Why 100 is the magic number #

A daily target you can actually keep is worth more than a big target you keep postponing.

This session was a monthly accountability check-in, and its first question was simple: are you practising questions every day or not? The mentor calls 100 the magic number. If you solve 100 MCQs a day for 500 days, you reach 50,000 MCQs.

The target behind that number is 10,000 MCQs per subject. With four subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology), that comes to 40,000 MCQs, so 100 a day gets you there with room to spare.

The time cost is predictable. At about one minute per MCQ, 100 questions take around 100 minutes, plus about 20 minutes to check answers: roughly 2 hours a day.

  • Do it daily. Do not let MCQs pile up for "later", because later rarely comes.
  • Doing it daily is what makes the number work; a few heavy days followed by gaps does not add up the same way.

How to split your study day #

Two hours of MCQs and two hours of theory in Class 11, more in Class 12, one subject at a time.

For a Class 11 student, the suggested split is about 2 hours of MCQ practice and 2 hours of theory every day. In Class 12, total study time should grow to around 7 to 10 hours.

You do not need to touch all three subjects every day. Pick one subject for the day's practice. Biology questions are quicker, so on a Biology day you can often do 150 to 200 MCQs in the same 2 hours. For Physics or Chemistry, 60 to 100 is a realistic range.

The mentor also warns against overloading on coaching. Daily four-hour classes are hard to sustain, and more than about 15 hours of coaching a week leaves too little time for your own practice.

Retrograde revision: questions first, theory second #

Solve MCQs straight after learning a topic, then revise theory only where you made mistakes.

The method he recommends is called retrograde revision. As soon as you have understood a topic in class, solve MCQs on it. For every question you get wrong, go back to the theory and find out why.

This turns revision into active recall. Instead of re-reading everything, you spend your theory time exactly where your answers show a gap. It works best for easy to moderate topics, which is why it suits Biology so well.

  • Start with easier, 0.5 level questions to build confidence.
  • Move to level 1 questions once those feel comfortable.
  • Then take on level 1.5 and level 2 questions for the harder marks.

Stuck at the same score? Find the low-hanging fruit #

When marks plateau, shift time towards the subject with the most room to grow.

Many students jump from around 400 to 500-550 marks once they increase their MCQ practice, and then stall. The mentor's advice is to look for the low-hanging fruit: the subject where extra practice will add marks fastest.

If you are scoring around 300-310 in Biology or 100-110 in Chemistry, those are usually the first places to push. If Biology is already strong, at 330-340, move some of that time to Chemistry and Physics and try to do 1.5 times your current MCQ practice in those subjects.

Get rid of distractions #

Out of sight, out of mind: remove the phone from your study time instead of fighting it.

The session's title says it plainly: get rid of distractions. The mentor's view is that motivation comes and goes, and what keeps you going is discipline. The easiest way to be disciplined is to remove the temptation in the first place.

He also reminds students what they are working towards: MBBS, which he describes as genuinely the best time of your life. Every hour won back from your phone moves you closer to it.

  • Delete social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
  • Turn off phone notifications.
  • Switch your phone to grayscale mode so it is less attractive to pick up.
  • While studying theory, keep the phone in another room or hand it to your parents.

Watch the full video #

This article is based on a video from the NEETprep YouTube channel.

Watch Get rid of DISTRACTIONS!! for the full explanation.