A Typical Day in the Life of an AIR 1 Candidate

What kind of a person is a JEE aspirant? Serious, studious, geek and one with no interest in social affairs or socialising? You are thinking this, right? I’m sorry, but you are wrong! I am about to share this schedule of a typical day in the life of a candidate with an AIR 1 (All India Rank 1) and yes, without becoming a bookworm. Read on to find out the JEE preparation strategy that helped many toppers to score more.

Before we get started, here are a few things that JEE toppers DON’T do:

No skipping college: Attend all the lectures, labs sessions and classes.
No losing sleep: Never compromise on the 6-8 hours of sleep every day.
No marathon/heroic study sessions.
No studying for more than 3 hours at a stretch (except in the last month).
No study buddies: No matter what people say, they just distract you.

We managed to speak to a few JEE toppers with an AIR 1 and have jotted down some DO’s to help you crack the exam:

Always make a schedule and allocate time for each subject.
Make sticky notes and buy a dry-erase board for doing rough work.
Without time management, no magic is going to help you reach your goals.
Learn to say NO to family and friends to avoid distractions
Rely on personal notes for all the topics and revise them again and again. Depending on readymade notes is not a great idea.
Take care of health and eat more green leafy vegetables and proteins. Avoid processed food like chips, soft drinks, etc.

Most AIR 1 candidates have a fixed schedule and study for a fixed number of hours. Since every person may have different fundas for cracking the JEE, we’ve chosen to unveil the typical day (with some generalizations) in the life of a JEE topper.

Wake up at 9 am and get a calendar, diary and pen first to make a planner to routine up the time. Check dates and make an organized plan for the upcoming tests or exams. Eliminate the wastage of time by not sticking to the phone for long.

Go off to attend college (10:30 onwards), and labs (afternoons). If you are in the last month of JEE preparations, then utilise this time for studying. Roughly 5-6 hours during the day, and 3-4 hours at night.

Mark priorities so that lunch, classes and seminars are not compromised on.

Take a short break for lunch between 1- 2 pm. Just lie down and fall asleep. Power naps are indeed refreshing.

It’s Facebook, Whatsapp chat, Instagram and LinkedIn time. Though there cannot be a fixed schedule for this, it’s crucial to stay in touch with 1000’s of students preparing for JEE Main & Advanced and also to relax the mind. Although, be careful not to overindulge as it can negatively affect the preparation and bring you down in a big way.

In the evenings (starting around 6-7pm), go for a long walk and catch up with neighbours and relatives.

Health and fitness are crucial for a good preparation. If the candidate is not the long-walk types, take out 30 min to 45 min from the schedule to do some light exercise or play games like badminton, football or cricket. Alternatively, keep some time aside for yoga or exercises to reduce stress and relax.

While on a walk, take a copy of notes to sit down on a bench quietly and revise. Use note taking mobile apps if possible.

After coming back home, take up full-length, time-bound part tests to gauge the progress and also work on speed to understand how fast a problem is solved and how the paper can be finished in time.

After dinner, watch TV for some time.

Retrospect before bedtime. After finishing studying for the day, spend 10 – 15 minutes thinking what has been achieved during the entire day. Lay stress on things like:

Where was the time wasted the most?
How can the day be optimised for tomorrow?
Was the plan for the day achieved?
If not, how can the timings be tweaked to study more effectively?

Study more! If there’s still some energy left. Stay awake from 11 pm – 1 am to study concepts, solve problems, look at the solutions
This is how a typical day in the life of a candidate with an AIR 1 looks like!

You can also read the full interview with Prudhvi Tej, the AIR in JEE Advanced 2014, here.