Most beginners start by buying books. I would start by finding out what you already know, and what UPSC actually asks. Books come third.
Step 1: Diagnose (week 1)
Take a short timed test before you read anything. Our free mini-test takes 15 minutes. Note which subjects feel familiar and which are blank. That note decides your first two months.
Step 2: Read the PYQs of a subject before its theory
Open the PYQ bank topic by topic. Do not try to solve; just read 30 to 40 questions and their explanations. You will notice that UPSC returns to the same ideas: Fundamental Rights, monetary policy tools, protected areas, Buddhist sites. Now the theory you read has a target.
Step 3: One source per subject, read against the syllabus
Read one standard book per subject and keep the syllabus line by line open beside it. Tick a line only when you can explain it and have seen its PYQs.
Step 4: Current affairs every day, for 45 minutes
Do not read the newspaper like a newspaper. Ask of each story: which syllabus line does it touch? Our daily current affairs does that tagging for you and adds a Mains box.
Step 5: Write from month three
Two Mains answers a day, 150 words each, from the Mains PYQs. Compare with the model answer and note one thing to fix next time.
Step 6: Test in real conditions
From month five, one full-length Prelims mock every week, on OMR, at 9:30 am. Spend more time on the review than on the test.
A rough first-year timetable
| Months | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Diagnosis, Polity and Economy through PYQs, daily CA |
| 3-5 | History, Geography, Environment; start answer writing |
| 6-7 | Science and Tech, IR, optional subject begins; weekly tests |
| 8-10 | Revision one, full mocks, CSAT practice |
| 11-12 | Revision two, PYQ re-solve, mock review |
FAQs
Should I start UPSC preparation with NCERTs or PYQs?
Read a subject's PYQs first, then its theory. The PYQs tell you what to look for in the books.
How many hours a day are needed?
There is no fixed number. Six focused hours with daily revision beats ten unfocused ones.
When should I start answer writing?
From the third month, two short answers a day.