Scheduling Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — 8 Oct 2026
The puzzle
Omkar, Anjali, Nikhil, Tanvi, Kiran, Varun — each have an appointment on a different day, Monday to Saturday — work out whose appointment falls on which day. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Varun's appointment is NOT on Saturday.
- Kiran's appointment is on a later day of the week than Tanvi's.
- There are exactly 2 days between Omkar's and Anjali's appointments.
- Nikhil's appointment is on a later day of the week than Omkar's.
- There are exactly 3 days between Tanvi's and Varun's appointments.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Monday: Tanvi, Tuesday: Kiran, Wednesday: Omkar, Thursday: Nikhil, Friday: Varun, Saturday: Anjali.
- Start: 720 possible schedules of 6 people across Monday–Saturday.
- Clue 3 — "There are exactly 2 days between Omkar's and Anjali's appointments." narrows it to 144 possibilities. Board (Monday → Saturday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
- Clue 5 — "There are exactly 3 days between Tanvi's and Varun's appointments." narrows it to 16 possibilities. Board (Monday → Saturday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
- Clue 2 — "Kiran's appointment is on a later day of the week than Tanvi's." narrows it to 8 possibilities. Board (Monday → Saturday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
- Clue 4 — "Nikhil's appointment is on a later day of the week than Omkar's." narrows it to 4 possibilities. Board (Monday → Saturday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
- Clue 1 — "Varun's appointment is NOT on Saturday." ⇒ Omkar → Wednesday, Anjali → Saturday, Nikhil → Thursday, Tanvi → Monday, Kiran → Tuesday, Varun → Friday (1 possibility left). Board (Monday → Saturday): Tanvi · Kiran · Omkar · Nikhil · Varun · Anjali
- 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?
Tanvi's appointment is on Monday. The full schedule: Monday — Tanvi, Tuesday — Kiran, Wednesday — Omkar, Thursday — Nikhil, Friday — Varun, Saturday — Anjali.
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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