Issue 01 · 2026
The Karma Yogi Journal. Field notes for the long grind.
- Essays
- 94
- Exam tracks
- 5
- Topics
- 63
The Lead
The essay we keep coming back to.
The Archive
Everything else worth reading, ordered by date.
Page 9 / 10 · 93 entries
CAT Prep While Working Full-Time: 21 Hours in 59-Minute Bits
My weekly goal is 1,260 minutes - 21 hours - and my average session is 59 minutes, not the 2-hour blocks I imagined when I set the goal. Here is what working full-time actually does to a study schedule, in my own logged numbers.
CAT Cutoffs for Top IIMs: One Weak Section Filters You Out
A strong overall percentile can still get you filtered out by one weak section. My own VARC scores swung from the 12th percentile to the 92nd across five mocks I logged this quarter - and IIM Ahmedabad's own January 2026 policy document, read directly rather than via a coaching-site round-up, sets the real bar well above what most of those round-ups print.
Best CAT Preparation Books: The 3 of 6 I Finished
I own six CAT prep books. I logged real hours against three of them and the other three sat closed after week two. Here is which ones earned their shelf space, checked against my own subject-tagged session log.
CAT Percentile vs Score: What 45 Real Mock Results Show
Percentile is not a function of score, and here is the proof: 45 real score-to-percentile pairs from 15 mocks, including a DILR score of 15 that landed at the 65th, 76th and 90th percentile on three different papers.
CAT 2026 Exam Pattern and Syllabus: The Non-MCQ Trap
The section-wise structure, timing, and marking scheme I keep pinned above my desk, plus the one rule about Non-MCQs that cost me marks on an early mock before I actually read it properly.
Mental Math for CAT: Why Tables Stop at 25, Not 12
Tables to 25, squares to 30, cubes to 20, and a handful of fraction-percent conversions - not because a list says so, but because the algebra behind each one shows exactly where the boundary should sit and why.
CAT Exam Day Tips: The Routine I Ran Before 20 Mocks
I haven't sat the real CAT yet - mine is in November - but I've run this exact pregame for 20-plus mocks, including the one where I scored 96 and the one two days later where I scored 40. Here is the routine, and the mock-day failure that taught me why it matters.
Study Timer vs Pomodoro: My 340 Sessions Average 59 Minutes
My own 340 logged sessions average 59 minutes - well past a Pomodoro interval - and my longest single session ran 190 minutes. That gap is the actual argument for when a fixed 25-minute timer helps CAT prep and when it gets in the way.
CAT DILR Practice: 75% Accuracy at the 35th Percentile
My own DILR score has run from 2 to 30 across 23 mocks - the same section, the same person, a 3.5-month window. One sectional note explains more of that gap than any generic tip does: I could have doubled a score just by attempting more of what I already knew how to solve.
CAT Quant Shortcuts: 8 Techniques and Why Each One Works
Eight calculation techniques for CAT Quant, each with the algebra behind it and where it actually appears in the paper. Understanding why a shortcut works is what makes it survive exam pressure.
Colophon
Written between mocks. Edited between sits.
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