Level 1 Candidates: What's Your New Year's Resolution?

[ofthedivision17]

Happy New Year, All -
If I had to assign a letter grade to my exam preparation to date it would be a B-minus. Since the beginning of November, I’ve spent over 100 hours working through the Level 1 curriculum (mostly in ethics, quant, and econ). My overall level of retention is reasonably high, but I haven’t mastered each LOS like I had initially hoped. It’s clear to me that I need to study harder and smarter in 2013, which leads to the question:
In terms of CFA Exam Preparation, what’s your New Year’s Resolution?
For me, it comes down to three simple improvements:
1. Study 20 Hours Per Week - For the last two months, I’ve averaged 10-15 hours of exam preparation per week. In 2013, I need to study new material while reviewing old material. In order to pass this exam on the first attempt, I will need to study harder. It’s that simple.
2. Study Every Day - During my first two months of exam preparation, I have alloted myself two days off and each day lead to a subsequent unalloted day off. Instead, I will take days off from new material only. If I put in an exceptional week of preparation, I will reward myself with a day consisting of a simple one-hour review.
3. Be Healthy - I’m not about to be featured in Men’s Health, but I do try to take care of myself. I will sleep six hours per night, exercise six days per week, and avoid snacks after my evening meal. I need to be healthy and energized in order to conquer this exam.
May you all have a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year
Zach

 

[Henda]

Zach…thanks for bringing up the health issue
I suffer!
I study at night, eating the whole time, and I’ve already developed back pain.
I want to start hitting the gym on a daily basis starting Feb, but I don’t know if 24 hours a day can really allow for all that I plan.
Anyway, I’ve so far done the same things you say here you’ve done, except I skipped Ethics. Keeping it for last.
I only hope to finish all readings before May, to leave a month for PQs, mocks and revisions.

 

[tjack82b]

I plan to up my study time to about 20 hours. My work schedule was hectic for my first two months of studying so I could only fit in about 10 hours a week. But for New Years holiday I have 2 weeks off and have been hitting the books hard and from the new year I have a set study plan that I will follow. I want to be finished by April which will allow about 2 months for review and lots of qbank.

 

[ofthedivision17]

Henda wrote:
I want to start hitting the gym on a daily basis starting Feb, but I don’t know if 24 hours a day can really allow for all that I plan.

I purchased a stationary bike several years ago and, for the most part, it has kept me honest about exercising. I doubt that anyone has ever gotten in great shape by riding a bike for 30 minutes each day, but it does allow me to maintain a basic level of fitness. My stationary bike is small and lightweight, so I can store it in the closet and place it in front of the television each morning. This week, I am going to experiment with watching Schweser videos during my workout. Hopefully, they will hold my interest. That process could save a lot of time as the exam date approaches.

 

[ofthedivision17]

tjack82b wrote:
I plan to up my study time to about 20 hours.

20 hours per week seems like a reasonable target. What does your study schedule look like? In 2013, I’d like to put in 3 hours each weekday, 5 hours on Saturday, and a variable amount on Sunday that is dependent on how well I have prepared during the previous week (likely 1-5 hours).

 

[maryann2013]

This is useful Zach. Ive just signed up for June 2013. Nervous , but in a good way.. so far. 20 hrs seems ideal, but with work and wanting to stay healthy, it will be challenging. I guess it all boils down to how much I want to clear Level 1s at the first go.

 

[tjack82b]

Similar schedule to yours ofthedivision17. I want to put in about 3 hours/day on weekdays then 5 hours on Saturday and Sunday combined. On Saturday and Sunday I plan to do a lot of qbank questions. Then during the week, I’ll wake up a half hour earlier each day and go through the questions I got wrong before work. By that I mean read the explanation given by qbank then read the section in the text that covers it. Or maybe just review some formulas, etc. I’ll also do this for about 30 minutes before bed. Just light studying, reviewing a few things that I don’t count towards my study time but is productive.

 

[ofthedivision17]

My first week of 2013 was adequate. It was technically a short week because, for the purposes of my study plan, a week is Monday - Sunday (and the new year started on Tuesday). I studied for 16 hours total - mostly study session 7 from FRA. I put in a 3-hour econ review today and compiled my own formula list. Tomorrow I move on to study session 8 from FRA, which looks like a pretty thick read. I’ve got to hit 20 hours this week.