The holidays are here, oh, and you have a CPA Exam coming up as well. “No sweat!”…said no one, ever.
Believe it or not, there are ways to effectively manage your time between studying and traveling/celebrating between now and the end of the year.
We asked our Becker community how they balance studying during this time of year. Here’s what some current Becker students had to say:
Take one day off to recharge and go back to the hard work the next day.
“I have to study” – perfect way to escape conversations.
Earplugs.
The thought and motivation that I am one test away from becoming a CPA.
Switching off the phone and keeping it aside.
Focus on the goal.
Sacrifice now so you can be a CPA forever!
Don’t beat yourself up too much. Try your hardest, but still enjoy the holiday season!
Staying off Facebook.
Take a break and celebrate, spend this wonderful time with loved ones. Books, work, projects will always be there. Your family – you never know.
Switch off your mobile phone.
Unsubscribing to Netflix would be a good start.
And then there’s our instructor, Pete Olinto’s, advice (someone take the egg nog away from him, please).
Holidays? What holidays? The only holiday they have is after they pass the exam. All holidays in between have been canceled.
We also asked another Becker instructor, Jennifer McAllister. She suggests two tactics: one for studying…
Color code the topics based on your own expertise. For example, yellow, I got this! Green, this is on the cusp but can get with some concerted effort. Blue, I am struggling. Then I would go into the software and work questions in the sequence that I feel comfortable with, focusing on green highlighted areas. This gets people out of thinking they must follow a certain flow and just provides them an opportunity to reframe the material and get a fresh perspective. Working yellow provides confidence, working green provides a more clear path to passing.
…and one to justify the time needed for studying.
Make a commitment to getting up early to study, or be willing to study as you travel to your family. There is always plenty of downtime for family members during the holidays. Sneaking away to study for an hour or two will not prevent you from partaking of the big, truly essential family traditions.
We hope these tips will come in handy for you this holiday season. But remember, your family and friends are important as well. Don’t let once-in-a-lifetime events get away from you. There’s time for both!