How to Prepare For Competitive Exams Without Coaching

To prepare for competitive exams, most students prefer to join coaching classes because they think that coaching centers will make them fully prepared for exams. While it is true to some extent, no coaching center or class can make you fully prepared for any competitive exam if you don’t work hard yourself. 
There are some students who are not able to join coaching centers, owing to one reason or another. It is a common question among candidates and aspirants, whether they should join coaching centers or not. Well, you can easily qualify for an exam if you follow smart-study methods, make a daily timetable & stick to it, and be consistent. 
There is no doubt that coaching centers provide you with various shortcut tricks and methods that can help you in the exam but unless you are not willing to grind and work hard, no coaching center will be able to help you. If you are looking to prepare for competitive exams without coaching then we have got some tips for you that might help you with preparation:
1. Understand The Syllabus
Before you get any further, the first thing that you have to do is understand the syllabus. Qualifying for competitive exams isn’t easy. Every competitive exam has a defined syllabus along with the past papers of previous years. You should thoroughly go through the whole syllabus and understand the things that you will have to prepare. Going through past papers is also a good thing to do as you will be able to determine the difficulty level of the exams and understand what you are getting into.
2. Make An Effective Study Schedule
Once you get a hang of the syllabus, you should make an effective study schedule. If you are skipping coaching classes then it is important that you make a daily study routine and stick to it. Having a fixed study routine will help you with preparation. Remember that competitive exams aren’t easy and you will have to study for 8-12 hours on a daily basis in order to be prepared for the exams. Make sure that you stick to your study schedule and also keep a track of your preparation all the time.
3. Take Help From Standard Study Material Only
Taking help from standard study material and resources is very important. To be able to ace the competitive exams, you will have to focus on smart study which involves focusing on the quality of study rather than quantity. Instead of going through multiple books, you should pick up a standard book as recommended and go through that book more than once. 
Competitive exams are all about assessing your knowledge and not theory. If you have good knowledge and are able to apply it properly then you will be able to ace the exams. Remember to always choose the standard study material and make your concepts clear. Cramming everything won’t help you in competitive exams.
4. Stay Positive And Confident
Staying positive during the whole course of preparation is very important. In order to succeed in exams, you have to be positive and confident in your abilities. If you start to overthink then you will be hurting no one but yourself. Always try to stay positive, prepare well, and then test your knowledge. If you stay positive and are confident about yourself then it will give you the mental strength that you will need during the examination. Playing stress-relieving games like Klondike Solitaire during breaks can help you stay positive during preparation.
5. Stay Comfortable During Preparation
Staying comfortable during preparation is also important. Make sure that you study at a time when you feel comfortable. If you are an early bird then studying in the morning will be best suited for you whereas if you are a night owl then nighttime will be best for you. 
6. Take Frequent Breaks And Sleep Properly
Taking breaks and proper sleep is very important. To study for competitive exams, you will have to study alone to avoid any distractions and it can become very boring and stressful to study alone. Make sure that you find ways to de-stress yourself. One of the ways to do this is by playing a game such as Solitaire that is good for de-stressing yourself. Also, taking frequent breaks while studying. Studying for 2-3 hours and taking a 10-15 minutes break will freshen you up.
Also, don’t neglect sleep and rest. Sleep and rest are very important. Make sure that you sleep for at least 7-8 hours on a daily basis to keep your mind healthy and active. Without an active mind, everything else will be useless and you won’t be able to retain anything.
7. Revision
With everything else, don’t forget to revise your syllabus. Revision is one of the most important aspects of preparation. It is not possible for anyone to remember anything just by studying it once. You will have to go through your syllabus multiple times in order to retain it effectively.