Keeping the Old Subjects Alive

Yesterday wasn't exactly a perfect day. I woke up with a bit of a headache and had to rush to the office, so there wasn't much time to sit around and plan the day like some perfectly organised GATE aspirant from a YouTube thumbnail. I just got ready and left.

But I did manage to make use of my commute.

What I Studied Today

My main target was to complete the TCP and UDP chapter of Computer Networks.

During the train journey to the office, I completed around two lectures. I reached the office at around 11 AM and spent the day working until around 6 PM.

The commute back home gave me another opportunity to study. I managed roughly one and a half more lectures on TCP and UDP.

By the time I got home, the chapter was essentially complete.

So, despite the headache and a full office day, I managed to finish the planned CN chapter mostly through commute-time study.

The only thing remaining is the notes. I still have to prepare the complete notes for TCP/UDP. The notes for the flow-control chapter of the Data Link Layer are also pending, so both of these need to be completed soon.

Finally, Some Question Practice

After dinner, I sat down for question practice.

Honestly, I was initially thinking about skipping it.

But then I thought, why not at least solve questions from subjects I already know reasonably well?

So I started with C programming.

I solved five questions and scored 4.5 out of 5.

That gave me enough confidence to continue, so I moved on to Data Structures. I had given a DS test recently, and I felt that keeping some contact with the subject would be useful.

I solved six DS questions and got 5 out of 6.

So altogether, I solved 11 questions after dinner.

That might not sound like a huge number, but for me, the important part was actually sitting down and doing them instead of skipping the session.

When Old Concepts Start Getting Rusty

The DS questions were interesting because they reminded me of something I already knew but had temporarily forgotten.

I haven't revised Data Structures properly recently, so some basic things took a moment to come back.

One question involved postfix notation. I had to recall the basic process again, including how operands are popped from the stack and how they become the left and right operands around the operator.

There was also an AVL tree question where I got stuck on the left-right balancing.

Once I remembered how the rotation works, though, I was able to solve the entire question on my own.

That felt good.

There was another array question involving row-major order. My basic understanding was correct, but I got stuck because of a calculation mistake and a little lack of clarity.

That was a useful reminder that knowing the concept doesn't automatically mean you'll get the question right. Sometimes the concept is sitting perfectly well inside your head and your arithmetic decides to betray you anyway.

What I Realised

The biggest positive from today's question practice wasn't actually the score.

It was the confidence.

I enjoyed the session because it reminded me that the subjects I've already completed haven't disappeared. I still have a good touch with C and Data Structures, even though I haven't revised everything recently.

I think I need to gradually include all my completed subjects in these small question-solving sessions.

For this week, I'm thinking of sticking with C Programming, Digital Logic and Data Structures. Then, if things go well, I can add another subject in the coming week.

The goal isn't to suddenly revise everything every day. It's more about keeping the completed subjects alive while I continue moving forward with the remaining syllabus.

Tomorrow

The next Computer Networks chapter is MAC addressing, and the plan is to complete two lectures, each around two hours long.

That's already roughly four hours of CN.

There is also a Digital Logic topic-wise test on Combinational Circuits.

I'd like to continue the question-practice session as well, but realistically, tomorrow may become a little crowded. If the CN lectures and the Digital Logic test take up most of the available time, the question practice may have to wait.

And that's okay.

For now, the important thing is that the TCP/UDP chapter is done, the question-solving habit is coming back, and I'm beginning to bring previously completed subjects back into the rotation.

One day at a time. No dramatic transformation required. Just slightly less forgetting than yesterday. 😄