Can anyone share how you find motivation to study after a full day of work? I’ve recently decided to give CFA a try and will sit for June exam. However, sometimes I found really hard to concentrate on studying after a long time at work and after dinner. Of course the ultimate motivation for studying is the accomplishment of passing it later on. But how do you find motivation to keep going on the daily basis (especially during the week day) without falling into sleep while sitting in front of the desk? Any tips are welcomed! Thank you!
You will have to fall in love with the study material and this will keep you motivated.
I doubt that many people really enjoy the material. Anyway, the material isn’t hard. Most people fail because they are lazy @sses like you. Just suck it up or gtfo.
Nice to see such a helpful response! However in one sense ohai is right…to pass this exam requires hard work and sacrifice of your leisure time. I am in the same situation (working full time, at least 10 hours a day and often closer to 12). I would suggest trying to give yourself a bit of time out between finishing work and starting study for the evening. Cook dinner, go for a walk, have a shower, whatever - just try to approach your study as fresh as possible. I have designed my study so I plan on studying 4 nights out of Mon-Fri. That way I have a ‘spare’ night – which is normally Friday, but if I’m wrecked from work, I can swap it round and have a night off without getting behind. Also try to make use of other time to study (eg I revise on the train to work each day) so that you’re not leaving it all to the evening. Depending on what time you start work, maybe you could get up a bit earlier and do 30mins in the morning - each little bit counts. Good luck!
Mita, If you registered for June exam “just to give it a try”, don’t waste your time! That’s not motivation enough to pass. However, I believe most of us who are not in their early 20s have a job that demands at least 40 hours (or more) of their time. If you fully understand the benefits of getting through all three levels (remember, levels 2 and 3 demand a lot more time and effort), that will work as a motivation. For some, the motivation comes from the improved lifestyle they will be able to afford for themselves and their loved ones. If you can tie CFA to your important goals in life, motivation comes by default. I don’t know what would work for you but there should be something that will “click”. I like Kiakaha’s idea of having a spare night in a week. I think that should work. Also, I eat lunch at my desk so everyday I take CFA material with me to work and use that half-hour to study - you get two and a half hours every week, and 10 hours per month this way. These tiny bits add up pretty quickly.
Kiakaha Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It’s just tough love. CFA is a test of willpower - the material is easy but there is a lot of it. “Suck it up or get out” is probably the best advice, in my opinion. Imagine if you go for a job interview and say that you need help in motivating yourself to work hard.
Thank you very much for all the supports, tips and “slap-in-the-face” comments! I really appreciate it! Yes, I admitted that I was a bit of lazy @ss, and a little bit indecisive about sitting for the exam for various reasons. Since then, I’ve given it a serious thought and planning, I am confident to say I’m now giving CFA 100% commitment. Thanks!
just reading this make me want to open my CFA book and start again tonight:), I did a bout 5 hours of study earlier today. keep hard working up people…
I just stayed at work and studied in my office everyday. The motivation for me was I didn’t want to sit in front of my computer any more and the thought of reading was more appealing so after 8-9 hours at work, I’d get right into studying for 4 or 5 more. I didn’t find it too difficult to stay motivated as long as I was already in my office. Weekends were trickier because I always procrastinated to get to the office (I can’t study at home, never could). If taking a little break between work and studying doesn’t work, try just getting right into the material and getting it over with.
This thread is motivating. I’m almost done with material except book 1 and EOC questions. I have planned to study at least 10 hrs per week. Do u think I’m on track?
I’d say you’re ahead of the game. 10 hours per week until the June exam puts you at around 250 hours and that’s not even considering the 10 hours/day you’ll probably pull the week before. Add that to however many hours you’d put in to finish all the material you’ve done, and you’re probably looking to more like 400 hours! If you keep with that you won’t fail, but don’t over study too early. You don’t want to get sick of it and slack off when you should be peaking.
smuggycfa - considering there’s a post from the last couple days called ‘haven’t started yet’ – I’d say you will be fine 
Doing the EOC questions really makes you realise whether you grasped the material…I would recommend getting onto them as soon as you can…you have heaps of time to review any weak points, which is great.