I found going to bed between 8-9 PM worked best for me. ha ha, there definetly was a learning curve. But after forcing myself to wake up that early for a week or so, falling asleep wasn’t a problem anymore.
There are plenty of ‘tricks’ to make sure you fall asleep. The main one is avoiding artificial light as much as possible.
I try to get cozy by 11 and get my eyes sore by watching some sitcoms. Then it’s shut-eye and reviewing what I just learned. Personally my goal is to pass out at midnight if possible and at 1 at the latest. The key is to limit information overload because work and then CFA is quite a lot if I’m honest. That’s why I always separate an hour of studying and reviewing with some mindless activities in between.
^so you survive on 5-6 hours sleep per day. I am always jealous of people who can do that. Apparently my blood pressure is a bit low so I need 8 hours sleep to feel comfortable ;(
rawraw what time did you use to go to bed and wake up? You are not tired at work after waking up at 3-4?
You can’t get melatonin there? I have a really hard time turning my brain off at night. I need sensory deprivation almost. If I’m not out by 1, I take a sleep aid to help–but it’s a catch 22 because it takes me a little longer to get sharp again in the morning.
I have it on good authority that cuddling a teddy helps you sleep at night
Wait, if you’re a night owl (and i’m guessing by night owl you mean 2-ish) what do you plan to do when you start working? lol. And I’m assuming you will be working 9-5. That’s probably like 5-6 hours of sleep I’m guessing.
Anyway, I’m fresh out of college so it was definitely difficult adjusting to waking up at 6. I had to be very very very creative to find the inspiration to study for the CFA while in my last semester in undergrad. The first few weeks were super hard because I was always used to sleeping like 8-10 hours a day. But I always had an old picture of my family when we were poor (we’re immigrants) and a picture of one of the houses my parents remodeled on my nightstand. It made me realize that the life I have is easy compared to what my parents went through and since I always loved architecture I’d have to be wealthy to have a home like they built. So I try to not take my situation for granted and appreciate everything I have, including my youth! Like the saying goes, time is money…and you’ll have plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead haha
But definitely try to come up with a schedule and stick to it. Discipline does wonders! Hope that helps.
Oh yeah, drink lots of coffee/tea too.
Yep, I have been unemployed for a few months and my uni is at night now so I only just made myself get up at 9am! Terrible! I am starting work in 3 weeks and I have to force myself to get up by 7am very soon. Work will be 9-5 for sure. Uni is 6-9pm. And all that effort with dressing up and makeup… OMG nightmare.
You can’t get melatonin over the counter in Australia and the prescribed ones cost a fortune! And the Aussie customs doesn’t allow import either. But I’ve ordered from a US supplement website and they’ve come in ok so far. $2.99 international postage.
I have a whole bunch of teddy bears (or girrafes, donkeys, turtles, wombats) on the bed already. I just don’t like going to bed early ;(
Aren’t there other ways to fall asleep?..Lavender tea, a boring book (e.g cfa), uhm bed activities
Yeah there are , I just need to force myself into bed by a certain time 
I could never tell you wore makeup! 
I have tried to nail down a schedule which has surprisingly worked over the past few weeks…
Girlfriend has forced me to give up drinking because she says that is a loser activity and will just contribute to your downfall (keep in mind she has never drank!), It has actually improved my daily routine. But if you enjoy it, stick with it!
Work: Monday-Friday 8am-530pm
Study: Tuesday, Thursday 545pm-915pm, Friday 530pm-8pm, Saturday 6am-930am, Sunday Whenever possible
Bike: I race BMX so I train on bike Tuesday, Thursday 515am-645am, Saturday Whenever, Sunday, race day all day
Gym: Monday, Wednesday 630pm-800pm
Girlfriend: Squeeze her in as time allows…friends are non-existent, unless vacation…have taken two so far this year.
^sounds like a pretty good life
Haha! It is not so bad…I feel pretty accomplished on most days after completion. Girlfriend owns a swimwear company (shameless plug www.eternalreignldn.com), so she always has something interesting for me to look at once I get home!
I don’t know if I could give up drinking. Money was tight earlier this summer (new grad=just getting adjusted) so I was basically forced into not drinking for a few weeks before paycheques came in. Misery!
Smoking though. Haven’t had one in 3 weeks.
may we switch lives ? thank you.
Not yet…lol!
Did you meet her by talking about the CFA? I sure hope so!
There is a forum for that here: http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-general-discussion/91314931
There is a forum for just about everything…