Need suggestions regarding mains

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Hey everyone,

I’m currently a 3rd-year undergraduate student and planning to appear for UPSC CSE 2027.

As of now, my preparation is roughly at this stage:

- Ethics: Done + notes prepared

- Optional: Done + notes prepared

- GS1: Done + notes prepared

- GS2: Mostly done + notes prepared

- GS3: Yet to be done

- Answer writing: I understand the basic structure and can frame/structure an answer reasonably well, but I’m facing some kind of friction when it comes to actually sitting down and writing answers consistently.

Since I still have a decent amount of time before 2027, I wanted to ask people who have already gone through this phase:

What would you recommend I focus on at this stage?

More specifically:

1. Should I prioritise finishing GS3 first and then get serious about answer writing, or should I start writing alongside GS3?

2. How much answer writing is actually necessary at this stage? Is something like 2–3 answers a day enough?

3. For someone who already understands answer structure but struggles with the execution/consistency part, what helped you overcome that friction?

4. Given that I’m still in college, how would you structure the next 6–8 months?

5. What are the mistakes you made at this stage that you would strongly advise a 2027 aspirant to avoid?

Would especially appreciate advice from people who have cleared Prelims/Mains or have substantial Mains preparation experience, rather than generic advice.

Thanks!