How do you guys study?

I find it very hard studying at home because it is so easy to become distracted. How do you all study? At the library? Listen to music? Alone or in a group?

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bull313

For me it depends on how good of a grasp I have of the material prior to studying. Meaning if I'm well versed in the topic, I can study well with distractions such as music, television, the wife and kids, etc.

Having my degree in Psychology, I have found it is best for me to study in the same environment as the test will be presented in. If I know the test center will be quiet, I study at the library. If the test center is on a loud, busy street, I'll study somewhere where I will have similar background noise.

I also prefer to study alone until final review, aside for asking some questions in forums. I normally have my wife quiz me with flashcards 48 hours before a test.

I hope this helps a bit.

--chris--

99% at home, 1% in my Jeep waiting to pick up my wife after work. When I'm in the jeep I actually retain what I read because I read aloud. I also try to read a subject and pretend like I am introducing the topic to someone else, hitting it from different angles and trying to relate the subject to what I know. Its goofy, but it works for me.

When at home, I read/read/read then make notes on the key points. Flash cards when terms pop up. Summarizing larger ideas into a few sentences, then breaking those down into key points.

Videos (Udemy/youtube) when I can.

Set a daily goal, whether its 20 minutes or an hour or a chapter or a page. Set a goal and do it. Expand on that goal when you can, but achieve the goal every day.

mariaCS

Isolated with headphones most of the time. My "method" is that I usually estimate how much time I need to do/read/code x thing, I make a list about everything I want to do in the day and make a schedule. I sometimes set up an alarm to check if I'm going on schedule. I try to not study more than 6-8 hours straight and take a 30 minute break every 4 - 5 hours or so. At least to me the "pressure" of having a schedule helps with the distracting problem.

If you are being easily distracted then you need to put on some walls. A year ago I was spending too much time on games, so I cut it. Also watching too many TV series, now I rarely watch a full season on a day of a TV show, like I used to.

OfWolfAndMan

This is an extremely broad question, and the answer is... It depends on two things primarily: Your learning style and your level of introversion/extroversion. The library or at home works for ones a little more introverted. Starbucks or Barnes and Noble works better for someone looking for a few more people. I personally like a little mix of both. As for learning methods, you need to experiment. Visual, auditory and tactile are your three primary ways of learning. Play around with one and you may absorb some information. Use more then one or all and your success multiplies. Flash cards, videos, lectures on the go, simulators, hands-on training, etc. The more effort you make, the more you'll get out of it. Also, pace yourself. Don't spend five hours straight studying. Have a little buffer room to eat, socialize, facebook (Gotta be careful with that one haha) go exercise, check out the news, etc. As for paying attention, that's on you man! If you want it bad enough then you'll be willing to put in as much effort as necessary.

Xyro

Find out what is distracting you and then eliminate it. As for myself, I study at home because I need absolute quiet.

j23evan

I used to be a pure 'theory' only books and demonstration videos, doing additional research on topics I was unfamiliar with until I grokked it.
Then I learned that a lot of the 'theory' in the books aren't 100% accurate, and/or absolutely false.
Then I did a Hybrid Lab + books method, until I found out that what works in a pristine lab environment doesn't prepare you for real world issues.
I no longer test in labs, as I converted it to a production environment, I still do a lot of reading and (Microsoft for example) reference TechNet a lot for further information.
I also find midnight to 4am the best time to study as there are no distractions.

mokaiba

I don't study other than reading a book on it once and going over review questions a few days before the exam.

Betrayal

I study with my headphones on and I learn better by watching videos rather than reading text unless the text actually interests me.

darkerz

By keeping up with consistency and being in a busy setting.

I thrive on being anxious, better or for worse. Good for network engineering, I suppose.

antielvis

Strip club though the lighting is sometimes inadequate.

bobfromfpl

You must have some strange requests for the proctor at the test center!!

antielvis wrote: »

Strip club though the lighting is sometimes inadequate.

gorebrush

This is certainly a very difficult question to answer because everyone has a different method to study with.

Back in 2004 when I started out with MCP exams, there were no CBT Nuggets or such like that I had access to. There was me, a book and a PC to test things out on. That was pretty much it. This has evolved over the last 10 years with many good training providers popping up and the vast majority of the material that is produced is excellent. It is a big business now because everyone wants in on the IT scene. I'm lucky I'm already 10 years into a very good career so I'm not so much on the entry level looking in, I'm about half way up and looking up further. It's easier once you are in already.

Nowadays, my CCIE studying is a combination of reading books (though I usually just reference them), Videos, YouTube (There's LOADS of good stuff out there that's free), labbing it up myself (OK so I had to spend nearly £2K on my lab ($3.5K)) but I've got all the reference material I need. The only thing between me and my CCIE is me.

Generally I will watch videos first to refresh what I've done already (6 years solid networking and a CCNP does give me a fairly good base knowledge before I started IE) and then I can refer to books and then ultimately the DocCD for any practical elements that I need to take on.

From here on in I am hoping to be labbing exclusively to get my core knowledge down again, and get my typing (i.e. speed and accuracy) up to code. Generally my typing speed is excellent, probably 70+WPM consistently, but I can burst up to 90-100 without much difficulty.

I guess a lot depends on the type of exam you are studying for and how much base knowledge you have, and how quickly you pick up new stuff. When I did my A-Levels at college, I struggled like hell for 2 years. I got to University afterwards, thinking it would be more difficult, and I breezed it - would turn in papers only having done them in the last week I'd have (I'd usually be given 8-12 weeks per paper) and exams had only minimal revising. I had a great time at University

Think I would honestly say I put in way more hours into Cisco and MS up until this point, but it is far more relevant from a career standpoint.

ally_uk

For any Linux related stuff i'm interested in Watch CBT video > make brief notes during video high lighting key points > read chapter > lab exercises > take more notes

Anything I learn gets documented whether it will be through writing hand notes or by using Evernote,

When I am in bed I fire up the Nexus 7 and read a chapter or two on subjects of interest

If your going for a Compita exam then print objectives, watch Videos, read chapter cross off objectives with highlighter and work your way through

Snow.bros

I usually study at home when i come back from work and during weekends (its difficult keeping focus though) i try and read a chapter a day or two after reading i review what i have read and practice it on my lab. Depending on the subject of the book i am studying i do listen to music while i am at it, sometimes music distracts me when i study so i don't consider that most of the time.

I was also thinking of making a study time table to better manage my time because i also find it difficult to keep focus.

instant000

gorebrush wrote: »

Generally my typing speed is excellent, probably 70+WPM consistently, but I can burst up to 90-100 without much difficulty.

Hah. You really exposed your networking background by the way you used the term "burst" here.

daceto

I have a couple different ways that help me. I do a lot of it at work with headphones on and watch Train signal videos. At home I watch more videos in my office and take my notes on the PC. I do my notes a bit different though. I actually use the PDF Versions of books and copy and paste the relevant parts in big master documents. It helps me grab what I need and cut out all the added "fluff" that may not be needed or that I already know. For my project+ exam I cut down the 200 something page book into about 10 pages of notes extracted from it. I also copy and paste the end of section questions and the answers for when I quiz myself. This way I can take the condensed notes and then study at the kitchen table or somewhere else quiet.

This really helps me to stay on task, though on the computer im always tempted to stray so that can be tough.