Every person has his/her own way of studying and remembering things. In the following paragraphs I will tell you my way of going about current affairs.
Current Affairs is the dynamic part of this preparation. It is never ending. I would suggest keep your main focus on the static part (standard books and notes) of your preparation and follow current affairs as a mode of recreation.
First – Decide the sources of current affairs. Maintain them throughout your preparation phase and don’t jump from one magazine to other. For example – I used to follow Newspaper, Yojana Magazine and Wizard Magazine religiously for current affairs.
Second – Make topic wise notes for whatever you read. For example – Keep one whole A4 sheet for topic NITI AYOG and add whatever points you get from the above mentioned sources on that page. Add extra sheets if needed, but maintain topic wise notes.
Third – It is important to differentiate between current affairs and current issues. You will get a better hold of this differentiation after reading the General Studies syllabus for mains and Previous Year question papers. While reading Current Affairs try to think under which topic in the syllabus will it fall, Can they frame a question on this topic or Can I use this information in any of my answers? Discuss these things with people who have already proved themselves in this examination. ‘Who became what and how’ is not the part of current issues. You must know that also, but don’t stress upon that part of General Knowledge.
Fourth – Never read anything without pen/pencil in your hand. Always underline important points and note them down in your register. Don’t write big and complete sentences while making notes. Try to keep them short and crisp.
Fifth – Revision of current affairs is very important. Keep one day in a week to read the current affair notes. Underline/Highlight important points.
Sixth – Generally during examination, a strong hold on current affairs helps you to enhance your answer quality. It helps you to integrate the question asked with current happenings thereby increasing the impact of your answer.
Seventh – Try to discuss current affairs with your colleagues who are also preparing for this exam. That will help you analyse different perspectives of the topic. It will also help in demarcating that under which topic, from the syllabus, a particular news falls into, what is important, what is not and what is the background. Any piece of news discussed with someone remains in your mind for a longer period of time.
So, draft your own methods by picking whatever suits you according to your comfortability and conditions. This will take time. Consistency matters a lot!
I am posting a photo as an example of how I used to make notes. Please avoid the content and pay more attention to the layout.