Scheduling Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — 29 Aug 2026
The puzzle
Deepak, Tarun, Meera, Omkar, Lata — each have an appointment on a different day, Monday to Friday — work out whose appointment falls on which day. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- There is exactly 1 day between Meera's and Lata's appointments.
- Tarun's appointment is on the day immediately after Meera's.
- There are exactly 3 days between Meera's and Omkar's appointments.
- Omkar's appointment is on a later day of the week than Deepak's.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Monday: Meera, Tuesday: Tarun, Wednesday: Lata, Thursday: Deepak, Friday: Omkar.
- Start: 120 possible schedules of 5 people across Monday–Friday.
- Clue 2 — "Tarun's appointment is on the day immediately after Meera's." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
- Clue 1 — "There is exactly 1 day between Meera's and Lata's appointments." narrows it to 10 possibilities. Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
- Clue 3 — "There are exactly 3 days between Meera's and Omkar's appointments." ⇒ Deepak → Thursday, Tarun → Tuesday, Meera → Monday, Omkar → Friday, Lata → Wednesday (1 possibility left). Board (Monday → Friday): Meera · Tarun · Lata · Deepak · Omkar
- Exactly one schedule survives every clue — that is the answer.
How to crack scheduling puzzles faster
- Write the days in a column first — a fixed frame beats re-reading "Monday to Saturday" per clue.
- Lock every direct day anchor ("P's appointment is on Wednesday") before touching a relative clue.
- "Immediately before/after" is an adjacent pair — slide it along the free days like a block.
- "Exactly k days between" works in both directions — test the earlier AND the later placement.
FAQ
Whose appointment is on Monday in this puzzle?
Meera's appointment is on Monday. The full schedule: Monday — Meera, Tuesday — Tarun, Wednesday — Lata, Thursday — Deepak, Friday — Omkar.
How do you solve scheduling puzzles for bank exams?
Draw the days as a column (Monday downward), fix the direct day anchors first, then place immediately-before/after pairs and count 'days between' gaps in both directions. Eliminate until one schedule satisfies every clue.
Learn the method for this puzzle type
This post is one worked example. The topic page for scheduling puzzles carries the full method, the clue-wording table, the mistakes that cost marks and more practice questions.
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