Step 1: Stop Worshipping the Planner

The truth is, no one cracks the CAT just because they followed a planner down to the minute. You don’t need to wake up at 5 AM every day. You don’t need to do QA every Tuesday. You don’t need to finish the XYZ topic by some imaginary deadline.

What you do need is:

• Clarity on your weak and strong areas.
• A feedback loop for every mock.
• Flexibility to adapt based on results.

A system doesn’t tell you what to do when. It helps you decide what to do next based on where you are right now.

Step 2: Track Input, Not Just Output

Your planner tells you what to study. Your system tells you how you’re improving.

Here’s how:

• After every mock, don’t just note your scores, analyse why you lost marks.
• Track the type of errors you make: Conceptual? Silly? Speed-related?
• Build your daily plan based on your error patterns, not your planner’s template.

A schedule might tell you to “solve 3 RCs.” A system will tell you to “solve 2 RCs with para-summaries because your accuracy on those is dipping below 60%.”

See the difference?

Step 3: Design Rituals, Not Routines

Routines break the moment life interrupts. Rituals? They’re anchored.

You don’t need a fixed time to study. You need a trigger.

Examples:

• After breakfast → solve one DI set.
• After mock review → write a 3-point takeaway.
• Before sleep → journal your progress (1 line is enough).

The goal is not to chain yourself to a schedule. It’s to build habits that survive chaos.

Step 4: Run Systems in Cycles

Instead of rigid weeks, think in feedback loops:

Cycle = Learn → Apply → Assess → Adjust

• Learn a concept.
• Apply it in practice sets or mocks.
• Assess how you performed.
• Adjust your strategy.

This lets your system evolve with you. If something stops working? You change. Not scrap the whole plan, but tweak the system.

Your planner can’t do that. Your system can.

Step 5: Build for the Bad Days

A planner assumes every day is good. A system is ready for the days when:

• You miss a mock.
• You bomb a mock.
• You’re tired and unmotivated.

You don’t fall off the wagon, because your system isn’t all-or-nothing. It bends, but doesn’t break. If you can’t do a full session, your system tells you: do just 1 RC, review 5 QA questions, and walk away.

That’s progress, too.

The System Wins in the Long Run

CAT isn’t about being perfect for a few days. It’s about being consistent for a few months. A planner might get you started. But only a system can carry you through the storm , the self-doubt, the mock slumps, the burnout.

So here’s your real strategy:

• Don’t just plan. Track.
• Don’t just schedule. Reflect.
• Don’t just execute. Adapt.

Let go of the illusion of control. Build something real instead.

Because on CAT day, it’s not your planner that shows up. It’s your system.

Let that system be strong, flexible, and battle-tested.