Balance work life and study

CFA Level I
#1

Hello everybody,

Can you please provide me tips of how to balance work life and study together. I’m preparing for level 1 for June,2017

#2

If you want to pass it with balanced work life and study, then don’t take CFA. There is no such thing

#3

I wouldn’t consider myself a valid source for this, as I studied for the December exam partially while working full time with a long commute, and partially with a lot of time off work to strictly study. But from my experience, don’t expect much of a life during the week. Monday to Friday was work and studying, rinse and repeat.

Everyone will tell you the same thing, and it is to follow a schedule. Probably the most valuable tip for anyone studying for the exam, as falling off track of a schedule will quickly creep up on you in the month before the exam when you figure out you aren’t prepared. Just follow a good routine and don’t expect too much of a life, but those are just my two cents.

Happy studying and good luck in June :slight_smile:

#4

If you have any other questions feel free to message me, just went through the exam and everything is still fresh so I would be happy to help out.

#5

I cannot speak in detail about the work / study balance, but I can say with certainty that the home life / study balance is easy to maintain.

You simply tell your spouse that for five months you will be effectively nonexistant, and that she/he will have to handle 100% of the home life issues.

It’s really that simple.

#6

Married with 4 kids (oldest is 8 and youngest less than 1) and full time employed. Also helped the spouse at home. And I was still able to pass all 3 levels and earn the charter.

You can definitely have a work/life balance. You just need a plan and stick to it.

My plan for L3 was simple (was similar for L1 and 2)

Put kids to bed around 7:30pm - 8pm.

Ate dinner and spent time with spouse until around 9pm.

Studied from 9pm to around 1am. Monday to Thursday.

Studied from 9pm Friday to 4am Saturday morning.

Studied from 11pm Saturday to 4am Sunday morning.

Studied from November to April.

Used all of May for Questions and Review.

Go to war in June.

#7

Thank you everybody for your tips :slight_smile:

#8

For how many hours did you even sleep? I’m surprised.

#9

Weekdays, woke up around 6-7am.

weekends, woke up around 10-11am. Spouse starts losing patience if I’m still sleeping at 12 noon. Haha. Taking care of 4 kids alone is no joke.

i can still function with minimal sleep.

Although, there were times when I would park my car at a parking lot and power sleep for 30 minutes on my way home from work.

#10

I had to sacrifice some sleep for studying for CFA Level 1 exam (and now for CFA Level 2 Exam)

I used to study in the night for 3 to 4 hours. You can do that too. Here are some other tips:

  1. If you travel to work in a public transport, use this time to study, if possible. I used BookShelf App on my mobile phone and sometimes also carry printed study material while travelling for study

  2. If you are a “morning person”, you can study for some time in the morning.

  3. If you are a “night person”, you can study till late night.

  4. You can go a nearby library in your lunch time to study for some time.

  5. Take about 2 weeks time off before the exam for study, if possible.

  6. I joined a 16 week CFA Exam review course which was conducted by CFA Society of Sydney. There were class room sessions every Tuesday after work for about 3 hours. I used to get very tired on those days but I know, all this will pay off. You can also join such courses which will give you time for preparation of your exam

  7. I used to go to nearby Library on Saturday morning for studying (about 2 hours) and later spent time with my family for the rest of the weekend.

Most importantly, your family members will have to cooperate and let you study and keep the environment at home good enough for studying.

#11

If you don’t require sleep this is a good strategy.

#12

One thing that really worked for me was training my body to get up earlier and earlier. Each day I would set my alarm 5 minutes earlier than the previous night, until eventually I reached 4:30am. This was a really handy way to get 1.5-2 hours study done before getting ready for work, then as sydneyguy has suggested I would also study on the train (Bookshelf app on iPad) to and from the office, then get some done later in the evening as well, aiming for bed by 10-11pm.

If you travel for work this is another really useful opportunity. When I didn’t need to prepare for meetings I would study on the plane, then get an hour or so done at the hotel after work before heading out for dinner & drinks - let’s not lie, work trips tend to be pretty boozy.

Set a schedule that works for you, stick to it, and make sure that your family and friends understand the scope of the journey you are undertaking. Best of luck!