Should I feel guilty for stepping away from the study materials?

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    Topic
  • #816573
    GeauxAwayCPA
    Participant

    Need some advice please!

    Rundown: I am working on round 2 with FAR, which is my last exam. I made a 72 on round 1 in July after studying for 3 months, while working Full time. My first exam (REG) will expire 2/4/17, so I’m feeling the extreme heat to pass FAR on my next go-round in October. I THINK I might still be able to take it early January and squeak by but I don’t even want it to get to that point! I am studying full-time 7 days a week and since I started studying for the retake (about 2 weeks) I usually start studying anywhere between 8:30-9:30 am and stop studying between 8:30-9:30pm(stopping an hour or two earlier on Friday/Saturday). I’m studying pretty consistently during that time frame, with the exception of stopping to get my meals/snacks/coffee/water/occasional social media fix. By the end of the day I can feel the diminishing returns but I feel like I should be putting in more….

    Am I doing a good thing by stepping away at a decent time and recharging a little bit for the next day? I am just afraid of getting to exam day and falling flat on my face again and thinking “you should have studied til at least midnight instead of stopping at 8:30-9:00 every day you moron!”

    Appreciate you all taking the time to read that and respond!

    Licensed CPA in Texas trying to start up my own tax practice
Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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  • #816585
    Lou
    Participant

    I'm on that same grind of about 10-11 hours a day and no I wouldn't feel guilty. What I basically do is I have a schedule of where I need to be chapter wise, i.e. basically 3 10 hour days per chapter, and I know if I stop for the night how far ahead or behind I am in regards to each chapter. As long as you don't fall behind, you need some sanity time

    AUD - 91
    BEC - 91
    FAR - 94
    REG - 87
    Done!

    FAR- taken 8/11/16....now the wait begins
    AUD- scheduled 9/8/16
    BEC- scheduled 10/9/16
    REG-scheduled 12/10/16

    Live a few years like most people won't, to live the rest of your life like most people can't.

    #817410
    GeauxAwayCPA
    Participant

    @lblacker thanks for the response! I do have a goal set for each day and I don't stop until I meet it, so I'm not really falling behind. This is the first exam I stop at a decent time(but I guess it's also the first time I'm studying full time!) and it just feels weird/wrong. haha Glad to know that I'm not alone and that it's ok to give myself a small reset period each night!

    Licensed CPA in Texas trying to start up my own tax practice
    #817635
    Accountant183748
    Participant

    I don't think you should feel guilty at all for taking breaks. I always plan my breaks though for example, Friday night off and Saturday and Sunday afternoons off too.

    Do you take breaks when you study? I've read some things that after 4 to 6 hours we get tired and our brains don't take in or retain the information as well. If you aren't I would take an hour break every 4 to 6 hours.

    #817641
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Your stopping time sounds fine – I'd actually probably stop an hour or two earlier if I was in your shoes. Just make sure you're then going to bed at a reasonable hour too! Don't stop studying around 9 and then stay up till 2 surfing the net – if you stop studying around 9, then you need to be in bed at a decent hour so that you're getting good rest before your 8:30 studying start so that you've got a well-rested mind doing your studying. “Decent hour” varies for everyone, so I won't prescribe any specifics beyond that, but make sure you're giving yourself enough sleep, since you're stopping studying in time for that.

    I know that personally I perform better on whatever my day's occupation is – whether studying or work – when I've had a break in the evening. So, I'm definitely in favor of stopping the evening in time to have some break-time before bedtime, especially if you're studying full-time so have time to get plenty of study in before having your break. So keep up the breaks – they're good for you. 🙂

    #819120
    GeauxAwayCPA
    Participant

    @Vannessa_Is thanks for the response! I usually don't take breaks during the day other than to eat, coffee/water, restroom, etc. I have two roommates who work during the day so I try to take advantage of a completely silent apartment during the day b/c I know between 5-9 or so, there will be more noise/activity around the apartment.

    @Lilla thank you for the response as well! Clearly I did not stop as early as I would have liked tonight 🙁 I was trying to get to a certain point so I could start with Gov't/NFP tomorrow morning while I am fresh since these were the two weaker sections on my first attempt at FAR. But I will keep up the breaks so I can keep my sanity 🙂

    Licensed CPA in Texas trying to start up my own tax practice
    #819219
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    What I heard you say is that you worked extra-hard yesterday to earn yourself an extra-big break today or later this week or something like that. 🙂

    #819264
    Kettlepot
    Participant

    Are you telling me that you've been studying for about 2 weeks already, and you'll be studying until mid October, for 12 hours every single day? That's roughly 60 days of studying – 720 hours of study time!
    There's no way you'll need any more study time than that. If you fail FAR after that amount of effort, you'll really have to re-evaluate the time you're spending studying and see what is working and what's not working for you.
    That's roughly the even more then the daily time recommended doing the Becker FastPass curriculum, and they only do that kind of effort for 2 weeks total, then you take the exam.

    What kind of time did you put in for your other exams? Have you been doing this method for all of your exams?

    Far: 49
    BEC: 79 (Expired)
    AUD: 51, 67, 64
    REG: 59, 64, 59, 69

    #819312
    GeauxAwayCPA
    Participant

    @Lilla haha that's right! I don't foresee myself putting in as long of a day today. I have some other “life” things I need to get done today



    @Kettlepot
    I recognize that's a long time. I can't schedule my exam until this window closes (which, as an aside, is kind of stupid!) so that time frame is not set in stone. I've been putting in longer days the last two weeks to try to get through the video/note taking phase because, while helpful, I think MCQs and nailing down/reviewing Journal entries, formulas, and rules will be where my time will be best spent. I may end up modifying the length of days as I go along depending on how I'm feeling. I also have some other non-CPA to-do items that will compete for some time (possible knee surgery, engagement, moving apartments, one 2-day college football trip). I'm in the position where I will not be in public. I need to move on to my next venture but I can't do that until I'm done with the CPA (i.e pass FAR) so I am trying to “leave it all out on the field”!

    For my first three exams, I did not put this kind of time in. But I also passed those on my first try, albeit barely! Studied about 8 weeks for each of them while working full time and that included a 1-2 week review period (so about 6 weeks to get through the material once and 2 weeks to review/do MCQs). I'm slow and thorough, which is why Tax and budgets were not for me! haha so I tend to take longer than the average bear on a lot of things.

    Licensed CPA in Texas trying to start up my own tax practice
    #819387
    Accountant183748
    Participant

    @GeauxAwayCPA everyone is different and this method would definitely not work for me! I am asking those mostly out of curiosity, but do you find yourself still as focused at night? The most I could do is like 8-12, break from 12-1, and study again from 1-5-6ish. Otherwise, I would lose focus! I can barely stay focused for 4 hours actually and I find myself after two hours taking more frequent breaks (social media, media, bathroom, etc just to take a break from studying).

    Have you heard of the pomodoro method? I think that might be useful for studying for 12/hrs a day.

    #819513
    iputaspellonfar
    Participant

    Sometimes the guilt is good because it makes you focus a lot more once you do sit down to study. However, I am a big fan of breaks. After 4 hours, your brain will be ready for a mental break.

    #819684
    GeauxAwayCPA
    Participant

    @Vannessa_Is I start to notice my energy fading around 7:30. I can still focus and understand what I'm reading – just going at a little slower pace. I definitely take several short breaks during the day (5-10 mins at a time). I use CPA Excel and they have the mini lessons so when I finish one mini lesson is when I usually get up to do the restroom and get water and maybe catch a little social media fix. Other than that, I don't really fully step away from my desk. Although today I did decide to eat my lunch at the bar and watch 30 minutes of TV! I have not looked into the Pomodoro Method but I may have to look into it.

    @iputaspellonfar I definitely agree. Tell me how you put a spell on FAR!! haha

    Licensed CPA in Texas trying to start up my own tax practice
    #819693
    iputaspellonfar
    Participant

    @GeauxAwayCPA It's really wishful thinking lol

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