When it comes to revising, it can be difficult to efficiently manage your time to ensure you are absorbing as much information as possible before the big day of sitting your exams arrives.
You might also find it difficult to allocate a time slot to each topic so that you equally cover all the information you need to know for your exams, especially if there are certain sections you actively avoid due to a personal dislike or difficulty learning them.
By organising your study time, you can also reduce the amount of stress you are likely to be facing, as the set schedule ensures that you will cover everything you need to during your revision period, making it an important step to cover at the start of your accountancy exams journey.
Throughout my Accounting Exam Accelerator Programme I work with students to help them best prepare for their exams, including identifying the most suitable ways in which they can delegate their time to different topics.
Here are some of the best ways I’ve found help you manage your studies in an effective way:
1. Focus On Your Goals
If you find yourself being easily distracted away from your revision, you can regain motivation by focusing on exactly what it is you want to achieve and what you need to do to make it happen.
By focusing on your goals you are envisioning the success you will be able to achieve as a result of completing the small tasks that sit in front of you now.
If procrastination is something that you struggle with, my blog How To Stop Procrastinating Whilst Studying For Your Accountancy Exams covers everything you need to get going and gain momentum for your revision.
2. Understand Your Patterns
Whether you have a burst of energy first thing in the morning as you wake up, get in the zone at lunch or your brain works overtime in the evening, it’s important to study at times that work best for you and your individual attributes.
If setting out a block of time for when you work best will help you keep on track and ensure you carry out your revision at a specific time everyday, then set a reminder to get to work when your brain is most active.
3. Create An Action Plan
Creating an action plan can cover a wide variety of actions, such as when you write your notes or when you file them appropriately.
Writing a plan means that you are centering your focus on that specific task and you’re far less likely to deviate away from it – try writing the task and the end goal for it underneath for an added source of motivation.
4. Take Small Steps
When your workload is mounting up, it can be very overwhelming trying to figure out which bit to start with or even how to start in general.
Start with something manageable that doesn’t seem to be too big of a task, even if it’s making a to-do list of small things you want to have done by the end of the day.
5. Construct A System & Study Plan
Creating a study plan that is unique to what you want to accomplish, including tasks, goals and events, means that you are clearly outlining a way to make studying work for you.
Regardless of if it’s an electronic or paper-based version, ensure it’s something you can feasibly stick to and use that as the basis for your revision each day/week.
My blog How To Create An Effective Study Plan For Your Accountancy Exams has some great tips on how to make an efficient plan that will work for you and is tailored to your needs.
6. Structure Your Time
Knowing when you are the most productive can be useful to help you utilise your brain power when it’s working to the max.
Focus your energy on completing your most important activities when you are set to be most productive and that way you will be guaranteed to finish them and can subsequently carry out less-imperative activities you need to do.
7. Overcome Procrastination
Procrastination is the top enemy of effective study, standing in the way of countless worthwhile goals.
Getting into the right mindset and overcoming procrastination will allow you to become an efficient worker and get things done well before they are due instead of leaving it to the last minute.
If procrastination is something you find yourself struggling with, read my blog on How To Stop Procrastination to learn more about the ways in which you can motivate yourself to get back into a working regime.
8. Do The Hard Things First
Difficult tasks require more discipline, so if you are able to commit to the hardest tasks first you’ll be able to do them with greater consistency rather than being half-awake towards the end of your study session.
You’re also more likely to understand the tasks better if you do them first when you’re most alert to working, so take this as an extra incentive to get them done first.
9. Prioritise And Re-Prioritise Your To-Do List
When writing a to-do list at the start of the day, you might notice that you’ve oversold how much you can do.
Reassess your to-do list at intervals during your study session and order your priorities again to keep the important things and let go of the rest for the day.
10. Create Optimal Deadlines
It’s crucial to create deadlines for yourself to help you achieve your goals, so think through what you want to accomplish and make your deadlines challenging but realistic.
Make sure that your deadlines aren’t too far out of reach that you forget about them, but at the same time it’s important to give yourself a bit of leeway so you can complete a task to the best of your ability, which often involves revisiting it and rewording what you’ve written with fresh eyes.
11. Stay Motivated
Learn what keeps you motivated and inspire yourself daily by doing anything from treating yourself to working at optimal times.
This is key if you get caught out in a rut regarding studying as it can be very difficult to jump back into a motivated study session when you have no influential factor to convince you.
You can read more about how I sourced my motivation from my family in my blog My Mum: My Inspiration, Your Motivation.
12. Create A Routine
Routines increase productivity by making it easier to identify shortcuts and efficiencies, so make one that will be effective for you.
You can make a routine for a short space of time or the whole day – sometimes planning your day including external activities can help you better organise your study mentality as you know what else you will be doing and when.
13. Maintain Momentum
Learn what it means to stay in motion no matter what comes your way, whether that’s pushing yourself to work until a certain point each day or carrying out a routine every single day.
Momentum is key so uncover what keeps you ticking and how to persevere with your studying every day.
14. Manage Your Stress
Whether it’s exercise, meditation, prayer, family time, or social life, find what de-stresses you and schedule it regularly into your study plan.
My article How To Deal With Stress When It Comes To Accountancy Exams covers lots of useful information that you can use to alleviate the pressures of revising.
15. Take Breaks
Being busy and constantly studying doesn’t make you productive, however hard you might be trying to push yourself.
Take a break to reset your energy and make sure you schedule time throughout your day to refresh and recharge your batteries.
16. Time Yourself
If you tend to get distracted or procrastinate, try timing yourself carrying out a task, including note taking, past exam paper questions or memory recall.
Commit to completing past papers under full exam conditions and with strict timing without stopping or distraction so that you’re prepared for the real thing.
17. Manage Distractions
Put all of your devices on either silent or do not disturb so that nothing will distract you and you can fully focus on being as productive as you can be.
Stick some noise cancelling headphones on with no sound if you need to truly eradicate all outside factors that could distract you.
18. Limit Social Media
Limit the amount of time you spend on such sites as Facebook and Twitter as we all know how addictive these can be.
The longer you spend on your phone watching TikTok and being enthralled by online gossip, the further down the rabbit hole you’ll go and it can be very hard to climb out of it.
19. Reward Yourself
When you complete a set of tasks in a timely manner, give yourself a reward, no matter how small.
The Pomodoro method is a great way of rewarding yourself in short intervals, giving you free reign to do as you please for 5 minutes after doing work for 25 minutes, so treat yourself but remember to return to your learning after your leisure time is up.
You can read more about how the Pomodoro method is an effective revision technique in my blog Curb Your Procrastination With The Pomodoro Technique.
20. Learn To Say No
Saying yes to everyone is saying no to yourself – address your priorities and your limitations, even if it’s just on a daily basis.
Don’t commit to anything that doesn’t align with your goals, especially during the all-important exam season.
21. Have A Nightly Ritual
Get everything ready for the next day by having a nightly ritual, including making a list of what you would like to complete the next day, even if you change it the following morning .
Spend 10 minutes in bed before you go to sleep recapping key points that your mind can subconsciously process as you sleep, making sure your brain works even when you don’t want to.
22. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is the foundational element that ties our health together and when you sleep enough, you have more energy meaning that your mind will operate more effectively and efficiently.
Aim for 7 to 8 hours of peaceful sleep per night and remember that any less than that is likely to affect your productivity levels for more than just the day you wake up.