The holiday season is a great time for reuniting with family, friends, enjoying great food, giving back to your community, and–oh yes–is probably one of the most difficult times to stay focused on studying for the CPA Exam!
We all know that in order to reach your goal of becoming a CPA, one of the most important things you can do is consistently stay on track with your study schedule. So here are our top 5 tips you can use to make sure you’re able to enjoy the holidays without leaving your review on the wayside.
1. Make a list and check it twice
Rearrange your study schedule to accommodate days off or the hours you’ll need to travel or spend time with loved ones. Just make sure that for every day you take off, you add another day in your calendar to make up for it. It’s important that every study session is accounted for.
Also, if you’re traveling, make sure you’re packing all of your review materials with you, especially useful things such as offline lectures or practice question apps that you can use on-the-go.
2. Don’t play in all the reindeer games
We know it can be a bummer to miss out on festivities with family and friends–but keep in mind that you’re on an 18-month rolling window schedule to pass all 4 sections of the exam. Therefore, prioritize what events you really want to attend and schedule days off for those particularly special ones. It’s easy to get caught up in all the holiday spirit and sprint for taking a week off of studying; but hat might be a decision you regret later. Just remember that the sooner you pass the exam, the sooner your life will return to normal!
3. Oh study night…and morning
If you’re looking for a way to enjoy the holidays without feeling guilty about leaving your studies behind, consider studying for an hour or so very late at night or extremely early in the morning where there aren’t any distractions. Whether it’s learning a new topic, reviewing, or doing practice questions, you can still have a productive study day while participating in White Elephant and sipping eggnog by the fireplace.
4. Deck the halls with realistic time management
Remember that a disruption in your regular study routine can be easily fixed by sticking to your regular study pace. We don’t recommend studying twice as hard the next time just because you skipped the previous session. This could be counterproductive, causing you to feel stressed and resulting in retention of less information. Instead, pick up where you left off and continue studying as you normally would.
5. Give yourself the ultimate gift
If all you want for Christmas or the New Year is your CPA license, then work at it! You can do it. Give yourself the ultimate gift by investing your time and energy into passing this exam. The road to licensure is never easy, and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. But those who are slow and steady win the race! Remember that every study session you complete takes you one step closer to this much coveted certification.
We hope you all enjoy the holiday season and know that you’ll be able to juggle the festivities and your studies successfully!