[Sarah1421]

Let me start off by saying that it’s not my intention to whine… I just want to figure out how people moved past their burnout point (whenever it was for you). It’s the end of summer, a sunny 75 degrees in Washington (totally gorgeous), and I haven’t put on a pair of flip flops all year. 2 exams down and 2 exams to go…

I thought the halfway point would be motivating! Exciting! Whoo -hoo! Over the hump… but not so. I’m obsessing more on the fact that it too me THIS long and I had to work THAT hard to get here… and I have to do it all over again?

What keeps you going? How do you regain your focus?

FAR - 90
AUD - 91
BEC - 86
REG - 87

[MBAin2014]

Sarah1421, Failure is not an option, set a goal and move one foot in front of the other each day until you reach that goal. What keeps me going is I KNOW there is an end IF I keep working toward it. My focus is kept through detailing a plan with milestones and color in the box next to the milestone once it is achieved. It's coloring those silly little boxes that keeps me focused.

Good luck to you, you got this!

BEC 88 (05/14)
REG 91 (07/14)
AUD 83 (08/14)
FAR 90 (10/14)

[stamata]

Hey, I'm in WA and halfway through the exams as well (hopefully, if I passed BEC..) and yep it has been pretty crappy sitting inside all summer while my friends go to the beach and happy hours every other day and ask me why I'm studying so much, can't I just have fun today then study twice as much tomorrow?? As of right now I want to tell the kids next door to stop bouncing their basketball so loud and cheering every time they score…. okay I'll stop whining.

There are days where I get really down on myself and feel like I just don't understand the material and I'll never pass everything. When I feel down, I take a break and do something fun for myself like get my favorite food or a beer. I try to separate my mind from the exam and focus on other parts of my life.

Then there are days where I'm killing the MCQs and flying through the material and realize that I was able to get past that. Then I can't wait to finally see ‘CPA' next to my name.

You'll have bad days and you'll have good ones. Take a break when you feel down, you'll be even more productive when you get back to it. Good luck!

AUD - 76
BEC - 86
FAR - 78
REG -73, 69, 86! DONE

[Skynet]

That's why accountants drink and drink a lot. 🙂

AUD - 90
BEC - 78
FAR - 84
REG - 87

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - In Progress
Phase III : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase IV : Form the new Charlie's Angels with Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, & Gal Gadot
Phase V : TBD

BEC : 78
REG : 87
FAR : 84
AUD : 90

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - Initiated
Phase III : Bring back 8-Tracks
Phase IV : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase V : TBA

[Anonymous]

I know the feeling.

My first section was FAR and I studied like crazy for it. I was spending 6+ hours a day preparing. Now I'm finding it very hard to get motivated for Audit. I'm pushing through the material but not spending nearly as much time on it as I did with FAR. And I start a new job on Monday which, I know, is going to cut even deeper into my study time.

I'm really hoping to see a passing FAR score. Hopefully that will give me motivation again.

[tomq04]

Where in Washington are you both? I'm in Spokane.

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[jferguson0000]

I agree Stramata – I am waiting for what I hope to be my final score. So have gone through the halfway point and am now at the point where I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Along the way I have taken little breaks here and there, and they have been essential and keeping me motivated. Once, I got halfway I took nearly a month off to regroup. During the month my motivation crept back and by the end I was fired up to start studying for FAR (for the third time!) I think take just enough time to get yourself feeling guilty that you haven't studied in a while, then when you come back you'll be ready to double down.

AUD - 81(5/29/13)
BEC - 76(10/13/13)
FAR - 70(4/1/13), 68(7/2/13), 81(2/28/14)
REG - 65(5/30/14), 73(8/31/14), 83(10/8/14) DONE!!!

[Juliemiddle]

@skynet – amen & shoutout.

@angelwatch – the good thing is that AUD is WAY shorter to study for than FAR. I'm studying for FAR now (my last exam), and I'm hating life.

@sarah1421 – I constantly check my progress on how much of the review material I've finished. It's like a small victory each week, when I'm a little closer to being done. And after each exam I give myself about 3 wks. hiatus from studying. It really helps me refresh, reconnect with friends/family, read a book…FOR FUN. It just gives me a taste of what life will be like on the other side 😉 Funny though…I felt the same way after #2. It was after I passed my 3rd exam that I got SUPER-motivated to finish this up. You'll get there…one study hour at a time. Good luck!

AUD: 84 - Oct. 2013
BEC: 83 - Feb. 2014
REG: 91 - May, 2014
FAR: 68, 96 - Oct. 2014...DONE

CPAExcel, Ninja Audio (all sections)

[Sarah1421]

Thank you for the responses so far. This forum is awesome… I think I'd feel pretty alone in this journey without the input and support. It's so helpful to hear other people's stories.

tomq04 – I'm on the other side of the state. Olympic Peninsula area… it's probably a lot hotter than 75 where you are!!

FAR - 90
AUD - 91
BEC - 86
REG - 87

[stamata]

Greater Seattle area over here 🙂 79 and sunny.

AUD - 76
BEC - 86
FAR - 78
REG -73, 69, 86! DONE

[tomq04]

78 right now 🙂

Tomorrow my Eags are going to shock the world and lay a beat down on the raggedy old Huskies at noon in perfect 85 degree weather in Seattle…wishing I was there.

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[Anonymous]

Go dawgs! Woof! 😉

[Tux]

I tested for AUD (my second exam) on a Thursday. I took off Fri, Sat, and Sun, then started working on BEC the following Monday. So, basically – no break.

During the study for BEC, I found it very hard to concentrate. I thought that being over the half-way mark would make me more motivated, but I had less and less concentration.

I believe it backfires to be working on your “second half” because it's easy to start daydreaming about what life will be like after this is all over! My mind was wandering – big time! –

I'm already concerned about studying for exam # 4. It will feel like I'm “so close”, that I'm really scared of daydreaming and looking too far ahead.

I'm still waiting on my BEC score. If I don't pass, I'll be convinced that it's because I had so much time that I was trying to concentrate on studying, but my mind would not cooperate.

Since testing for BEC last Sunday, I have taken a break from studying for this week. I'm starting to feel better and plan to dive in again in a few days.

So, yes – a few days off will do some good – Not too much. Just enough to catch your breath, start feeling guilty, and ready to dive in again.

FAR - 86 - 2/27/14
AUD - 75 - 5/29/14
BEC - 80 - 8/31/14
REG - 89 - 2/27/15
Praise Jesus! I'm done!!

Study resources:
Becker
Wiley test bank

[Sarah1421]

Tux – I actually found myself on craigslist yesterday searching for positions requiring a CPA. lol So yeah, I'm daydreaming about what life will be like after all this is over…

FAR - 90
AUD - 91
BEC - 86
REG - 87

[005]

yea I'm 3/4 done and I'm burnt out as hell too.

Just keep pushing, it'll be over soon.

BEC - ✔
REG - ✔
AUD - ✔
FAR - 11/29/14

CPAExcel, Ninja MCQs, and a sh*t ton of coffee

[Anonymous]

I have motivational boxes – First exam down – husband took me to my favorite restaurant (that's over an hour away from home.) Second exam down – treated myself to a girl's weekend at home (did nails, watched movies, drank, laughed – he had a boys weekend with the husbands – video games, beer, and I don't want to know.) This next exam – FAR – is in October. Treating myself to a new haircut, color, the works when I pass it. Last exam – VEGAS BABY!

I just need little motivations (and one BIG celebration.)

I also keep telling myself – plug through it this summer, and next summer you can sit at the pool and not care about the exam ever again. FYI – I work, and there is NO WAY I can study during busy season. So it's summer/fall only.

I got a bit of burn out between #2 and studying FAR – but I scheduled FAR late enough in October that I allowed myself a few weeks of recoup, and now I'm ready to go.

[Author]

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