Help with focus while studying for certifications

I have many friends who use Adderall when they study in and outside of school. I've never used it and would rather stay away from drugs.

Wondering if anyone else has used this or can recommend anything else that has helped them.

In before-Get lots of sleep, use coffee.

Thanks

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Comments

alxx

you need to look at your study process and eating and sleeping habbits.

Its not one thing in isolation.

eat well , get enough sleep , enough exercise and an effective study plan

note taking , practise questions/problems , summerising and making flash cards and using them

It all depends on how much you want to succeed

thanks to Noc-ninja for the links
Secret to Success by Eric Thomas (Full Video) +Download my new eBook for free - YouTube

Kim's Ninja Way to CCIE » Blog Archive » Be INSPIRED!

For me the main thing is setting goals and staying focused.
Just 4 subjects to go of a double degree - Applied Physics and Computer Systems Engineering.
Taken me 11 years part time so far - 2 subjects + work + jazz band
2 science and 2 engineering subjects to go!

Lots of coffee and green tea/tea - matcha, jasmine , gun powder green, oolong and pu-erha
(matcha can have as much caffiene as coffee)

Zartanasaurus

Turn off the TV. Go somewhere you don't have easy access to the internet. Distractions are a killer for study.

Turgon

Mc5ully wrote: »

I have many friends who use Adderall when they study in and outside of school. I've never used it and would rather stay away from drugs.

Wondering if anyone else has used this or can recommend anything else that has helped them.

In before-Get lots of sleep, use coffee.

Thanks

Simply study a little each day. Regularity is key.

Trifidw

I have 2 study habits. The first would be to do nothing but revision (literally I got up, had breakfast studied until lunch non stop. Had a quick lunch and studied until it was time to make dinner) and would get about 10 hours of study in a day and could do this for up to 3 days in a row. The other is an hour a day after work, starting off with 10 minutes of exercise to get the pulse up and then I can sit still for 50 minutes getting some good revision in until it is time for dinner.

Also, have a bar of chocolate or some fruit handy.

N2IT

Turgon wrote: »

Simply study a little each day. Regularity is key.

I use this philosophy. It seems to prevent burn out and is managable everyday. Sometimes I'll hit the hot tub or listen to some audio while I work out on the weights or elliptical.

I find if I spend 15-30 mins a day next thing you know you start to actually learn the material.

Sad thing is with server + and security + I barely remember anything. I crammed the material in such a right window I have forgetten a lot of what was on the exam. I am half tempted to take them off my resume because I know so little about those topics.

Zartanasaurus

Trifidw wrote: »

I have 2 study habits. The first would be to do nothing but revision (literally I got up, had breakfast studied until lunch non stop. Had a quick lunch and studied until it was time to make dinner) and would get about 10 hours of study in a day and could do this for up to 3 days in a row. The other is an hour a day after work, starting off with 10 minutes of exercise to get the pulse up and then I can sit still for 50 minutes getting some good revision in until it is time for dinner.

Also, have a bar of chocolate or some fruit handy.

A 10 hour study session is nice, but you should take regular breaks besides just stopping for dinner or lunch. A break every 1-2 hours is good for me. Go do some laundry or whatever then come back to it after 15 mins.

ptilsen

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Turn off the TV. Go somewhere you don't have easy access to the internet. Distractions are a killer for study.

This is a big one. It's also tough to apply when you need to do labs and can't function with Internet. But for reading, this is probably a great suggestion, and a big part of why I still use actual books.

In a similar vein, dual monitors can actually be a big problem. I really only need one monitor to do a lab or practice test or read an ebook, so my second monitor ends up being used for a web browser. Invariably, this means I end up on TechExams, or on Facebook, or reading email or whatever.

Also, this:
http://www.techexams.net/forums/general-certification/72552-study-session-scheduling.html

I disagree (and this might just be how I work) with suggestions of studying a little each day. I feel that to be productive in your studies, you should spend 2-8 hours studying one to three days a week. Any less is unproductive, and longer or more frequent sessions lead to burn out. Having a set plan to study in specific timeframes and then knowing you don't have to study the rest of the time is really helpful. Again, maybe that's just me, but this approach has stopped me from getting stuck on my last two tests (70-648 and 7-640), which involved the most knowledge and study out of any in my career (except for maybe 70-270). I'm getting harder tests done in fewer tries and shorter time-frames than the old "try-and-study-randomly-when-I-have-time-and-feel-like-it" method. I'm on track (although off-schedule) to complete MCITP: EA in a shorter period of time than I took to get MCSA using this methodology.