When you review your CFA exam study content, your learning curve grows. That is why if you want to learn effectively while studying for your CFA exam, you need to factor in regular review. To remember what you study.
But how to review for your CFA exam productively?
Firstly, develop a good study routine that includes regular review sessions.
Secondly, here’s the last blog post of the series on efficient learning before your CFA exam. It’s a must-read for all those who are notorious for forgetting and can identify with quite a common concern, which is: “MY FORGETTING IS KILLING MY PREP”. Let us help you deal with it.
„MY FORGETTING IS KILLING MY PREP”
There are 3 lacks CFA exam candidates usually experience during their exam prep: lack of CONTROL, lack of MOTIVATION, and lack of KNOWLEDGE RETENTION. We’ve already covered the first 2 issues in the previous posts. Today, we talk about how to minimize forgetting and maximize learning while studying.
To begin with – for the purposes of this post – we need to state the difference between STUDY & LEARN.
While "study" focuses on the action alone, "learn" appreciates its effects. What it means is that not all who study – learn... At least, not with the same satisfying effect. I’m sure you want to study so as to learn effectively. I’d like to tell you how you can do that.
Forgetting Is Natural: How Human Memory Works
Our memory has its limits. It can’t & won’t store everything.
This distinctive characteristic of the human brain is about the economy of its functioning. We are bombarded daily with tons of info. It would be exhausting to remember each and every detail of our lives: what we saw, what we heard, what we read... That’s why our memory filters all the information and retains only what it finds worth remembering.
At the time when we get to know new things, our information retention is 100%. But not so much after a dozen minutes or so. Then, it starts to drastically fall over the following hours and days if we don’t use the info. This phenomenon is called the forgetting curve and it was first described in 1885 by Hermann Ebbinghaus:
Forgetting Curve
The retention of information decreases with time.
On the one hand, it’s a natural process. But on the other, it’s truly harmful when you’re preparing for your CFA exam...
Your forgetting curve depends on the attention you pay to the specific information or the strength of your memory as such. Sadly – though – you will forget even up to 65% of what you study today by tomorrow evening.
Surely, you need to do something about it if you want to have a successful exam prep. You need to retain your study material much better than just 35% of it (or even less over time).
To this end you must adopt the right attitude towards studying and develop your learning style!
Improving Exam Study Skills
SHALLOWER FORGETTING CURVE – BETTER LEARNING
No more unproductive studying! This should be your motto!
How can you do that?
The first step is to develop your study routine and find the motivation to study systematically. For this, adopting the right study strategy will be hugely helpful. For example – as part of your strategy – you may want to set your study sessions to concrete days and hours. After each study session, it's best you mark your study lesson as done or partially done. That’s definitely something we encourage you to do when you use our Study Planner (if you have your account activated – you’ll get your benchmark study times and you'll see your progress go up as you watch videos, do tests, and memorize formulas ). There's also a reward in the form of a growing Chance-to-Pass score for every week you stick to your plan!
That brings us to the second key element of developing your study skills, namely consistent self-assessment. In your Study Plan, always sum up your study week (best on Sunday) – to see your progress & react if necessary, i.e., responsibly edit your study schedule by adding some readings to your upcoming study week or temporarily postponing them. While it’s only natural to err when building your study routine, you need to stay observant and constantly improve your study process. Because only when you understand what keeps you back, can you move forward!
Finally, let’s not forget about some obvious study rules all CFA candidates should always follow but often fail to.
To be productive while studying for your CFA exam, it’s best you:
- choose blocks of time during the day when you are at your peak performance,
- do notes/flashcards/cheat sheets including the most important issues,
- put theory into practice by solving numerous problems (best in the form of exam-type questions) to see if you can apply what you studied,
- regularly revise what you study!
I know you know it! But it’s only when someone tells us something that we often realize we already knew it and should really do it .
Do it all indeed and you’ll see your forgetting curve get shallower while your learning curve will grow:
Learning Curve
The retention of information increases with revision.
If you do nothing about your forgetting curve – you fail to respect your study time and let like half of it simply be gone with the wind.
You can’t let your study time evaporate just like that! You need to condense your CFA Program curriculum readings into essential pieces of information and revise them time after time to make sure they stay in. Do not worry about overlearning! Ebbinghaus defines such a thing (it’s when you practice something a bit more than would do to memorize it) but says it’s not dangerous . On the contrary – it shallows your forgetting curve significantly and ensures more successful knowledge retention.
IMPROVE YOUR STUDY SKILLS:
- develop your study routine,
- find the motivation to persist in studying,
- consistently assess your studying process,
- study when you’re at your daily peak performance,
- REVIEW & PRACTICE REGULARLY!
As we said: millions of times a day our brains need to decide what’s worth remembering and what’s redundant. By reviewing and practicing the chosen bits of the CFA Program curriculum – you imply they’re important. That is how they get transferred from your short-term to your long-term memory and safely – in your brain – to the testing room on your exam day!
To help you out, we've prepared lots of digestible study resources (level 1 & level 2) such as:
- to-the-point videos (bite-sized, so they can be watched more than once),
- printable e-books (ready-made PDF notes with some space for your own notes),
- Formulas App (with the flashcards mode),
- Test Generator (with tons of exam-type questions with explanations),
- review tests, mocks, formulas lists, etc.
All inside your CFA exam study schedule!
Quality Performance: Best Way to Study for CFA Exam
It’s not the aptitude most candidates lack – it’s the attitude.
I have no doubts you can understand all that’s required to pass your CFA exam. But can you LEARN it? Will you retain it and be able to recall it when you’re asked about it in your exam? With the right attitude adopted now to your prep – the answer is most likely a YES.
And that is exactly why – apart from studying – you also need to review. To ensure you’re having a productive study process where resisting your forgetting curve (while developing your learning curve) becomes a habit.
Because developing the right learning habit is far more important than applying even the most effective study tips. Habit is something repetitive, something ingrained, something automatic. You should apply the most effective study tips that work for you, but they will never truly resonate until you habitualize them.
That is why – for those of you who want to STUDY and LEARN – we implemented a proper review system right into your study plan >> you will get to know:
- how often to review
- how long your review sessions should be
- some ideas on what to do while reviewing just go to the special REVIEW section of your Study Plan:
For instance:
- To review the previously starred formulas from the Derivative Investments topic, choose 'Formulas' from the drop-down list of content types, 'Derivative Investments' from the drop-down list of topics, and indicate that you want to view only the 'Starred' formulas, be it in the past or future study weeks.
- Now, you can easily view the formulas using the NEXT & PREVIOUS buttons to switch between them.
- Also, mind that you can choose to show formulas as flashcards – then, you'll have the formulas hidden and you'll need to click to see if you get them right.
By applying your proper review system, which is more than just topic and final revision, you will be able to develop the habit of effective learning.
The idea behind these systematic review sessions is to improve your study process by making your studying more productive. You can finally take full responsibility for your CFA exam prep and prepare like you are aware of how great a challenge the CFA exam really is. Your CFA exam study plan with all its features & functions – helps you turn your study time into the quality performance you need and deserve.
Developing Your Study Habits: Striving for Growth
Surely, you remember how we talked about Fixers and Growers in our first post (or is your forgetting curve messing with your memory right now...?).
We said that the Growers like challenges and can cope well even if things go wrong. The Fixers, on the other hand, like to think it’s all about their talent. If they can’t achieve something – it usually makes them think they are not gifted or lucky enough. They tend to give up their dreams and in this sense they avoid an all-out effort...
The drive for development and improvement (despite all the obstacles) is the realm of the Growers. They just have it. They are determined, committed, and can take constructive actions – which eventually produces the results they are waiting for. The Growers believe that the character can be built. That is why they can develop new good habits more easily. The way they see it – it’s just some job they need to do to make a real change in their lives.
The Growers show us everything’s possible. It’s not that there are no natural talents among the Growers. There are. But together with a brainiac – side by side – there’s also a hard worker in them.
Never think you won’t pass your CFA exam. Also, never think you’ll surely pass your CFA exam. While strong faith in your abilities is part of your success, so is full effort. Without full effort, you’re unlikely to achieve.
How can you become a hard worker even if you do not naturally have it?
First of all, do not constrict your growth. Make yourself truly believe success is meant for you. Then, to make your belief come true – always apply effort. Try hard despite difficulties. Persist in the face of troubles. Never give up. Such an approach can make you grow in life, not just in your exam prep.
But as for now – while you’re working hard towards your CFA exam success – we’d like to lend you a helping hand in developing your GROWTH-oriented attitude. Simply use your study plan to its full extent (with all its features & functions) to get some help if you struggle with:
- 1. lack of control,
- 2. lack of motivation, or
- 3. lack of knowledge retention.
Be a hard worker who:
- controls study tasks both daily (by marking the assigned readings as *done*) and weekly (by summing up each study week),
- executes the study plan thanks to building the study routine, following benchmark study times for readings, and staying motivated by the weekly growing Chance-to-Pass score,
- learns (not just studies) owing to the proper review system and review tools and apps available inside your study plan.
This is how – for your exam prep – you gain your quality performance based on (1) control, (2) motivation, and (3) knowledge retention.
The Growers are lucky indeed...
They seem to have what’s necessary for aware studying guided by self-control, driven by internal motivation, and aimed at effective learning that brings the desired results. But if the Growers have it – so can the Fixers or the Mixers (i.e., those who find it difficult to define themselves either as a Fixer or as a Grower). They just need some more incentive from the outside to awaken their potential (because we all have the potential to grow).
Your CFA exam study plan is full of such incentives!
You just need to turn them ON :
YOUR CFA EXAM STUDY PLAN
personalization options
drag&drop edition
weekly summary
ongoing motivation
benchmark study times
Chance-to-Pass score
study lessons
review sessions
study/review materials (lvl 1&2)
SEE YOUR STUDY PLAN WORK: CONTROL, EXECUTE, LEARN!
It may be your first CFA exam.
You may not be fully aware yet of what a great deal of effort your exam preparation will take.
But if it’s not your first CFA exam – you already know... And if you happen to know what it means to fail in your exam (which I hope you don’t!), perhaps you were wondering at times why you failed while others passed even though you studied real hard – just like the others. The answer may be all about the mindset. Maybe the others were more GROWTH-oriented towards their exam prep. Meaning: all throughout, they stayed in charge of their exam prep, maintained their motivation, and studied more efficiently than you.
A GROWTH mindset is good. It leads us toward reaching our goals. The goal you are striving for right now is Your Passed CFA Exam. With your heart set on it – make sure you can achieve it!
Yours, Margaret
About Soleadea:
Our CFA Exam Study Planner is available to candidates of all levels at groundbreaking Pay-What-You-Can prices. You decide how much you want to pay for our services. After you activate your account, you get unlimited access to our Study Planner 4.0 with study lessons inside, various level 1/level 2 study materials & tools, regular review sessions, and a holistic growth approach to your preparation. Join
Source (Sisyphus): https://www.deviantart.com/setvasai/art/SIZIF-190794496