Last week I blogged about why we do this, and this is a great week for keeping that in mind. At least it is for me, because I need that extra push right now. Im planning on sitting for FAR in May (my last exam!), and I have to. My BEC expires in June and I really dont want to take yet another exam. I liken these next few weeks to a wilderness because, as many of you, we feel like we are just struggling to survive. My advice is to focus on one day at a time.Busy season is still in full speed ahead; my wife has been traveling for the week, so Im juggling a toddler, work, and studying. Yesterday around noon I became worried that Im not going to find the time this week to study. There are just too many variables. Once my son finally fell asleep for a nap around 1 PM, I picked up on the Roger CRAM course. 20 minutes into Foreign Operations my son came screaming out of his room because, of course, there are monsters in his room. I tried to coax him back to his nap, but it didnt work. His mother is the miracle worker for this, so now I had to get creative.
We built a fortress that would keep us all safe from the monsters. I unpacked the camping gear, moved the couches around the walls to simulate a moat, and we erected our camping tent. It was a monster free zone, and in exchange for this castle, I told my son that I would need to read about how to trick the monsters into leaving our house. Of course, my CRAM book was that guide. I even taped a cover sheet on top of the book cover that said, Your Guide to Getting Rid of Monsters. With my son safely in our fort, he fell asleep into a nice 2 hour nap and I was able to study; I mean, learn about getting rid of monsters. We slept in the fort at bedtime too, and in all, I was able to get in nearly 4 hours of studying in yesterday.
Who says accountants cant be creative?! The studying is never going to be optimal all the time. We cant just expect a nice, quiet library for hours on end with zero distractions. We have to be creative to squeeze out as much time as we can from the day, and learn to balance it all. Im still learning how to do this, but focusing on making the most of each day. Now, back to slaying FAR.
Related Posts
Persistence, Persistence, Persistence
The World’s Worst CPA Exam Advice