Work from the board's own syllabus and sample papers
Boards publish the syllabus, the question-paper design, and sample papers for each subject, and those documents define what is examinable more precisely than any guide written about them. CBSE publishes its material centrally; state boards publish their own, and the two differ. Working from the board's sample papers rather than from a commercial guide alone matters because the sample paper shows the weighting and the question format, which is information no summary carries reliably. Marking your own attempt against the published marking scheme is where most of the value is, because it converts practice into feedback rather than leaving it as activity.
Rotate subjects rather than finishing them one at a time
Several subjects sat across a few weeks makes scheduling the hard part. Completing one subject before beginning the next leaves the early ones cold by the time you sit them, and the spacing research is consistent that returning to material after a gap retains more than one unbroken block of the same length. A rotation handles this and has a second advantage: it removes the nightly decision about what to work on, which is the point at which most study plans quietly stop being followed. Build the rotation early and let the datesheet adjust it later rather than rebuilding from scratch.
Plan around the datesheet, then protect the last week
Once the board releases the datesheet, work backward from it: subjects examined first need their heaviest preparation earliest, and gaps between papers are planning information rather than free time. Note where two papers fall close together. Keep the days immediately before each paper for reviewing what you already know rather than opening new topics, since the gains from new material that late are small and the cost in confidence can be large. Across a multi-week board period, sleep and routine matter more than in a single exam, because tiredness accumulates. The exam-day checklist in the free kit covers admit card, equipment, and the practical items.