[Nevets7]

I passed my third exam (REG) in the last window and I am scheduled to sit FAR in early January. However, for the life of me since receiving my REG grade I have become extremely lazy. Please can I get some advice and motivation to continue studying. Also my AUD credit is expiring May 28, 2018. So I know that I need to pass FAR in Jan.

Also what should I be doing to pass FAR?

[Tim]

I dunno man, seems like you should be really motivated with it being your last one and AUD expiring in 5 months. Holidays can be tough though with family obligations, buying gifts, and all that stuff. Try to set a study schedule and stick to it. Not sure about other study packages but in Gleim you can create a study plan and it will give you a due date for each of the 20 sections. Whenever I fall behind I get a text from Gleim telling me I'm falling behind. Other than that just need to suck it up and do it. Losing a section sounds absolutely dreadful to me.

[Nevets7]

I understand, thanks for the advice Tim.

[ixlr82day]

I think maybe you are burnt out? After I passed three (BEC, REG, AUD) I was feeling the same. Tired…lazy…not wanting to study. At the end I thought up rewards for myself. If I could get through a module or two then I could watch a little youtube. If I could study for a few hours I could play a video game. If I did this then I could take a long walk or do some shopping. Anything to push myself to study because I really didn't want to. If everything else fails think about how crappy it would be if you had to start redoing parts. Anyway good luck!

[okcpa2015]

What keep me focused was writing down a weekly study schedule and focusing on that. Attacking it day by day is a lot easier to tackle then trying to focus on months of studying.

FAR - 91
REG - 88
AUD - 98
BEC - 88

[shawn in VA]

adderall

[LawGuy]

I think people fail because they are too hard on themselves and get depressed or unmotivated when they can't focus on studying. Something I have learned through undergrad, law school, a master's degree, and now the CPA exam while working full time is that it is important to take breaks and not be hard on yourself when you do. You only have so much energy and focus, and there is no way you can be focused on studying all the time.

I think the trap a lot of people fall into (and the one I used to fall into) was to sit down to try to study and not be able to focus and then get depressed and just start watching TV. The better alternative is to try your best and then not worry about it if you can't focus. Just go do something else that will make you more productive later on. For example, you could go socialize, cook, clean or do something else that will make you feel “recharged.”

If you end every day with the honest assessment of “I gave it everything I had” then you will meet your goals–I guarantee it. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Just keep grinding away. Only reason you are struggling with motivation is that you are telling yourself you are struggling with it. Just start out small and give yourself little goals each day and as long as you keep getting through the material “motivation” doesn't really matter. I made a post about struggling with motivation for REG studying halfway through my studying but then it just kind of worked out (my best score) because I kept going with it.

You know this is your last exam and that you have a limited amount of time so maybe you are tricking yourself into thinking your problem is motivation when really it is more something like the stress of running out of time and not succeeding. So again just keep at it whatever small steps it takes.

[HT415]

Great tips above!

Burnout certainly could be it, seeing as though recently passing REG gave me an incredible drive and energy boost I so desperately needed.

I completely concur with LawGuy in saying that being so demanding of oneself can lead to burnouts, disappointment, etc. I have done it all along my CPA journey and it's hard to change that when you want it all right away.

In your case, you're right at the finish line and I think keeping that in mind will give you that incentive to keep pushing.

Good luck!

[waffle_house]

I would think being on your last exam would only drive you to study more.

I would say do what you did the last 3 exams to pass FAR.

[Anonymous]

If you're barely scraping by like me, then you already know that passing FAR in two tries is hardly guaranteed. That should be enough motivation imo.

Sometimes it's too tempting/easy to skip studying altogether when you only have like one designated study session in the day. Which is why I prefer to study around the clock in short bursts – doing something is better than doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

I think your biggest motivation would be the fact that one is falling off in May… and you are so close to being finished..! Get it done man!

[Author]

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