Attempting CA is extremely rigorous, cracking the exam in the first attempt itself is even harder. One of the major issues faced by students when they write the exam for the first time is managing time and completing the answers in the given time. Even if not from an exam point of view, time management is one of the greatest assets of a CA.
It is one of those skills that a CA aspirant needs to develop from his/her early stages. Just imagine managing multiple clients or projects that have strict deadlines and time-bounded filings! You will be responsible for an entire project and the streamlined completion of tasks on time. The only thing that can save you at that time is Time management. Without proper management, Juggling with several time-bounded tasks will end up with not being able to do the task on time.
Time management is literally the best companion you can get in your career. But it is not a skill that you can get in a day’s time. You need to practice it from the beginning.
CA is hard, cracking it in the first attempt is harder. If you are not an absolute genius then you need meticulous planning and preparation for the exam. There is no escape from hardship when you choose the career of CA but you can plan and create strategies, organize the efforts and pave your way to successfully clearing the exams. In this article, we are trying to help you with insights on how to prepare for the exam and the importance of Time Management.
Best Tips on Time Management for CA Students
Planning
It’s easy to say that one needs to plan the study but it is never easy. To begin with, First set your goals. Short-term and long-term goals. You might get probably 3-4 months to study for CA Foundation. Set Long goals for each month, which can be the long term. Daily or weekly goals can be short-term ones. Establish priorities with subjects that come with challenges based on your level of learning and grasp of the subject so priorities accordingly.
Calendar of important dates
The worst nightmare is missing a date and losing probably months just because of a miss. To avoid this nightmare situation, create a calendar with all the important dates at the beginning itself. Create one manually or use your digital calendar. This works well with reminding you about your progress and goals and helping adhere to the deadlines.
Best time to Study
There is a common assumption that the early morning time is the best time to study. But it must not be relevant for all students. Everyone has their own routines which work best for them. Changing your entire routine just to study in the morning might not have the desired impact. So the point is to give priority to your own strengths. Analyze and understand your study pattern and prepare the timetable accordingly.
Plan Out Each Day
It might sound trivial but it will definitely help you to figure out your planning and outcome on a daily basis. Try using the what, when, where, why questions each day with your scheduled tasks. Make sure you leave a few open spaces on your daily calendar as well. This will prepare your mind for the next day’s workload and also allow you to accept additional assignments, if necessary.
Use Time Management Tools
There are plenty of time management tools available and making use of them. To-Do lost apps, note-taking apps like Google Keep etc can be used. Another important app to use is the timer apps. Study for strictly planned durations of study time and take breaks in between. Use Pomodoro apps or stopwatch apps to set these timings.
Remove Distractions
Smartphones
Social Media
Internet
Meetings with Friends
Chill Out Time
These are elements that distract you from your study time. We cannot completely avoid all of these for sure but we can keep a strict check with each. Especially smartphones and social media. If you are serious about your studies, then these two needs to be limited with strict time frames. The Internet is essential for studies too, but you can control unnecessary browsing. Meeting up with friends and chill-out time is a good refresher to your mind but you also need to be aware that it can consume your important time. So never miss the good times but also keep the watch of time in it.
