How To Manage Full-time Job And MBA Entrance Exam Preparation

In the past few months, many aspirants have reached out to me asking how I managed CAT and other MBA entrance exams and my full-time job. So, I thought I should share my experience to give everyone some insights on how they can do the same. Well, the fact of the matter is that it is not an easy thing to manage. Working professionals know better than anyone how unpredictable work can be at times. Urgent reports or presentations, client calls, random team meetings, etc. And ever since work from home has started 9-5 jobs have become 9-9 jobs at times. Work-life balance itself seems like an urban myth; then how can we even think of studying for such highly competitive examinations. So, what is the answer?

Well, the answer is simple. Hard work, dedication, conviction, etc. all these things are a given but what makes all these things effective is prioritization and consistency.

When I say prioritizing it means understanding what, when, and where to give your attention.
• When your work becomes demanding, take a step back from preparation, make sure to complete the job and hand as soon as possible and then switch back to preparing.
• For instance, in my case, I had a sense of what my day or my week would look like in terms of workload. So accordingly, I would plan my work and my preparation. I preferred keeping weekly targets wherein I'd dedicate 12-15 hours of my week solely for CAT preparation. If Monday to Wednesday I would be flooded with work, then during those days I would prepare something that I find fun and relaxing to do like Quants or a DILR set or maybe even just watch some YouTube videos on various quant topics or read a few articles. For the rest of the week when the workload is a bit light, I’ll put in a dedicated amount of time to cover the topics that I’m struggling with and practice as many VARC/DILR questions as possible.
• You can synonymously consider this as time management as well wherein you figure out the best possible way to manage your time for work, preparation, and other aspects of life.

Coming to consistency, it is pretty straightforward. It’s just showing up daily.
• You don’t necessarily have to give your 100% every day. You just have to make sure you do as much as you can and if possible, give in a bit extra at times.
• If you thought this week, I’ll do 15 DILR sets, but today all you can do is just one DILR set then just do that. It is fine. Even that will add to something. You just have to remember that I have 14 more to go to and I’ll balance it out in the coming days.
• Whatever daily or weekly or monthly goal you have set up, try to consistently work towards that. That’s all. Whether you can accomplish that is secondary. Just make sure you stick to your predetermined goal, no matter what. It'll help you stay driven and focused.

And above and beyond all this, just have faith and stay true to yourself. Things will work out for you in the end.

All the best!

You May Also Be Interested In:

1. How Can You Ace CAT As A Working Professional? | Manas Sathe, CAT 99.08%iler, IIM I'23
2. Should You Leave Your Job For Full-time CAT Preparation?
3. Juggling Work And CAT Prep - Tips From IIM-B - Collated By Rinku Stephen
4. How To Prepare For CAT And XAT While Working - Aroon's Journey To XLRI Jamshedpur
5. Should You Quit Your Job To Prepare For CAT This Year? Perspective From A 99 Percentiler Who Quit His Job