[CPAfit]

can you guys please help me a make a plan for my FAR retake (63). I’ve come to realize that I am very bad at time management. Today I received my score report for FAR and showed weak in everything except NFP. In the process of making my plan of attack, it dawned upon me that last year on 5/22 I took my first ever CPA exam (AUD) and failed with a 62. I passed AUD in november of 2013 and after that took 2 week long holidays in between (Feb & Apr) before attempting FAR on 5/22.

Currently my job is 8-6 with an hour break in the afternoon. I usually go to bed by 10 and get up at 4:30. I go to the gym 3x times per week, 2x times on the weekend and once on a weekday which is before work. I usually spent 1.5-2 hours in the gym. I have a 30 min commute to work but cannot use my Ninja audio due to an old player with no aux/usb slot. Apart from that I do all the regular house work that most of you guys do. I don’t have a wife and I have decreased my social life to 1-2 nights out per month which hardly lasts an hour.

Lately I’ve been feeling pretty lethargic and tired more than usual. My co workers have started mentioning that I always look sleepy and weak.

So NINJAs help me make a plan I am giving some thought to Jeffs ELL but I fail to put in 2 hours after work as I get very tired from the driving.

[Anonymous]

Do you use your hour “break” at work to study? I studied almost every day during my lunch hour, and I think that helped a lot. I had to study in my car with my laptop and book because if my employer saw me studying, they'd know I was getting ready to leave. Sure enough, I did 🙂

Sounds like you need to take advantage of your weekends. And just find those little times to slip some study time in. And if you aren't studying much during the week, use that time to get some sleep. I have trouble getting up some Saturday mornings to study because I'm recovering from the approximately 5 hours a night I get during the week. It has taken a toll on my body that I need to rectify.

Basically, just keep at it. If you have gone over all of the material, do a TON of MCQ's. That's how you really reinforce whether you understand a topic or not.

[Anonymous]

Oh and you probably don't want to hear this, but 8-9 hours in the gym a week really adds up. Maybe cut back to 2 trips a week, and make one of your weekend sessions abbreviated? Do what I do: in between videos/questions, do a few crunches or just keep your body moving in some manner.

We all have to make sacrifices, unfortunately. It sucks, but you can do it.

[Anonymous]

This is what I did and not saying you have to do the same.

I used every single free minute studying. I stopped going to the gym – I was constantly just studying during my lunch breaks, listening to the Audios non stop in my car.

When I did go for my walks I would have the audios playing so I am exercising and studying at the same time. I used my husband as a tool for the flashcards and kept having him test me to see if I knew my stuff or not.

I spent a lot of time doing online research – learning the concepts from many sources until I got it locked down. I aimed to get 90 as my score in Wiley / Gleim etc. that's when I knew I am ready.

Also when I went for the exam – I had the mind set of I am going to get every single question right so I was aiming high or setting the bar high for myself.

Lastly I cut down my social life I was totally fixed on passing my exam. Short term pain for a long term gain 🙂

[CPAfit]

@bronx and @Brainfarts thank you so much for your contribution. I've decided to cut down my gym a couple of times but in the end I justify it by saying it's just two hours and I will manage. I guess I have to say goodbye to gym until I pass FAR. Also I love the idea of studying in the car since in my office we don't have cubicles or walls it's pretty hard to concentrate even during lunch break as most people just stay in and relax at their tables.

[mla1169]

You may have to eliminate your 1-2 social nights temporarily. Its not forever.

You need to study an hour at lunch time and at least 2 hours in the evening. Its not that much to manage. TRUST me when I tell you that I know how exhausting it is but you have much more free time than you think you do.

I worked 8a-5p during the week, and 10-15 hours retail on weekends, I was also in school for my Masters, have 2 children and 2 dogs to care for. I do not have a wife either, back in the day I married it wouldn't have been legal for me to marry a woman, although I'd like to trade my husband in for a wife because I hear they are very handy to have around the house.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[CPAfit]

@mla srsly your post made me laugh so hard. you are right about the social life I just need to be strong and learn to say no.

[Anonymous]

Yes you have to learn to say no to social life its hard but as everyone has said its well worth it!!

[Anonymous]

I didn't have much of a social life anyway (outside of hanging with my fiancee), so that wasn't too difficult for me. The life of an introvert 🙂

[SlickRick]

I honestly believe you don't have to give up any weekend social life/ workout schedule if you budget your time. Workout in morning, study hour at lunch, 3 hours when you get home at night. 5-6 hours Saturday and Sunday.

AUD- 86
FAR- 79
BEC- 83
REG- 87

[Juliemiddle]

@zubairs – Like everyone else said, the main gist is to carve out time to study…consistently…every day. From experience, I failed FAR my 1st go round, b/c I tried to study mainly on the weekends. After that, it woke me up…weekends aren't enough, even if it's 8 hour study sessions. This is my usual plan of attack:

–>Study 1 hr. in the morning (COFFEE is a MUST) before work.

–>I value working out, too, so I hit the gym right after work (about 3-4 days on weekdays, each day on weekends). Quick weight training (no more than 40 min) and 20 min of cardio (HIIT works wonders). MAX of 1 HOUR…you have to give up the 2 hour sesh. (I listen to Ninja Audio on the stairstepper)

–>Study 2 hrs. in the evening on weeknights. I try to make it 8-10 PM, so I'm not up too late. (MORE COFFEE…it's tough to concentrate after a long day at work)

–>Weekends: solidly study 5 hrs. each day (not too much to fry your brain)

–>Commute: Listen to Ninja Audio from your phone…even if you have to put in one earbud (since you can't connect to your car).

–>I listen to Ninja – walking the dogs, in commute to work, when I'm getting ready for bed, waiting in lines, every.spare.moment.

You might be a little fluffier around the waist and a little more caffeine-addicted, but it's the price we pay to pass this gauntlet 🙂 Good luck!

AUD: 84 - Oct. 2013
BEC: 83 - Feb. 2014
REG: 91 - May, 2014
FAR: 68, 96 - Oct. 2014...DONE

CPAExcel, Ninja Audio (all sections)

[Kimboroni]

You can't burn it on a disk or something? Or do you not have a CD player that will play MP3s? I think there'd be some way to get it done. Maybe even one of those little portable speakers. There are tons of them that don't cost too much.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Or even just play it out of your phone speakers. Where there's a will, there's a way.

[CPAfit]

thanks a lot to everyone for the great ideas. First thing what I will do is budget my time and write down the amount of time i studied vs the time I wasted. It will hold be accountable and I can further allocate my time to gym or sleeping.

As for Ninja audio on my car, I have a cassette player so I think I will have ti buy on of those cassettes that come with an aux cable that attaches to the ipod/iphone.

For the gym i'll reduce my hours and wrap up my sessions in 40-50 mins max. I'm not a coffee drinker at all but I think i'll start and see if it helps me stay fresh in the mornings/after work.

Alright NINJAs let's do this and kick some FAR butt. Good luck and happy study 🙂

[tomq04]

Definitely figuring out how to add ninja audio to your drive will help. Swapping out a gym visit for a long bike/walk/run + some alone time with Jeff would be beneficial too.

Some of you folks seem a bit too hardcore when it comes to SLEEP!!! you're body needs sleep to function. You're getting up at 4:30, I did that for 6 months and failed 2 tests, and my study time was terrible. Swapped to 5:30 and my now 1 hour of study was better than the 2 I was trying to cram in, make sure you're rested.

Cutting out the gym isn't the best or worst idea, just figure out how you can read some notes, or listen to ninja audio while doing it. Just make sure you are getting that material crushing your brain for the next weeks.

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[Kimboroni]

“alone time with Jeff” LOL

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Author]

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