[Anonymous]

I can’t seem to get away from the constant barrage of people or events that distract me from studying!

I go to the library and even if I put my phone on silent I have my parents or long distance girlfriend asking me about dinner, parties, hanging out, etc.

I try ignoring them but something always needs an immediate response or something along those lines.

It feels like the only way I can get some quality study time in is on a deserted island with no access to anything but food, water, and CPA materials.

This is my #1 factor as to why I can’t study effectively and it’s taking me forever to pass!

Can someone please give me advice on how they study without distractions? I am seriously considering doing AirBNB for a month in an empty boring town in the middle of nowhere as that seems like my only option!!

Grr.

[mooseonloose]

Delete facebook, snapchat, whatsapp, viber, and any other social media apps that keeps you distracted. Tell your girlfriend and parents you have an important exam to study for and won't be able to give as much attention as you use to.

[Missy]

Shut your phone off entirely.

Nothing you mentioned NEEDS an immediate response, but there's certainly an expectation and as long as you reply immediately the expectation will continue. Unfortunately you are creating the very situation you are lamenting.

Send a text saying “my phone will be turned off for the next 2 hours so I can study, I will reply when my study session is done” then actually shut the phone off.

Unless you've got a child or a critically ill family member there is no reason you can't go incommunicado for 2 hours a day.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

I have three kids- my third was born when I took my reg exam. I work full time plus a second job. There are constant interruptions but don't let that bog you down. Put your mind entirely on passing cpa exams. Meditation would help too.

[Anonymous]

Leave that phone at home, and go study. If I get phone calls during my study time, I say to whomever is on another line-I am studying, will call you back later. The studying for this exam is not pleasant so it's very easy to get distracted!

[mschnei42]

Sounds like you don't want to be a CPA bad enough.

AUD: 98
FAR: 95
REG: July 11, 2016
BEC: August 8, 2016

[Anonymous]

Wow some of these comments are really putting things in perspective for me. Thank you guys.

I do want to be a CPA but I often think, is it worth it to lose my girlfriend and even some friendships? I can tell my girlfriend is ready to call it quits simply because I cannot give enough attention as I have been studying and failing for almost 2 years. I have lost friends too along the way. I still think the CPA is worth it because it will be with me for the rest of my life but friends/girlfriends come and go. [This is my daily internal struggle!]

I would love to turn off my phone, maybe even using an old school flip phone for a while. However, I am on call at work Mon-Fri and have to attend to it here and there, but that leads to me looking and responding to texts, etc. Then hours go by and I realized I was in the library all day but maybe got 1-3 hour of solid study in.

It is very frustrating

[Anonymous]

Find your little place to study. I think library is too much distraction. Find a confined place like 5×5 or 10×10. Why not study at home?

[ruggercpa2b]

I feel like the CPA exam always tests relationships. I set aside Fridays as date night with my husband. I study Monday through Thursday and the weekends. Friday is all about him. I sometimes go to the library and I usually just leave my phone in the car unless when its extremely hot. I also have started waking up early in the mornings. I go to bed by 9pm and am up at 4am. There are no distractions during that time because no one else is up. It was hard at first but now I do not even set my alarm.

If you are losing friends because you want to better yourself then those people were never real friends to begin with.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[Anonymous]

@ActionCPA I tend to alternate between the library and home. Usually I stay home but these past few weeks I decided to try the library to see if that can help with my distractions.

Now that I think about it, every time I passed was when I solely studied at home. But that was before I started working full time. (This month I am “on call” so I can study, but do work as needed. I took a month of next week just so I can focus on studying)

At this point I feel like the only place I can study is a jail cell or a deserted town miles away…

@ruggercpa2b Very true. Thanks for your help. However my girlfriend recently had to move 2 hours away and I barely see her as it is. We also work together and we have to travel for work 1-2 times every other month or so, so breaking up will be very awkward and difficult to deal with!

[Missy]

is it worth it to lose my girlfriend and even some friendships

I am going to tell you EXACTLY what I told my 17 year old daughter last night. If your boyfriend/girlfriend is so clingy and insecure that 2 hours without contact in a day costs a relationship, then ultimately it was a doomed relationship and you're both better off without it. That is one sign of a very unhealthy relationship. If your relationships with girlfriend and parents ARE healthy then they will understand why they need to give you some space for a very short period of time until you pass these exams. Put the relationships to the test and find out just how healthy they really are.

Being on call for work is different, but if your cell is through at&t I can assure you that you can block certain number for a specific time period (block your girlfriend and parents while you're studying.)

Honestly it sounds like you're struggling and looking to place blame because this is HARD. I get it. But your “problems” are a dream for a lot of us that did this with much more responsibility and pulls at our time and attention.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

@mla11692. Thank you so much for that. I have no arguments and I am actually going to keep a copy of your post next to my desk.

I have ATT and did not know about that feature. Wow. That is exactly what I need!

Thanks for putting it into perspective how good I have it compared to others in regards to study time. I often look at your previous posts for great advice and I am thankful you offered some great advice to me.

[Missy]

I'm glad, its funny because my daughter is struggling with grades in school, I put her phone on total lockdown except texts from ME (yeah I know she probably has a Finsta or some alt communication but eh, I tried!) and got the teary eyed boyfriend broke- up- with- me- becuase- he- can't- text- me- garbabe. Its parental controls on the at&t dashboard and costs 4.99/mo but at least I'm doing the good parent routine.

So I asked her to ask Daddy what he'd say if Mommy had to ignore him to study, and he laughed and said he always backed off. We've been together 30 years so he got it right LOL and my daughter realized she deserved a guy who'd treat her like Daddy treats mommy.

Your post sounds way too much like that conversation but maybe just maybe YOUR girlfriend will rise to the occasion and tell you to hurry up and finish your last exams!

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Yolonge]

Tell everyone you are studying and taking the exam. Even your coworkers and your boss! If everybody know, you better pass it to avoid the embarrassment!

Materials: Wiley book + Ninja MCQ

FAR - 83 (Jan 2016)
Study time: 6 weeks
BEC - 87 (April 2016)
Study time: 2 weeks
AUD - 92 (July 2016), (74 Feb 2016), (72 May 2016)
Study time: 4 (Feb) + 2 (May) + 3 (July) = 9 weeks total
REG - (70 April 2016)
Study time: 3 weeks

[rb2017]

Perhaps you could get a cheap pay as you go phone (that doesn't have wifi features!) and tell your work to call you on that one if they need you? Don't give the number to anyone else but them, and turn off your regular phone. Blocking numbers seems like it could be a hassle if it's only for a few hours every day.
It sucks that besides people who actually have taken the exam, no one really knows how much time and work you have to dedicate!

[SuckItUp]

Let's cut the crap as talking fluff is just a waste of time.

HOW BAD DO YOU WANT TO PASS THE CPA TEST?

Sounds like you want to but you don't want it bad enough to actually make the sacrifices it takes to pull this off.

The CPA test is not an IQ test, I really believe it's a test of DISCIPLINE.

You need to study A LOT. And that time has to be QUALITY time.

Parties? Hanging out? Dinner? No time for any of this.

Your family and friends need to BE ON BOARD with your studying. That's step #1. Step #2 is don't even bring your phone to the library.

[Author]

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