[Anonymous]

Since I started studying in April, nearly everyday I have set my alarm for 5am to get up and get an hour of studying in & every single time, I hit snooze until like 6:30am. I have absolutely no self control in the morning! I am almost halfway through AUD and I’m taking it on 8/28 which also happens to be the day that I lose credit for REG. So, I NEED to pass. I study for 2 hours every weekday at lunch plus 3-4 hours after work and I want to try to get up early and review all of the sections I’ve already covered in the morning. For you all crazy people who are able to get up early, how do you do it? Something has to get my lazy butt out of bed to get this thing done with!

[taxgeek83]

Do you drink coffee at all? I find that if I set my coffee maker for a ridiculously early hour, that wonderful smell of liquid goodness is enough to get me out of bed. Most mornings, anyway…. 🙂

[Anonymous]

I have thought of that actually but I have a keurig so I can't set it! That's the biggest downfall of the Keurig. I looooove waking up to the smell of coffee.

[M.O.D.]

I wake up early and yes, studying early when the mind is fresh is good. But I take a nap in the afternoon. Sleep is necessary for short term memory. I would not skimp on it.

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[CPA50]

I have animals on my “urban farm”. The chickens wake me up super early and then the dog needs to be walked. As a reward for getting up and dressed, I'll walk the dog down to Starbucks for a treat. By the time I get home, I'm caffeinated and have done a modicum of exercise at the same time. Then I'm ready to sit and watch my cankles swell up for the next 12 hours while I study!

AUD - 80
BEC - 77
FAR - 80
REG - 80

3 years

+ 16 tests

+ 2 expired sections

= DONE FOREVER!

AUD 88 (expired), 80 retake
FAR 64,69,67,73,67,73,73,73, August 3
REG 75 (expired) September 7
BEC 72, 77

The adventure continues...

[Anonymous]

I'm a backyard chicken owner too @CPA50! Ours actually just started laying eggs last weekend- super exciting! 🙂

I agree about the sleep- it's really important!

[Anonymous]

This video helped me before I took REG. Someone else on the board posted it awhile back and it helped drive me when I became discouraged and didn't want to give 100%. Hope this helps you too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJWIRyUAur8

[h0wdyus]

No caffeine in the evening. Be in bed by 9:00 to 9:30 pm lights out. Yup. I know what you are thinking. 🙂

FAR - 81 29th Aug 2013
AUD - 84
REG - 82
BEC - 89 29th Aug 2014
Using Yager

FROM NJ

[Mamabear]

If you're getting 5-6 hours of studying a day without doing the early mornings then I wouldn't worry about getting up. I have never been able to get up any early than I need to just to get dressed, get my kids in the car, get them to my parent's house, and get to work. The ELL plan is not for everyone and you're losing good sleep by hitting snooze for an hour and a half. Just get your rest, review for the first hour at lunch then move on.

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[Lindrobe]

I agree with H0wdyus. If you really want to get up early, go to bed early at night. I never got up early to study, but sometimes switch up my workout schedule and get up at 5:00 am to run 5-6 miles. Once you do it one time, you may be hooked. I always feel like I have so much more time to my day and I can spend my evenings doing other things I enjoy.

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[Anonymous]

Woke up at 4:40 not by choice today. Turned over and reviewed Becker notes.

My life revolves around this test.

[alboreland]

I leave for work early and study at Starbucks for an hour. I'm able to use Ninja MCQ on my tablet with wi-fi and you get free refills with a Starbucks card. I also get to avoid the crowds leaving early.

[jobach_lsu]

The hour of studying I did before work each morning was always the best and most focused of the day, especially right after a little exercise. I would always lose focus quickly when studying after work, so I usually limited that to an hour or two.

AUD 4/4/2014 - 97
FAR 5/29/2014 - 97
REG 7/10/2014 - 90
BEC 8/1/2014 - 89

[Anonymous]

I finally got up at 5:30am! Mainly because my dog was jumping on my face but hey, whatever works! I will probably only wake up this early 2-3 days a week, realistically, but I got a good progress test in and reviewed flashcards for 30 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Those passing scores and the dreaded thought of losing REG should be motivation alone to get your rear out of bed.

[Mamabear]

^^I wish that were the case for me, but there isn't much that will motivate me to get up early. 🙂

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[Author]

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