Working Professionals: How to stop "Brain Fog" and silly mistakes during evening prep? (Aiming for 99.5)
Currently in the grind for my 3rd attempt at CAT. I’m an AI developer working 8-4:30. I enjoy my work, but by the time I sit down at 5 PM to study, I feel like my processing speed has dropped by 60%.
I’m aiming for a 99.5 percentile, and I’m confident in my logic, but the execution is failing. I’m losing focus, missing easy constraints in DILR, and making stupid calculation errors in Quants (forgetting values, mixing up variables). I feel like if I did these same sets at 8 AM, I’d breeze through them, but in the evening, I’m "haywire."
I have ADHD and take meds for it, but even they don't seem to overcome the sheer work exhaustion. I can't wake up early to study due to personal constraints, so 5 PM - 9 PM is my only window.
To the 99+ percentilers who worked high-intensity jobs: How did you "refresh" your brain after work?
How do you maintain "mindfulness" when your brain is already fried from 8 hours of logic and code?
Is it better to take a nap, or is there a specific routine that helped you reclaim that "morning" mental clarity?