One thing I've slowly realized during my B.Tech journey is that learning Computer Science is not difficult only because of the subjects. Sometimes, the bigger challenge is figuring out how to manage everything at the same time.
Right now, I'm trying to balance college, GATE preparation, AI, projects, and the usual college work. And honestly, I don't always manage it perfectly.
🎓 College Comes First
My college syllabus is actually helping me decide what to focus on.
Since subjects like DAA and DBMS are already part of my B.Tech syllabus, I'm preparing them for GATE alongside my regular studies. This way, the same topic serves two purposes instead of feeling like completely separate preparation.
I'm also studying Engineering Mathematics because I know it is important for GATE and requires consistent practice.
🎯 Preparing for GATE
I started my GATE preparation around the end of July.
I'm treating GATE 2027 as a trial attempt, while 2028 is my main target. I decided this because I don't want to rush through the syllabus just to say that I completed it.
For now, I'm focusing on building my concepts properly.
I'm using Gate Smashers for DAA and DBMS and Gate Wallah for Mathematics.
My current approach is simple:
Learn the concept
Make notes
Practice questions
Revise
Move forward
It sounds simple, but following it consistently is the difficult part.
🤖 Learning AI and Building Projects
Alongside college and GATE, I don't want to stop working on AI.
I've realized that watching lectures alone doesn't give me the same understanding as actually trying to build something.
That's why I've been working on projects such as my AI Civic Issue Mapper, where I got to work with technologies like Python, Flask, MySQL and APIs.
Building a project also showed me that things don't always work the way they do in tutorials. There are bugs, deployment problems, confusing errors and plenty of moments where I have to search, experiment and try again.
But that's also where I feel I'm learning the most.
⏰ The Biggest Problem: Time Management
This is probably the part I'm still struggling with the most.
There are days when I have enough time but don't use it properly. On other days, college work takes up most of my time and I can't give GATE preparation or projects the amount of time I planned.
So I'm learning that having a huge daily timetable isn't necessarily the answer.
Instead, I'm trying to decide what is actually important for that day and complete that first.
Some days that might be GATE preparation.
Some days it might be college work.
And sometimes it might simply be working on a project.
🌱 I'm Still Figuring It Out
I don't have a perfect productivity system, and I don't think I need one right now.
I'm still a student trying to figure out how to balance everything while learning what actually works for me.
For me, the goal isn't to become perfect at managing college, GATE, AI and projects overnight.
It's to keep moving forward without completely giving up on any of them.
And I think that's what this phase of my B.Tech journey is really about — learning not just Computer Science, but also learning how I learn best.
