CPA Students Can Take Vacations Too!

Last week my wife and I took a nice vacation south of the border. Roger came too, well, at least his study materials did. My wife and I spent the week celebrating our 10-year anniversary, and since we did it without kids, it was quite a different experience for us, yet refreshing. 

Since my exam is set for May 28, I couldn’t exactly take a vacation from studying. 

In fact, I needed to stay consistent with my studies despite being tempted to just sit on the beach sipping margaritas all day. I figured the best way to balance responsibility with relaxation was to dedicate my mornings towards studying, and then allow the afternoons and evening to be vacation time.

I didn’t rise too early, but I was up each morning at 8AM and studied in the room until 11AM or 12 noon.

I brought some index cards with me to make some flash cards to reinforce concepts. I actually took the flash cards to the beach and pools to review during happy hour, which was noon to midnight :). Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Singing TT, BPO, 75, or 90 and reciting other mnemonics does draw some odd looks in public, but so did wearing my Nacho Libre mask around the beach and pools. Like I said, Im on vacation and was having fun. 

Since I didn’t have the internet, I worked out a mix of problems from Rogers FAR book with good old pen and paper.

I didnt cover much new material on this vacation, but I did review everything Ive studied to date and completed a mix of 20 to 30 MCQs and 2 to 3 SIMs each day. The nice things was that I didnt have any of the typically distractions, so I was able to just focus during those few hours per day. 

So, vacation is good.

Even if it is just for a weekend, it can both refresh and reset you. Taking my studies with me on vacation could have been a vacation spoiler, my wife was worried about that, but I saw it as an opportunity to study in a peaceful environment for a few dedicated hours each day, and then allow myself to just relax. Honestly, I probably retained more this week that I have in any other normal study week. Like all things, it really comes down to time management and knowing how to prioritize both fun and work.

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