Questions Concerning UPSC Prelims Preparation

When i started my preparation in december 2010,confusion reigned supreme.And believe me I was not a case in isolation, all my friends were equally confused and apprehensive about this mother of all exams.Coaching institutes,howsoever good their intentions may have been, also added to this panic situation.Everyone whom i met spoke of the three lakh odd aspirants who appear in prelims but only a few thousands make it to the mains and so on.What all this negative information does is to create a fear psychosis among aspirants and many of them lose the battle before it has even begun.The point is instead of seeing the glass as half-empty ,why not see it as half-full and with intelligent hard-work the glass can be filled to its capacity.
Yes,clearing prelims is not easy but it is by no means an impossible task.What is needed is sound preparation backed by sincerity in approach and a positive attitude towards life in general and this exam in particular.One has to add to one's strength and minimize one's weaknesses.There is no such thing as a perfect preparation,many aspirants keep preparing for years thinking that one fine day their preparation would be perfect.But perfection is something which cannot be realized in practice, the point is to strive for perfection but not get too much sucked into doing everything in a copybook fashion.With my experience of writing and clearing prelims all four times,i can only say that even if a person starts right now in earnest clearing prelims should not be an unsurmountable hurdle.
I look forward to answering the queries of aspirants related to prelims preparation from general studies point of view and also psychology.You can post your queries in comments and i will be replying to them at the earliest.All the very best !!!