my distant relatives who had been at a prestigious post of 
chairmanship of an institution of national importance. I somehow 
landed up at his house upon severe persuasion from my parents to 
discuss the present dismal state of my grades at college and what 
could have been done to circumvent the disaster of being stranded 
as an unemployable graduate after a few months! After briefing 
Consciously Deciding to Study: The When of it
the unconvincing reasons for my gloomy track record in college, 
I mistakenly uttered the word, “Uncle, I also thought about civil 
services and…..” He cut me here and, with a glitter in his eyes, started 
off, “Oh yes. That’s the best option. You start right from tomorrow. 
But remember, you have to read 2 newspapers each day. Also, by the 
time you complete the last year of college, you must have completed 
each NCERT from 6
th
 to 12
th
 class so that fundamentals are laid down. 
Simultaneously, listen to the news on FM or watch Rajya Sabha and 
D.D. news. Oh! Before I forget, you have to start practicing the past 
years’ GS questions in writing and show me some of your answers 
after one month.”
“I was right! It is indeed not my cup of tea,” I murmured to my mother 
sitting beside me and softly slipped out of their house and never came 
again. Now I refer to this as the latent power of the idealists – they 
would burden the soul with a heavy weight of preparations, and this 
may induce a fear and flight response from the prospective or a would-
be aspirant of civil services.
Now, let us tackle the scenario with the pragmatic school of thought, 
which I generally advocate to most college-going students who wish 
to prepare for CSE in the near future. I truly believe that college life, 
from where you attain your first degree, forms one of the best phases 
of your life and should be cherished and enjoyed in a healthy manner. 
These are a few carefree days of your otherwise stressed lives that 
must be devoted to different but equally important tasks – tasks that 
won’t overburden you or deviate from your immediate priority, that 
is, graduating with the best possible score in the prescribed time 
period for the degree undertaken. These tasks will form an additional 
armory to tackle the war of CSE later on. Some of these important 
tasks are;
1. Analyze and compare various career options: Your job brings 
satisfaction only if you like the work you do. The job profile 
should be such that you enjoy your work. The rest – money, 
Page 4


Consciously Deciding to Study: 
The When of it
“Nothing else to do but studying is not the same as studying and doing 
nothing else.”
There is no particular “right time” to start preparations for UPSC Civil 
Services. One can start even during college as an undergraduate at 
one end and can even begin preparations after a decade of completing 
college if the need arises, of course, due to several reasons. The more 
important aspect is how you define the fact that you have commenced 
preparing for the Civil Services Examination. In my opinion, the 
preparation starts right from the time you are even “consciously 
thinking” of starting your preparations because it is, or it should be, 
effectively addressing the question of why civil services should be 
your career. There is also a remarkable difference between 2 kinds 
of aspirants: one who starts preparing because he/she has nothing 
else to do and the other who takes up preparations and does nothing 
but prepare. The former starts preparing aimlessly without knowing 
the reasons why he or she has taken up the task. This kind of variety 
enrolls in the coaching institute not for guidance but mostly for falling 
in line or a need to be disciplined by an external ‘magical wand’ of the 
institute. How the coaching exploits you for having that ‘magical wand’ 
is a very interesting part of the complete story of UPSC Civil Services 
preparations, and details are found in the subsequent dedicated chapter 
on this.
But, for now, dear aspirants, take into account and let it settle subtly 
in your mind that there is a profound difference between starting 
preparation because you’ve got nothing else to do and doing nothing 
but preparing. The former may also become an aspirant of civil services 
because it is trendy! Saying, “I am studying for UPSC Civil services,” is 
and has always remained in vogue and probably buys a person at least 
one or 2 years, mostly after graduation, before finally giving up and 
surrendering what was initially not his/her cup of tea, only because of 
a casual or rather unconscious attitude toward life. The latter, on the 
other hand, is more conscious of his or her decision to start studying 
for civil services, and that creates enough motivation for doing nothing 
but preparing.
However, yet the aspirants would want to know when to start the actual 
preparations. When I refer to actual preparations, I do not merely refer 
to the idea of preparing for CSE subtly forming in your mind so as to 
decipher the reasons for studying, but now I refer to the actual and 
exact baby steps you would take in this direction, such as taking books, 
notes, or probably deciding upon joining a coaching or even taking a 
decision of not to join any coaching. The question is more important, 
especially for those prospective aspirants who have found the charms 
of civil services irresistible right in their college days. I am referring to 
those aspirants who are in the process of graduation but have made up 
their minds to plunge into the preparations.
Two schools of thought exist here. The former, which I refer to as the 
idealists, find the blood rushing into veins upon the very mention of 
such words or similar to these by college-going students, “I am trying 
to make up my mind to give civil services.” Or maybe, “How about a 
career in civil services? Is it worth it?” The idealists have all the guns 
loaded for their long list of how-tos, do’s and don’ts, and whatnot!
I take the liberty to narrate an incident or, rather, an encounter with 
one of my distant relatives who had been at a prestigious post of 
chairmanship of an institution of national importance. I somehow 
landed up at his house upon severe persuasion from my parents to 
discuss the present dismal state of my grades at college and what 
could have been done to circumvent the disaster of being stranded 
as an unemployable graduate after a few months! After briefing 
Consciously Deciding to Study: The When of it
the unconvincing reasons for my gloomy track record in college, 
I mistakenly uttered the word, “Uncle, I also thought about civil 
services and…..” He cut me here and, with a glitter in his eyes, started 
off, “Oh yes. That’s the best option. You start right from tomorrow. 
But remember, you have to read 2 newspapers each day. Also, by the 
time you complete the last year of college, you must have completed 
each NCERT from 6
th
 to 12
th
 class so that fundamentals are laid down. 
Simultaneously, listen to the news on FM or watch Rajya Sabha and 
D.D. news. Oh! Before I forget, you have to start practicing the past 
years’ GS questions in writing and show me some of your answers 
after one month.”
“I was right! It is indeed not my cup of tea,” I murmured to my mother 
sitting beside me and softly slipped out of their house and never came 
again. Now I refer to this as the latent power of the idealists – they 
would burden the soul with a heavy weight of preparations, and this 
may induce a fear and flight response from the prospective or a would-
be aspirant of civil services.
Now, let us tackle the scenario with the pragmatic school of thought, 
which I generally advocate to most college-going students who wish 
to prepare for CSE in the near future. I truly believe that college life, 
from where you attain your first degree, forms one of the best phases 
of your life and should be cherished and enjoyed in a healthy manner. 
These are a few carefree days of your otherwise stressed lives that 
must be devoted to different but equally important tasks – tasks that 
won’t overburden you or deviate from your immediate priority, that 
is, graduating with the best possible score in the prescribed time 
period for the degree undertaken. These tasks will form an additional 
armory to tackle the war of CSE later on. Some of these important 
tasks are;
1. Analyze and compare various career options: Your job brings 
satisfaction only if you like the work you do. The job profile 
should be such that you enjoy your work. The rest – money, 
power, responsibility, and respect – are bound to come if one 
does his/her work with commitment and dedication. Thus, 
while choosing civil services as a career option and plunging 
into the preparation, one must evaluate the options he/she has 
while graduating from college. Look at the kind of jobs offered by 
companies during placements and compare it with the prospects 
of higher education. You should come up with convincing 
answers to the questions as to why you should not go for higher 
education – maybe an MBA or specialization in your field of 
expertise. Why don’t you intend to get a job through campus 
placement?
2. Cultivate your interests: College years are some of the most 
formative years of one’s life and career. It is a phase of life when 
one has the liberty of taking time to introspect and discover 
definitive interests. These interests may be developed into 
hobbies and nurtured. This will not only help in interviews for 
CSE or any other exam but, more importantly, provide a new 
dimension to your personality. You never know, in this uncertain 
life, when your interest or hobby may turn into a full-time passion 
and become a major source of earnings!
3. Reading: It is one such act which I recommend with all force. I 
realize and accept that it is difficult for students to spend their 
‘precious’ time, which they could otherwise put to a myriad 
number of ‘usages’ such as gossiping, watching TV, Facebooking, 
Instagramming, WhatsApp, etc. But this is an activity that will 
build the foundation of whatever you do after your college 
years. Reading is an exercise that will develop your capability 
to concentrate and focus on one topic, countering several 
distractions that hit your mind simultaneously. And one must 
agree that the power of concentration is required to excel in any 
field of work. The added benefit to the activity is developing a 
powerful vocabulary, which will give you confidence in both 
written and oral communication.
Page 5


Consciously Deciding to Study: 
The When of it
“Nothing else to do but studying is not the same as studying and doing 
nothing else.”
There is no particular “right time” to start preparations for UPSC Civil 
Services. One can start even during college as an undergraduate at 
one end and can even begin preparations after a decade of completing 
college if the need arises, of course, due to several reasons. The more 
important aspect is how you define the fact that you have commenced 
preparing for the Civil Services Examination. In my opinion, the 
preparation starts right from the time you are even “consciously 
thinking” of starting your preparations because it is, or it should be, 
effectively addressing the question of why civil services should be 
your career. There is also a remarkable difference between 2 kinds 
of aspirants: one who starts preparing because he/she has nothing 
else to do and the other who takes up preparations and does nothing 
but prepare. The former starts preparing aimlessly without knowing 
the reasons why he or she has taken up the task. This kind of variety 
enrolls in the coaching institute not for guidance but mostly for falling 
in line or a need to be disciplined by an external ‘magical wand’ of the 
institute. How the coaching exploits you for having that ‘magical wand’ 
is a very interesting part of the complete story of UPSC Civil Services 
preparations, and details are found in the subsequent dedicated chapter 
on this.
But, for now, dear aspirants, take into account and let it settle subtly 
in your mind that there is a profound difference between starting 
preparation because you’ve got nothing else to do and doing nothing 
but preparing. The former may also become an aspirant of civil services 
because it is trendy! Saying, “I am studying for UPSC Civil services,” is 
and has always remained in vogue and probably buys a person at least 
one or 2 years, mostly after graduation, before finally giving up and 
surrendering what was initially not his/her cup of tea, only because of 
a casual or rather unconscious attitude toward life. The latter, on the 
other hand, is more conscious of his or her decision to start studying 
for civil services, and that creates enough motivation for doing nothing 
but preparing.
However, yet the aspirants would want to know when to start the actual 
preparations. When I refer to actual preparations, I do not merely refer 
to the idea of preparing for CSE subtly forming in your mind so as to 
decipher the reasons for studying, but now I refer to the actual and 
exact baby steps you would take in this direction, such as taking books, 
notes, or probably deciding upon joining a coaching or even taking a 
decision of not to join any coaching. The question is more important, 
especially for those prospective aspirants who have found the charms 
of civil services irresistible right in their college days. I am referring to 
those aspirants who are in the process of graduation but have made up 
their minds to plunge into the preparations.
Two schools of thought exist here. The former, which I refer to as the 
idealists, find the blood rushing into veins upon the very mention of 
such words or similar to these by college-going students, “I am trying 
to make up my mind to give civil services.” Or maybe, “How about a 
career in civil services? Is it worth it?” The idealists have all the guns 
loaded for their long list of how-tos, do’s and don’ts, and whatnot!
I take the liberty to narrate an incident or, rather, an encounter with 
one of my distant relatives who had been at a prestigious post of 
chairmanship of an institution of national importance. I somehow 
landed up at his house upon severe persuasion from my parents to 
discuss the present dismal state of my grades at college and what 
could have been done to circumvent the disaster of being stranded 
as an unemployable graduate after a few months! After briefing 
Consciously Deciding to Study: The When of it
the unconvincing reasons for my gloomy track record in college, 
I mistakenly uttered the word, “Uncle, I also thought about civil 
services and…..” He cut me here and, with a glitter in his eyes, started 
off, “Oh yes. That’s the best option. You start right from tomorrow. 
But remember, you have to read 2 newspapers each day. Also, by the 
time you complete the last year of college, you must have completed 
each NCERT from 6
th
 to 12
th
 class so that fundamentals are laid down. 
Simultaneously, listen to the news on FM or watch Rajya Sabha and 
D.D. news. Oh! Before I forget, you have to start practicing the past 
years’ GS questions in writing and show me some of your answers 
after one month.”
“I was right! It is indeed not my cup of tea,” I murmured to my mother 
sitting beside me and softly slipped out of their house and never came 
again. Now I refer to this as the latent power of the idealists – they 
would burden the soul with a heavy weight of preparations, and this 
may induce a fear and flight response from the prospective or a would-
be aspirant of civil services.
Now, let us tackle the scenario with the pragmatic school of thought, 
which I generally advocate to most college-going students who wish 
to prepare for CSE in the near future. I truly believe that college life, 
from where you attain your first degree, forms one of the best phases 
of your life and should be cherished and enjoyed in a healthy manner. 
These are a few carefree days of your otherwise stressed lives that 
must be devoted to different but equally important tasks – tasks that 
won’t overburden you or deviate from your immediate priority, that 
is, graduating with the best possible score in the prescribed time 
period for the degree undertaken. These tasks will form an additional 
armory to tackle the war of CSE later on. Some of these important 
tasks are;
1. Analyze and compare various career options: Your job brings 
satisfaction only if you like the work you do. The job profile 
should be such that you enjoy your work. The rest – money, 
power, responsibility, and respect – are bound to come if one 
does his/her work with commitment and dedication. Thus, 
while choosing civil services as a career option and plunging 
into the preparation, one must evaluate the options he/she has 
while graduating from college. Look at the kind of jobs offered by 
companies during placements and compare it with the prospects 
of higher education. You should come up with convincing 
answers to the questions as to why you should not go for higher 
education – maybe an MBA or specialization in your field of 
expertise. Why don’t you intend to get a job through campus 
placement?
2. Cultivate your interests: College years are some of the most 
formative years of one’s life and career. It is a phase of life when 
one has the liberty of taking time to introspect and discover 
definitive interests. These interests may be developed into 
hobbies and nurtured. This will not only help in interviews for 
CSE or any other exam but, more importantly, provide a new 
dimension to your personality. You never know, in this uncertain 
life, when your interest or hobby may turn into a full-time passion 
and become a major source of earnings!
3. Reading: It is one such act which I recommend with all force. I 
realize and accept that it is difficult for students to spend their 
‘precious’ time, which they could otherwise put to a myriad 
number of ‘usages’ such as gossiping, watching TV, Facebooking, 
Instagramming, WhatsApp, etc. But this is an activity that will 
build the foundation of whatever you do after your college 
years. Reading is an exercise that will develop your capability 
to concentrate and focus on one topic, countering several 
distractions that hit your mind simultaneously. And one must 
agree that the power of concentration is required to excel in any 
field of work. The added benefit to the activity is developing a 
powerful vocabulary, which will give you confidence in both 
written and oral communication.
Consciously Deciding to Study: The When of it
College-going students should do justice to themselves by taking up at 
least these 3 tasks mentioned above, apart from the course curriculum 
they have to study. This would prepare them for the future battle, 
whether it is a job, higher studies, or civil services.