https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

How to Conquer Distractions and Stay Steadfast to Your UPSC Goal, Tips from IAS Officer

IAS officer Divya Mittal talks about distractions and how to overcome them while preparing for competitive exams. She offers step-by-step solutions to keep oneself safe from distractions. Her tips can help CSE aspirants to build concentration, while remaining focussed on their goal.
Indian Masterminds Stories

UPSC CSE preparation needs complete focus and concentration for an aspirant to be able to crack it, and distractions, big or small, will always be there. And while the preparation is tough, succumbing to distraction is very easy. IAS officer Divya Mittal, who regularly offers tips on Twitter on self-improvement, has this time tweeted on conquering distractions and staying ahead in life.

Ms. Mittal secured AIR 68 in 2012 in UPSC CSE and became an IAS officer. But before that, she also passed out from IIM and IIT. She is now District Magistrate of Mirzapur and often shares lessons learnt on her journey on Twitter, and her most recent thread was on how to overcome distractions and get great focus. In a long Twitter thread on how to tackle distractions, she shared some great tips and tricks based on her experiences of cracking some of the toughest exams of India.

IAS officer Divya MIttal

REDUCE MOBILE USAGE

She starts off her thread by stressing on the need to reduce mobile usage, as it is one of the biggest distractions in today’s time. She also suggests that aspirant should keep a tab on mobile usage by measuring the screen time.

“Measure: Check your phone usage and apps you spent time on every week. Many times you don’t even know how much time you are wasting on mobile apps. Android users can use free apps.”

STEP TO REDUCE

She then suggest ways to do it.

“Physical distance: Keep the phone with the internet switched off and away from you while studying. You can also keep it locked and with a parent/ friend. Heavens will not fall while you are studying and if it is something urgent, you will get the message.”

TECHIE SOLUTION

In her next tweet, she gives a technological solution, giving examples of apps like ‘Blackout’ to shut down the internet for study time.

“Use apps like Blackout to block internet for at least 6 hours every day. Force yourself to study in that time. It is not a free app, but it is very effective. Once it blacks out the phone, you can’t go back for the period.”

EARLY MORNING STUDY

She also suggests the tried and tested early morning study. She said, “Keep the alarm away from you, on loud volume. Most likely once you get up from the bed to switch off the alarm, you will decide to not go back to sleep and study. Early morning study is the best these days especially as it has lesser distractions.”

Credit: www.eliteias.in

HOW TO INCREASE FOCUS

To increase focus, she suggests studying in short sessions and then taking a break for some time. She believes that one cannot maintain focus for longer at one go.

“Keep short focused Sessions.

– Do 90-minute/2 hr intensely focused sessions.

– Take 15 min break after every session.”

“You cannot maintain focus for longer than that at one go. Measure the session. Till the alarm goes off, don’t do anything else but study.”

MEDITATION

In her next tweet, she talks about practising meditation to stay focussed. “Practice Tratak meditation. This is known to increase focus. Fix your eyes on an object. This can be the flame of a candle, a pencil, a spot on the wall.”

BINAURAL BEATS

Next, she offers some modern methods, like listening to sound vibrations.

“Binaural beats:

Listening to Binaural beats which are sound vibrations of 40 Hz helps in

a) Enhances focus

b) Decreases amount of time it takes to get into a focused state

These can be obtained from YouTube.”

EXERCISE OUTDOOR

Apart from these modern methods, physical appearance is also important, and for that, one needsto exercise daily and spend time outdoors. She says: “Exercise and Outdoor:

– Exercise preferably outside, at least a 20 minutes’ walk.

– Get close to nature – go to a park and walk/sit.

– Get some sunlight even if for 5-10 minutes.

NUTRITION

Talking about nutrition next, she says that it is important to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. “While studying, we forget to take care of nutrition. A balanced diet helps in increasing focus. Also reduces the need to munch on snacks.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

She concludes her thread by saying that “while these are simple tips, sometimes small things make a huge difference when done repeatedly. Best of luck for whatever you are trying to focus for!

Ms. Mittal’s thread has since gone viral and many IAS officers have also shared it. In fact, 1985-batch IAS officer SN Tripathi, who is currently Director General of Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), invited her to the institute. Till last count, her thread got around 6,000 retweets and more than 30,000 likes.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
SAIL resized
SAIL Bags 'Star Performer' Award from EEPC for Export Excellence During Pandemic Years - Check Here To Know More
NFL _ National Fertilizers Limited
National Fertilizers Ltd Faces Rs. 94.84 Crore Tax Demand Over GST Refunds
Screenshot 2025-05-31 204103
PM Modi Launches Major Thermal Power Projects in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh - Check All Details
IRCON
IRCON Bags Rs. 1,068 Crore Contract for Ganga Rail Bridge in Bihar - All Details Inside
retirement
3 Senior Executives to Retire from Key PSUs in India, P V Ravitej Concludes 38-year Long Journey With BPCL - All Details Inside
Rajiv Krishna IPS
Breaking: IPS Rajeev Krishna Appointed as Acting DGP of Uttar Pradesh, Becomes 5th Consecutive Officer in Acting Role - Know More About Him
Bihar Government-resized-IM
47 IAS Officers Reshuffled in Bihar Ahead of Polls, 17 Districts Get New DMs, 5 New Commissioners - Check Circular Here
PSUs
PSUs: IRS Anurag Prasad Repatriated Early for Promotion; IAS M Muthukumar Appointed Director (Finance) at BHAVINI
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
Modernising Governance: A Digital Transformation in Gangtok
IMG-20250523-WA0036
Abhishek Singh's SECRET: Vipassana, Anthropology & Smart Answer Writing | Video Interview 
Madhav Agarwal UPSC
From Gwalior to the Top 20: What Drove Finance Pro Madhav Agarwal to Crack UPSC CSE 2024 with AIR 16? | Exclusive
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
ANUBHAV SINGH UPSC IFS 2024
9 Years, 8 Attempts, 7 Failures: How Anubhav Singh Cracked UPSC IFS 2024 with AIR 3 Against All Odds | Exclusive
Anubhav Singh’s inspiring journey to UPSC IFS Rank 3 showcases relentless perseverance, strategic preparation,...
Jogender Sihag
“I Cleared UPSC, But My Grandfather isn’t Here to Hear it,” Jogender Sihag, AIR 521, UPSC CSE 2024
"Life is short; make the most of it, whether in civil service or any other field. Just have a clear vision...
WhatsApp Image 2025-05-28 at 18.56
Didn’t Clear UPSC But Found Something Greater: A Story That Will Change How You See Success
She left a top finance job for UPSC, did not clear but built a thriving wellness brand instead. Veda's...
Social Media
parveen kaswan elephant
Elephant Outsmarts Electric Fence! IFS Parveen Kaswan Shares Incredible Video!
In the now-viral 51-second clip, the intelligent giant approaches a wooden pole supporting high-voltage...
UPSC Latest IAS IPS IFS
UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 Tomorrow: ICLS Officer Altap Shaikh Shares Last-Minute Motivation for Aspirants
His five-post thread offers encouragement, practical advice, and emotional support - not just for those...
Anupam Sharma IFS
#BoycottTurkey: IFS Officer Anupam Sharma Sparks Nationalist Call to Action
IFS Sharma urged citizens to avoid Turkish agricultural imports
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
SAIL resized
SAIL Bags 'Star Performer' Award from EEPC for Export Excellence During Pandemic Years - Check Here To Know More
NFL _ National Fertilizers Limited
National Fertilizers Ltd Faces Rs. 94.84 Crore Tax Demand Over GST Refunds
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
IMG-20250523-WA0036
Madhav Agarwal UPSC
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT