When the Office Became a Study Room

Friday turned out to be a pretty good day for my GATE CSE 2027 preparation. I completed the first three lectures of Cache Organization, managed to study during my commute and at the office, and still found time to meet my friend and girlfriend in the evening.

The interesting part? I didn't need to study after dinner because I had already completed my target for the day.

Sometimes, a study plan works out without requiring me to sacrifice every other part of life. That felt good.

What I Studied Today: COA Cache Organization

My main target was to begin Chapter 7 of Computer Organization and Architecture (COA), Cache Organization.

I completed the first, second, and third lectures as planned.

The lectures were relatively straightforward because I had already studied some parts of Cache Organization earlier. That previous exposure made it easier to understand the material instead of starting completely from scratch.

I'm currently prioritizing syllabus completion, so I'm focusing on lectures and understanding the concepts. I'll give more attention to question practice and revision in the next phase of my GATE preparation.

My immediate deadline is still 30 October. With the remaining syllabus to cover, completing the planned lectures matters.

How I Studied for One Hour in an Empty Office

Here's the interesting story of the day.

There was a Garba event at my office. As I mentioned earlier, the celebrations were taking place during Navratri, and this time, practically everyone went to participate.

Even my manager left for the event.

Eventually, the entire office was empty except for me.

Naturally, I took out my phone and started a lecture.

I spent approximately one hour studying and completed the second Cache Organization lecture. No meetings, no office interruptions, and no one around to disturb me.

Just me and my lecture.

When the event was over, I left the office a little earlier than usual. While travelling home, I completed another lecture.

I had also studied one lecture during my commute to the office, so by the end of the day, the count was:

• One lecture during the morning commute.
• One lecture during office hours.
• One lecture while returning home.

Total: Three Cache Organization lectures completed.

An office Garba event accidentally gave me a quiet study room, and I made use of it. I hadn't planned my day around this opportunity, but it worked out nicely.

No Studying After Dinner Today

One thing worth mentioning is that I hadn't planned to study after dinner.

My daily target was already complete, so there was no reason to force another study session just for the sake of it.

The Garba celebrations after dinner weren't a problem either. I had completed what I intended to do for the day.

I'm trying to follow my schedule seriously, but I also don't want every evening to become an endless cycle of lectures. If I can complete my target within the available time, I should be able to end the day without feeling guilty about it.

At least today, that worked.

Friday Evening: Meeting My Friend and Girlfriend

After leaving the office early, I met my friend and my girlfriend.

We spent some good time together, and I eventually reached home at around 10 PM.

It was a nice way to end Friday.

Preparing for GATE while working a full-time job isn't always easy. There are lectures to complete, notes to prepare, backlogs to manage, and deadlines approaching. But personal life doesn't stop just because an exam is coming.

I don't want my preparation journey to become a record of nothing except lectures and study hours. Spending time with people close to me is part of my life, too.

The good thing about Friday was that I managed both: I completed my study target and enjoyed my evening without worrying about unfinished work for the day.

The DBMS Backlog Is Still Waiting

Not everything is complete, though.

The DBMS backlog from Sunday is still pending. I had missed that day's study because I was struggling with allergic rhinitis, which made it difficult to study properly.

I'm heading into the weekend hoping to cover the pending lectures.

If I fail to clear the backlog over the weekend, I may have to carry it towards the final days of October. I don't want that to happen, but it's a possibility I need to acknowledge.

I've reserved 28, 29, and 30 October as buffer days. These days are meant for genuine emergencies, such as illness or unexpected disruptions, rather than routine backlog recovery.

Sunday's illness was a legitimate reason to miss studying. That's precisely why I created the buffer in the first place.

Still, I don't want to use those days simply because I couldn't manage my regular workload. The plan is to finish the syllabus by 30 October without depending on the buffer unnecessarily.

Let's see whether I can manage the pending DBMS work over the weekend.

Tomorrow's Plan

For Saturday, my COA target is to complete Cache Organization lectures 4, 6, and 7, along with preparing notes.

I'll also try to make progress on the DBMS backlog.

The goal is to keep moving towards syllabus completion without allowing unfinished work to pile up.

What I Realized on Day 33

Today's progress didn't come from some extraordinary study technique. I simply used the time available to me.

I studied while travelling, took advantage of an unexpectedly empty office, and completed three lectures. Then I spent the evening with my friend and girlfriend.

Not every day needs to be a dramatic productivity story.

For now, I'm happy with how Friday went. The real challenge is managing the pending DBMS work and maintaining this progress as the syllabus deadline approaches.

Day 33 complete. Next stop: more Cache Organization, more notes, and hopefully a smaller DBMS backlog.