Before talking about the CSS study tips and schedule, I hope you all have selected your subjects (the optional subjects). If not done so far, you can go back to the article How to select optional subjects for CSS.

Managing a schedule and making a time table is a tough task. There is a lot of talk about how much time one should allocate daily. So, to answer this, I would like to say it totally depends on your abilities. And by this, it means the total time you can allocate to your studies according to your own assessment of your abilities. For instance, some people can absorb a piece of information in a short time while it takes longer for some other people. Specifically talking about me, I allocated 4-6 fixed hours first. And then I increased the time, according to the needs of my subjects. (Here I would like to remind you that I started my preparation late in August, so it means you have plenty of time till your exams if you start right now.)

Where to start?

Now, a question will already be in your mind “but where to start the study from?”

First, select your optional subjects (if not done by now).

Secondly, collect books and material according to your subjects.

Thirdly, take one register for each subject and start making your OWN notes. (You can get pre-made notes from the internet but believe me your own notes help you the most)

Make a habit of reading newspapers:

I would like to suggest you to start by reading an English newspaper, most preferably, DAWN. Jot down the difficult words, write them down in your notebook along with the meaning and a sentence. This will enhance your vocabulary and by making a sentence, you would know how to use the word in a sentence.

Focus on your writing Skills:

Good writing skills are a big plus point for you. I again emphasize you to focus on your writing skills. Your perfect writing skills will help you in all subjects whether it is English Essay or some other optional subject. If you know how to structure or present your answer, you are good to score decent marks. For this, pay attention to the writing style of the authors on the editorial page of the newspaper. I know bearing newspaper is a tough task. But believe me, you adopt the writing style subconsciously by only reading the newspaper.

Do a thorough analysis of subjects and take out the overlapping areas or you may say common topics:

Read the outlines of your selected subjects. Then, make a list of the common topics and start collecting data from every angle. For instance, CPEC is a topic which is common in Current Affairs, Pakistan Affairs, English Essay and International Relations. What you can do is, start collecting data for CPEC, like answer the question like from where CPEC started, the total projects in it, the cost, who will benefit more, and so on. In this way, collect all the information regarding CPEC. This is just an example. There are a lot more topics which are common and you can easily find out by analysis of the outlines.

Start slow but maintain the steadiness:

In the initial days, if you start now, let’s say in June, you can go slowly to get yourself with the flow. Read the newspaper daily, focus on writing skills, and along with that one topic from any three subjects each would be more than enough for now. Because it is a long journey, in the end you will lose your concentration if you put more burden on yourself now. (That’s only an opinion by the way, you can agree or disagree). The main point here is to maintain the steadiness. To keep yourself focused on studies.

Make your OWN notes for CSS:

Start making your own notes people!! You can get notes from here and there, but that would lead to cramming. If you jot down the points in your notes by yourself, it would be easier for you to remember and recall the points at the end.

Work hard, but do it smartly:

Please remember, there is no shortcut to success. The only way that leads to success is through hard work along with smart work. Here, by smart work I mean look into the strategies through which you can cover a lot of information in a short time. Like I suggested you above about making notes about the common topics. It will save a lot of your precious time.

Make and achieve your daily targets:

An important thing to do is to make targets to achieve every day. By this I mean that if you have selected some subjects to cover daily, give yourself target that you would cover one or two topics of that subject. And DO NOT.  I repeat, DO NOT get up if you haven’t met your target. After achieving your daily target, give yourself a treat for your accomplishment.

Which time is better to study?

Well, for me it was late night and early morning. When all the in the house were asleep. I mostly studied late at night because at that time, there was no liability on me. No work issues, no children screaming. And at that time I could totally focus on my studies.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle:

Believe me or not, maintaining a healthy lifestyle energizes you a lot for absorbing the information. A 30 minutes’ walk, or some kind of physical activity in a day is a must to maintain good health. As it is said that a sound body holds a sound mind. I agree with it totally. So, I advise you to eat clean to avoid sickness and do some exercise daily. And more importantly, take a 7-8 hour sleep to keep yourself fresh throughout the day.

So, to summarize, I would suggest you to stay calm and steady in order to get to your goal. Achieve your daily targets, read newspaper and get in touch with the happenings around the world. Keep yourself fresh and healthy. I know you all are future officers. If I can manage it, you can do it better than me.

Keep telling me what you want to know more about the CSS exams. Will definitely cover each and every thing in my articles. Remember me in prayers.