(Success Story) UPSC 2022 TOPPER, AIR-24 Krishan Kumar Singh Shares His Story Of Cracking UPSC While Working

UPSC success stories are often awe-inspiring and the examples of aspirants not giving up in the face of failures and adversities are known to all. This year’s all-India rank 24 Krishnan Kumar Singh, who has secured this incredible rank in his 5th attempt is another such story.

Krishnan’s Perseverance

Krishnan is a native of the Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. He has done his schooling in Ghaziabad and his B.Tech from Delhi. Like so many bright young minds of this great nation, Krishnan also started his UPSC preparation right after graduating. But as luck would have it, he could not break through. Instead of giving up, Krishnan took the RBI Grade-B examination and joined the Reserve Bank of India as a manager. But he never gave up on his UPSC dream. This perseverance is what brought him AIR-24 in UPSC CSE 2020.

Cracking UPSC CSE As A Working Professional

Krishnan says it is important for working professionals to have separate routines for weekdays/working days and weekends/off days. For Krishnan, the routine was as follows –

Weekdays Study Plan

As a manager in RBI, Krishnan’s work hours are 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM every Monday to Friday. He would leave for work every day by 9:10 AM. As someone who studied pretty late every night, he could not wake up before 8:30 AM. This meant he did not have time to study in the morning.

Every day, he would be back home by 7 PM after having spent some time engaging with friends and colleagues after work. A little socializing is important to have a fresh mind according to Krishnan. He then proceeded to have an early dinner and his study routine would begin at around 8 PM and continue till 2/2:30 PM every night.

How to Burn Midnight Oil Effectively to Study for Your Exams

Krishnan says it is important to know how your body clock works. For example, Krishnan had tried going straight back from work, waking up by 4 AM, and studying in the morning. However, that did not prove to be as productive for him as his nightly routine. He insists everyone should get at least 6 hours of sleep daily.

Weekends Study Plan

Krishnan felt the weekends are the most productive days for working professionals. He would use these days to catch up on any section he could not complete during the rest of the week, as well as to revise and take tests. He would try to get at least 8 to 10 hours of study time each day of the weekend.

Be Flexible

Before mains, he vouched he would write one exam every day and not just weekends. So he modified his routine accordingly. Similarly, a month before the prelims exam, he started dividing his study time between morning and night, using the morning time to study current affairs and the evening to revise the general studies portion.