CAT rewards a specific kind of preparation: strong fundamentals across all three sections, tested repeatedly under strict sectional timing. A strategy built only around 'solving more questions' tends to plateau — what actually moves your percentile is disciplined review of timed practice.
Phase 1: Fundamentals (4–6 weeks)
Build topic-wise command of Quant (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, number systems) and get comfortable with CAT-style TITA questions early — they can't be guessed like MCQs, so leaving them for later is a common and costly mistake. In parallel, read broadly for VARC and practice DILR sets untimed to understand the range of formats.
Phase 2: Timed sectional practice (3–4 weeks)
Move to strictly timed sectional tests. Track not just your score but your time-per-question — CAT's fixed sectional timing means poor time allocation inside a section can cost you more than any single hard question.
Phase 3: Full-length mocks (remaining weeks)
Take full-length mocks under exact exam conditions, then spend at least as long reviewing each mock as you spent taking it. Look specifically for questions you got wrong quickly (overconfidence) and questions you got right slowly (inefficient method) — both are fixable with deliberate practice.
A note on DILR
DILR is the section most candidates find hardest to improve quickly, because it rewards set-selection skill (choosing which sets to attempt) as much as solving ability. Practice scanning a full DILR section first and deciding an attempt order before solving anything — this single habit change often improves scores more than additional practice volume.