Managing Distractions:
Abilities You Want To Build

SESSION 2 includes: free download PDF with CFA Exam Learning Framework

The CFA exam is like a huge and hard jigsaw puzzle. It takes time and skill to put up the pieces.

CFA Institute states that candidates need to study for around 300 hrs before they take their exam. But what competencies do they need to be ready for this challenge? If you think it’s mainly about super math and analytical skills – you’re wrong! These are just sample hard skills developed by the CFA exam syllabus. But the CFA exam prep is not only about getting to know the whole study content.

Let's try to define the skills you need to develop to put up the CFA exam puzzle.

CFA Exam Rules & Facts

The most important rules and facts about the CFA exam cannot be ignored:

You are tested on the CFA exam curriculum, which means:

• ca. 3000 pages of syllabus,
• 10 topics (or 7 for L3),
• ca. 300 formulas,
• countless definitions, etc.

Exam format:

• multiple choice test,
• standard a-b-c test for L1,
• item sets for L2 & L3 (also open-ended questions for L3),
• limited average time per test question: 1.5 minutes for L1, 3 minutes for L2 & L3, defined time for L3 open-ended questions,
• 3 types of questions: theory, computing & reasoning.

There are many formal requirements, including:

• approved calculator,
• exam-related rules related to personal belongings or admission to the testing room,
• results policy: minimum passing score & ethics adjustment.

All this can be put as one simple idea:

pass the CFA exam ≠ know the CFA exam syllabus

There's more to it than meets the eye.

The way your knowledge is to be tested, mandatory requirements, and results policy are equally important.

Getting to know these things is like taking a life vest when going to the sea. Just make sure you’re able to use that life vest! Test-solving skills or calculator literacy are just examples of the life-saving competencies you will want to acquire when you realize how your knowledge of the CFA exam format and approved calculator can help you in the exam.

AVAILABLE ON OUR NEW PORTAL: ANALYST.GUIDE

But what we have now is just more and more of hard skills.

What we’re still missing, however, are far more important abilities.

Let’s not forget about the subject of our Workshop: Passing CFA Exam While Usually Busy & Occasionally Lazy. Remember also what we said about managing distractions last time in Session 1.

It seems obvious where we’re heading, doesn’t it?

To be able to develop all the required hard skills, you first have to find a way to deal with the bad guys: the Busy, the Disorganized, the Lazy, and the Unproductive.

That’s why we designed
the Exam Learning Framework (ELF).

To help you go beyond the 3000-page-deep CFA exam syllabus trap with its numerous hard skills. And to make you realize that to deal with it you need to build the right mindset.

Exam Learning Framework: Putting Up the CFA Exam Puzzle

It’s time we uncovered the pieces of the CFA exam puzzle and see how the ELF can work to your advantage:

You’ve already become familiar with the CFA Exam Rules & Facts. Now, it’s time for the Prep Code. It equips your MINDSET with 5 RULES that simply never let you lose sight of your goal and – thus – strengthen you to pursue it.

ELF Prep Code

RULE no. 1: Treat learning as a process, not an event – a good strategy drives every efficient process!

RULE no. 2: Plans make things happen: plan for the big picture but focus on your everyday tasks to make the big picture happen.

RULE no. 3: Study hard, then rest once in a while – a good student is a relaxed student.

RULE no. 4: Look out! I’ve studied ≠ I’ve learned. To learn review what you study.

RULE no. 5: Reward yourself if you’re making progress, try harder if you don’t.

This Prep Code is also most helpful when coming to terms with the 2 villains of this Workshop: the Busy & the Lazy. Take this 5-point self-assessment test based on the Prep Code to:

See How Busy & Lazy You REALLY Are

Have you put your CFA exam high on Your Priorities List?

Have you planned your CFA exam preparation?

Can you study a few times a week (and just then relax or entertain)?

Can you find time to review & practice so as to make sure you’ve learned what you’ve studied?

Can you assess if you’re making headway?

Honest self-assessment should do lots of good to your preparation! The more YESes to the 5 questions above, the better.

‘Cos if you’re soooo busy, you’re not gonna find enough time to deal with at least most of the CFA exam readings and do some practice tests, you probably need to admit that your chance to pass is low and will remain low unless you do something about your daily agenda.

The same is true for lazy. If your amount of laziness means having no plan or being unwilling to assess your own progress, sorry again – the odds are against you.

However,
if you feel that you can successfully continue your exam prep despite being busy/lazy (as we all are),
we’d like to propose an easy way to pass the 5-point self-assessment test with flying colors:

ELF Strategy

This ELF Strategy is helpful at any stage of your exam prep. You can easily implement it because it is built into your study plan:

These 4 little steps: ASSESS, PLAN, STUDY, REVIEW repeated cyclically can help you stay in control of your whole CFA exam prep. Despite still being usually busy and occasionally lazy

The ELF Strategy follows directly from the Prep Code and helps develop 4 KEY ABILITIES most CFA candidates tend to struggle with, i.e.:

ability to prioritize,

ability to plan,

ability to act as planned,

ability to focus.

(For more about Billy, Danna, Larry & Umber, see: Session 1)

We implemented this Strategy into our Study Planner.

Because we believe that what CFA candidates usually lack is their attitude, not aptitude (hard skills can be developed by everyone, but soft skills are a real challenge to many).

In our last Session of this Workshop, we’ll show you how you can successfully put the ELF Strategy to life using the Soleadea study environment with study planning lying at the heart of it.

PS: We hope you’ve received a lot of value from this Workshop so far. Our last Session is all about your next steps to move forward and become more organized and efficient, and – hopefully – also less busy and lazy .