CPA Exam blogger Angela is a little stressed as she tries to study as hard as she can for REG! We know a lot of students worry about keeping on track, but sometimes it’s just better to relax a little, cut yourself some slack, and then get back into it!
One of my best characteristics is sabotaging me a bit as I’m studying for REG. You see I take a lot of pride in always completing a task when it is due, if not early. I have also implemented this same methodology while studying for the CPA exam and it has proven to be successful for my last two exams. REG seems to be a different story.
I mapped out a review schedule last week from now until I take REG in January and it does not have a lot of wiggle room. I think I overestimated how much material and questions I could get through in one day. I was plugging along just fine until I got to corporate tax. There is a lot of material in this section and its been a few weeks since I last studied it. I gave myself three days to review corporate tax. I struggled a bit with the Wiley questions my first time around so I wanted to ensure I nailed my second attempt. I found the questions to be easier but I needed to go back to the material to review the DRD, AMT, S-Corps and Partnerships. As a result, I fell behind my schedule. I started feeling the pressure and caught myself hurrying through problems just to get them done so I could move on to the next section and not fall even more behind. As of a result, I scored a whopping 68% on the questions. Talk about a major blow to the ego! I was sick to my stomach. I started doing what we all do after a bad round of questions questioning if I was smart enough to take this exam. It was 9 pm at night; I was still at the office tired and hungry. I decided to call it a night and resume studying in the morning.
As I was driving home, I remembered Rogers best motivational saying The CPA exam is not an IQ test its a test a discipline. If you study, you will pass. So now I’m trying to balance the importance of staying on target with my schedule; however, if I need an extra day here or there for a topic or section, I need to allow myself to take that time and not stress that I’m behind schedule. If I need an extra day or two and need to move my Prometric appointment, I will do it. The most important thing is for me to feel confident that I will pass!
I know this sounds simple but I think it all get very wrapped up in it and could use a reminder from time to time.
Good luck keep studying hard!
Angela