Foc us on "today's" lesson and forget about the rest of your study materials until you get to them
Simplify, so You Can Control your "DASH"
One of the best ways to simplify the preparation for an extensive exam, such as the RTRP, and the huge amount of material required to prepare for it, is by assigning small portions of the material to specific fractions of study time, and stick to a schedule. Focus on just what you plan to study, each day, and forget the material you already covered, or have yet to cover..... (read more...)
Create a Scheduled Study Plan - SSP for your RTRP exam
Next step, after sub-dividing or partitioning your study material into smaller subtopics, is to assign a specific time of the day to study each partition, in your scheduled study plan. Assigning a time slot to a specific topic will vary from person to person, depending on the level of familiarity with the topic...... (read more...)
Plan your work and work you plan
You can say "I don't want to go through all that work of planning"
I can relate to the fact that planning is an extra task. And because it is not always perceived as a MUST, everyone easily skips the planning step for an activity or project.
Have you ever heard this thought, " ...life is easy when you live it the hard way.. and hard if you try to live it the easy way"?..... (read more ...)
RTRP exam Preparation
A wonderful approach for an effective action plan for your preparation is to ponder this question:
"If you are in your exam day and looking back to your preparation weeks, what had to have happened during your preparation stage to make you feel confident about passing the exam on your first attempt?"
Your answer should be something like one of these (you can add your own):.... (read more ...)
My Exam Experiences
From my entire experience as a CPA exam candidate, the only moment I felt the weight of the whole process and the challenge ahead of me was when I received the big box of materials I bought to prepare myself for the exam. I opened the box and began to take out those encyclopedic size books one at a time, and my first thought was "it will take me years to review all these books". I was so scared that I put the books back in the box and left them there for a few days, until I made up my mind.
Early one morning I got up determined to find a way to make it work..... (read more...)
Foc us on passing the exam and forget about failing it
RTRP Exam Takers Mind Set
We are often reminded that what separates success from failure is just the mind set. Question is, what is the success mind-set for passing an exam?... (read more)
Clarity and Planning Approach
Clarity is powerful. Being informed about every aspect of the exam-taking process will give you clarity on what you can expect and avoid surprises you are unprepared for. Fear of the unknown can add nervousness to the natural anxiety of taking an exam.
Clarity is powerful and it comes from being properly informed. For starters, to get clarity you should read the IRS Candidate Information Bulletin and learn more about its content. (read more)
Planning is also powerful. It gives you a sense of control over your journey, and it allows you to always know what to do "today" to move your preparation forward. You become more productive; perform better; and attain better results, when you have a plan. But nothing substitutes "doing it". A plan, by itself, is worthless without commitment and action.
Manage your Fears
If you are afraid of failing the IRS competency exam, work on your fears. The first step is to isolate your fears by being aware of them.
For exam takers, most of the time, fears result from lack of knowledge or perception. Take action by preparing properly and you will feel confident on the exam day. Action is the cure to any fear. (read more...)
Successful Exam Mental Attitude
If you review most or the entire content of the exam outline, don't go to the testing room to "try" to pass the exam. Go there to PASS the exam! A positive mental attitude makes all the difference in the world once you are inside the testing room! (read more....)
Measuring Exam results
There is no such thing as a relative perspective of success and failure when it comes to exam taking! In other words, success for one person may not be the same thing for another. Here, if you pass the exam, you succeeded; if you didn't, you failed. It's as simple as that! (read more....)
My Exam Experience
When I was preparing for the four tests of the Uniform CPA exam, I participated in forums with other people also preparing for the same exam. I was astonished at how easily people embrace the possibility of failing the exam, from the start. It was not unusual to hear them say "I flailed FAR again; I will continue giving it a try". I imagine that people going to "try" to pass an exam or just "learn" during the exam, will never apply a hundred percent of their energy to succeed in the testing room. (read more ...)
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