Understand the Syllabus

It is the first part of any exercise – understanding the whole of it. Any competitive examination has a defined syllabus along with the previous year papers to refer to for exam pattern and difficulty level. First, go through the notification of any examination and then go through the past year's papers so that you can get to know what you are getting into.

Prepare an Effective Daily-Study Schedule

If you are doing self-study, it is very important to have a fixed routine and more important is to follow it without fail. Make a proper routine and keep track of your preparation at all times.

Fix Weekly Targets and Achieve Them

You go to coaching since they take regular classes with a defined syllabus so that all the relevant chapters are covered properly. If you are studying on your own, you need to have to fix your targets and achieve them. However, make sure that you have small and achievable targets.

I suggest you make weekly targets and try to achieve them and calculate your success rate every week, make sure no need to worry if you are reaching 80-90% but try to make it 90+.

Be Positive & Confident

It is very important to remain positive all the time in order to achieve success. Prepare well and practice well. Do not overthink the result. If you enjoy the preparation phase, cracking the examination will be a cakewalk for you.

It is very important to study when you feel comfortable. If you are an early bird, study in the morning and if you love burning midnight oil, just go ahead with it without paying much heed to others.

Refer to Standard Study Material

It is very important that you focus on quality rather than quantity. You should focus on going through one book more than once rather than referring to more than one book. Pick up a standard book and go through it multiple times. It will clarify the concept for you.

Please understand that competitive exams are a test of your application of knowledge and not theory. Read and understand so that you can apply properly. The application is the most important aspect of your preparation.

Take Proper Rest & Sleep

Studying alone may be stressful and boring at times and if you are not able to crack even the prelims of any examination it becomes all the more stressful. Find ways to de-stress yourself on a regular basis so that you can relax. It will freshen you up and you will be able to retain things better.

Make sure that you are sleeping at least 7-8 hours a day. Without a healthy mind, everything else will be of no use and you will not be able to concentrate properly resulting in poor retention of knowledge.

Revise, Revise & Revise

Revision of the most important cog in the wheel of your preparation. It is not possible for anybody to remember everything by studying only once. Multiple revisions will be effective for retention as well as application. You may face failures but it is very important to carry on despite them. You may fail once, twice but if you stick to it, you will definitely be able to succeed one day.

Take mock tests as many as possible on a regular basis. It is very important to get the hang of your level of preparation compared to your fellow contestants. It helps you prepare for the ultimate test.

Bottom Line:

Competitive Examination is all about strategy and proper execution and nothing else. This can be best done if you are preparing on your own. Coaching centers will not be for you alone but in self-study, you will be able to understand yourself better and study accordingly.

Feel free to ask me in the comment box if you are having any further doubts

hope you find it helpful

Good Luck!