Sleepless nights and tireless hard work has finally delivered you into CA final.
It's time to enter into the professional world and learn the intricacies of accounting, taxation and finance.
It's time to establish networks, to gobble the corporate jargon, to seek opportunities for evolving the new dimensions.
It's time to look beyond the printed word, and add meaning with your analysis.
But wait, will this be enough?
In CA final, enough floats as a fog. Vague. Blurry.
What about classes, revisions, notes, study plan, and books?
Here, comes our Savior - Mr Google.
You pour your problem. Boom! A plethora of suggestions bombard your head. Wandering among links, skimming through tips, swimming across PDF files, tiptoeing book lists, hiking interview questions, and eventually trudging towards a NOMAN'S LAND.
This much of brainstorming leaves you exhausted. The gigantic syllabus and monthly plans are enough to send jitters to your spine.
What can you do?
How can you create a smooth and enjoyable learning experience? How can you create a strategy that will help you sail through this journey of 3 years?
Let's find out.
1. Time is your friend. Keep him close.
In the age of information deluge, you are webbed into 'more'. Abundance suppresses clarity, hence you land nowhere. What do you do when you feel thirsty? Do you type 10 ways to drink water effectively? Or you simply gulp the water down your throat? The approach is simple. We often tend to make it tricky due to the availability of options.
Remember, you passed your class 10th and 12th without following any topper's strategy. Yes, CA final is altogether a different game, but the rules are same. You need consistency, discipline, and timely revisions to reach the finish line. You already know this. The search for a perfect strategy eats up your real study time. The internet won't take you to your study table. A 2-time revision would fetch you more marks than reading 2 study articles. Time can be your friend. Don't betray him.
2. Limitations lay direction.
I know you are overwhelmed by the vastness of the course. I know you are crushed under the deadlines of office and length of lectures. I know your nerves are frayed and you can't take it anymore. I know you need a remedy to keep going. I know you wish to rekindle the hope of reading again. Amidst this chaos, rummaging external sources seems like a viable option. It's easy to fall prey to our emotional pain.
The one way to de-clutter is to assign a time limit to assimilate all the relevant resources and information. It could vary from 20 to 30 days before your preparation marathon. Go through all the sources available. Choose as per your standards. Modify as per your expectations. And, devise a plan for yourself. Make sure your plan is flexible enough to entertain emergencies. Keep buffer weeks/months for rainy days. By assigning a timeline, you will protect yourself from spilling in telegram/ you-tube channels. Once you are done with the planning, you can kick start executing the details without much hassle. Don't forget to have faith in your decisions.
Distractions may lure you. Restrict them with a direction.
3. It's okay to be different.
So, the AIR- 1 claimed to study for 16 hours a day. AIR - 3 said that he flushed his phone in the gutter, and locked himself in a room for 5 months to keep himself focused. AIR - 43 viewed Whatsapp, telegram as efficient supporting tools in her preparation.
Did you notice something? Varied perception.
We are humans. We operate differently. Maybe, you are a morning flower who blooms with sunrise, munch complex provisions in daylight. Maybe, you are a night owl whose precision and analysis glow in the darkness. Maybe, sums dazzle your head but theory burns it out. Maybe, phone offers new insights or derails your attention. Maybe, sitting for long hours makes you dull, so you work one day at a time by punching a to-do list. Maybe, you are resilient enough to keep yourself fixed for 14 hours during the last 6 months.
The most common method of studying is chapters distribution. It never worked for me. I divide the whole subject into pages (in case of theory) and problems (in case of practical) and allot myself daily targets to complete the same. This is how I study.
Whosoever you are, whatever you do, the underlying truth is you know your kind. So, start accordingly.
Accept that everyone is different, and staple solution for varied problems doesn't exist. Carve your path.
Final thoughts.
- We like to have a blueprint and know exactly what we need to do and how.
- We like certainties.
- But deriving a study strategy is not like getting on a flight to Washington, taking the train to London, or driving to the supermarket. The road is fuzzier. The paths tangled.
- To move forward is to accept uncertainty.
- To adjust the flaws with trial and error.
- To trust the process of consistency and sustained efforts.
- To accept that we don't need more.
- To work with our less.
Take care :)
CAclubindia
