Sprint is a 100-meter dash; by the time it starts, it ends. In contrast, a Marathon is a little more than 42 km. Phew! Both are unique in their own way, but the preparation is different to book a place on the podium.
You started on Marathon mode, and now, just 30-odd days to go, your NEET on 4th May 2025, its sprint time.
Grab a pen and a notebook (the one which is made of papyrus 😊 )
Draw a line in the middle of the page and jot down the High Weightage vs Low Weightage topics. For that, the last 10 years' question papers and the Mock Tests, the mark allocations, and your ‘feeling in my bones’ will help you to do this task. Next, plan a cycle, like, Learning, Revision, and Mock Test. Repeat it.
Now break into weekly and daily targets (write it down). This way you will avoid cramming up.
And above all, consider NCERT as your Gita. So, like what is in NCERT, that is what you will face in the hall on 4th day of May.
Whenever any part while you are trying to retain is falling short, better to study that part and take a note of it. Voila! Your memory will start storing it in your Prefrontal Cortex & Neo Cortex box 😊 .
Ok, now how many hours to study? Well, any thumb rule around it? आकाशवाणी (Akashvani) says that how effectively you study matters more than how much you study. We can surely find a balance, starting with prioritizing it. If today NEET is my top most priority and if I am a 8-9 hours study per day homo sapien, then so be it. Just that you should have a proper break time. Not exactly a rigid one as if after 1-2 hrs the bell rings signalling break time. Nehi yaar. Just use your mental clock. The moment you encounter fatigue, distraction, or inattentiveness, get up, take a stroll. Be judicious. In that break, don’t start to Disco or Salsa. Just splash water on your face, try to be blank in your mind, and then come back and start. If you are fond of tomatoes, then check out the Pomodoro Technique.
Say we go by 9 hours a day for NEET. Morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Break the 9 in a way you are comfortable, but avoid major chunk of your study in the night-time. You see the Owl is nocturnal by nature. Not you. So please sing yourself ‘Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs…’ and go to sleep at a proper time.
One thought may be a 3-2-3-1 hour break-up starting early morning hours. Morning gives you a fresh start, physically and mentally. So you are sharp and you process more information more effectively. Your Cortisol level is also lower in the morning, yes, better to start early (now for some, 10-11 am, maybe early morning. Then, Indubitably it’s not applicable for you Champ). Also, keep an eye on your planning as night study needs to be on the lighter side. Similar to an evening walk in the park, hand in hand. Feeling of stress-free activity because after this, it’s sleep time.
Sleep is very critical. I mean Proper sleep.
Why? Of course, rest for you, and at the same time many things happen in the backend. You are would-be Doctors, so more important for you to delve into it.
Sleep is critical for your effective learning as it handles a few cognitive functions like, mental performance, alertness, and memory consolidation. If we drill down a bit, then we see that memory consolidation works in converting the short-term memory into long-term. Also, REM and NREM are working for you in tandem. Thus, we conclude that Proper Sleep is a must.
Let’s roll: 1st week. Morning- take a full-length Mock test using an OMR sheet. Afternoon- be a hawk to pinpoint concept gap (hmmm, scary), silly mistakes, and Time burnout. Work on it. Evening- Catching up with NCERT highlights, as in Biology diagrams, Chemistry reactions, and others. And Night- wind up with notes, A little of Physics/Chemistry run down on the formulas. Then good night.
We are now in the second week. Next, revision. NEET should have some favourite topics, like Electrostatics, Organics, Biotechnology, Optics, Coordination Compounds, Plant Morphology, Modern Physics, Chemical Bonding, Genetics, et al. Crawl on them, diligently.
3-2-3 hrs plotting for the 2nd week. Morning- attempt at least 50 questions from high yield topics and past year questions. The goal is to score a minimum 80%, especially from high-weightage chapters. Afternoon- Notes taken by you only, review them. And in the Evening, full-length mock and then come back with a short break and analyse the mistake. If the concept is bothering you, feel free to visit YouTube for a quick recap. Just that, only strengthen what you know. Don’t venture out on new stuff.
Consider more focus on Biology. Again, refer to your NEET Gita.
Of the 7 days in the third week, you may chart 1-3-5th days for the full MOCK Test series. By which you are combating the Exam pressure. And for days 2-4-6th deep-dive into your weakest topics, error notebook, revisiting concepts (for revision), and so on.
Nugget for you- if a question is taking more than 10/12 seconds to comprehend, move on. Come back to it later. Or else pressure and stress will build up.
The final thrust. Week 4. Now it's all about your mindset conditioning. Considering if that is around 25th Apr. onwards, play along with light revision, then 2 more mocks maybe, but just to work on your confidence. Glancing through NCERT and by then you reach 3rd May; relax. Very light study. Early sleep.
You have done the grinding. Just execute to the best of your BEST ability.
Understand Biology is your highest-scoring section, so attempt it early. And lastly, remember the Pareto, 80/20 rule. Approximately 20% of the syllabus can yield 80% of the score. Check that too.
Will meet you on the day of your Hippocratic Oath!