Staying motivated?

How do you guys stay motivated? I have been studying for the ccna (2 part) and it was not bad because I was in a class at a technical college for Cisco but now that I am out I have been focusing on my new class and I really feel my studying is way on the decline.

How do you stay motivated and keep focused? Dang video games, girls, and booze.

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Ryan82

You mix in video games, girls, and booze. You have to pace it out or you will just burn yourself out. Its a marathon not a sprint.

Turgon

Try and get up for something other than certification so it becomes just another part of your day. Balance everything properly and certs just get ticked off with elapsed time. A lot of people get hung up on certs and they become the focus of everyday life. You should be finding satisfaction in your work and personal life at the same time. On classes, most certifications are won on your personal time, so spend some of it on studying but be careful to get R&R as well. Or you will go mad and become antisocial.

MrRyte

chappys4life wrote: »

How do you guys stay motivated? I have been studying for the ccna (2 part) and it was not bad because I was in a class at a technical college for Cisco but now that I am out I have been focusing on my new class and I really feel my studying is way on the decline.

How do you stay motivated and keep focused? Dang video games, girls, and booze.

Look at it this way: the CCNA *should* lead to higher pay; which should lead to spending more on video games, girls and booze.:D

.........all in moderation of course.

Devilry

Just like the others state above, R&R.

Take a hobby you enjoy, schedule times each day you do that, or a combination of things and have
a block of time for studying, and only that time, unless its crunch weekend for an exam.

My schedule is work 9-5, family 5:30-8:00, study 8:00-10:00, then 10:00pm to midnight its video games, car build or special tv programming with friends scheduled at 10PM

N2IT

Taking your time and pacing yourself is the key, just like almost everyone else has said.

More doesn't mean you are better off. Less doesn't either, so you have to decided what you want to do and what means a lot to you.

Some people splurge on certifications, knock out 3-4 in a few months and hit the breaks. I tend to use this formula. Others set goals and do 1-2 every year, year after year.

Just find what works for you and stick to it. One thing I would be careful about though is setting goals and then not completing them. That is a killer and can set you up for failure if you continually reinforce that behavior. I am guilty of this so I know first hand. I want to do everything possible and it's just not possible.

Find your passions and move forward from there. And complete your darn CCNA you are close.

ccie2be

+1 on what everyone else said. Also, it helps to have a study partner to help motivate. Before he left for another job, a co-worker and I grilled each other with CCNA questions over lunch for 1-1/2 months solid. We setup a schedule to read / do labbing on specific chapters every other day and then be ready for questioning. One thing that REALLY helped us was not just knowing the correct answer to questions ---- but also WHY the other answers were incorrect! RESULT: passed CCNA with high scores!! Good luck.

Devilry

ccie2be wrote: »

+1 on what everyone else said. Also, it helps to have a study partner to help motivate. Before he left for another job, a co-worker and I grilled each other with CCNA questions over lunch for 1-1/2 months solid. We setup a schedule to read / do labbing on specific chapters every other day and then be ready for questioning. One thing that REALLY helped us was not just knowing the correct answer to questions ---- but also WHY the other answers were incorrect! RESULT: passed CCNA with high scores!! Good luck.

Great idea, I have been trying to do this the past month, I can't find anyone willing to
go at the pace I want.

chappys4life

I need to find a study partner it sounds like ha ha. Someone to help motivate each other.

NOC-Ninja

Staying motivated depends on the person itself. He has to do everything he can to stay motivated. Either he use pain as his motivation, money, passion, success and it goes on.

How do i stay motivated?
By nature, I am a hard worker.
I remembered when I was really poor and I ate once a day.
I was laid off for 7 months and I saw how hard it is to become unemployed. I will do my best not to go through that again.
I signed on to TE to get motivation from turgon and all the CCIE candidates.
I read positive successful CEO or Popular quotes.
I listen to Ted and Zig Ziglar.
I read CCIE success stories.
and it goes on!!!

Psoasman

I stay motivated to learn because my family depends on me being employed. I do most of my cert study at work, during downtime. Time off work is dedicated to family and keeping up with the house projects.
One of the things I do if I am reading up on something that is important, but is hard to focus on is to study for 30-45 minutes, play a game for 15 minutes, then study again. It helps me break the monotony.

joehalford01

It's hard studying the same thing over and over again for a test, I like to take a break and check out some unrelated material and then come back to it. Plus a week off studying really clears the mind.

Qord

A big help for me is seeing the end of the journey. What I mean by that is to set a date and book the exam. If I don't have a specific date I need to ready by, I'll never be ready. By scheduling the exam I have a time frame. Since I know the exam has a date and is already paid for, I tend to put more effort into conscious study. Without setting a date for myself, I'd probably "study" forever, but never actually finish.

Keep in mind though, you can always reschedule. So if that magic date gets close and you feel not-so-ready, you can extend it.