Juggling work, revision and home life is the single biggest challenge for many CIMA students.
I was recently counselling a CIMA student who was struggling with getting this balance right. He was a committed rugby player as well as a father of two small children. Combined with a busy finance job, his CIMA revision seemed like a step too far in his schedule. Not only was his revision going badly, he was not managing any of the key parts of his life successfully. He was heading for problems!
This reminded me of many conversations I have had with Accountancy students over the 15 years I’ve been teaching.
Of course there is no simple answer. However, there are some steps that can be followed to help students to get the balance right and be successful in their CIMA exams.
Here are my six key tips:
1. Master your Time
In order to effectively plan how much time to put into your revision, you need to have some idea of how much time you’re spending on all aspects of your life.
Spend a week making a note of what you have to do on a day-to-day basis and how much time it is taking you.
This could help you highlight any ‘grey time’ in which you could replace with revision. For example, if you see that you spent two hours watching television in an evening, you could replace one of those hours with revision.
The key is to make sure your everyday life carries on as normal, because the last thing you want is to start resenting revision. It’s just about finding where in your life revision could fit comfortably.
2. Focus
Now you’ve highlighted where in your life revision could fit, it’s vital that you are focused in this time.
For instance, if you’re thinking about work or what to cook for dinner tomorrow, you’re not likely to take any revision in.
This focus can be achieved by good planning. For the time you do spend revising, you don’t need to be thinking about anything else.
3. Involve Others
If you live with family or friends, you need to make sure they appreciate the importance of your CIMA revision.
You should have been able to plan some free time in which you can focus completely on your revision. Therefore it’s important no one else provides any distractions.
Involving others and explaining your need to revise may also help with motivation. They might be there to give you that kick if you’re feeling reluctant to go and revise!
4. Start Early
There may have been a time in your life where you could get away with leaving homework or revision until the last minute.
However you need to recognise that in your busy life, you don’t have that luxury anymore.
That’s why it’s vital that you start your CIMA revision early and take that pressure off of yourself. Knowing that you’ve got plenty of time until your CIMA exam will help you to relax and plan properly.
If you do leave things too late, you may need to make some sacrifices and ensure you catch up on lost time!
5. Enjoyment
Many students make the mistake of taking their CIMA revision too seriously.
You’ve probably got enough stresses in your life as it is, so you should try and make your revision enjoyable.
You can achieve this through treating yourself when you’ve worked hard, or taking your revision into a pleasant, comfortable environment.
In addition, the more positively your approach your revision and your exam, the more likely you are to get a positive result!
6. Seek help
You don’t have to go through your revision on your own. Whether this means getting your partner involved to quiz you on what you know, or making use of resources such as online forums.
And of course we are always here to help at Astranti. Check out our range of CIMA revision materials:
CIMA Certificate Materials
CIMA Operational Materials
CIMA Management Materials
CIMA Strategic Materials