My CPA Exam Study Routine

I was two months into my new accounting job where I sported the glamorous job title of intern and was given the opportunity to utilize my God-given skills of data entry.

But honestly, I was just happy to be one of the few people who had a job coming out of college, even if it did pay less than my previous occupations of waiting tables and working construction.

Due to my boss’s demands to complete tasks I had no idea how to do, I was no stranger to working 50+ hours a week. Perfect time to take the CPA exam, right?

Two weeks of scouring the Internet for the best CPA review course and I still had nothing to show for it. By telling myself I couldn’t start studying until I found the perfect course I managed to trick my subconscious into delaying the inevitable without feeling a trace of guilt. Finally, after getting the opinions of my colleagues about their CPA review courses, I decided on UWorld CPA Review feeling confident with their course after using it during my free 2-week trial.

Weekday Study Habits

After refining my study habits, I would study around 1.5 hours a day during the weekdays, usually doing the bulk of it after dinner, not allowing myself to indulge in any activities or even go to the gym until I finished. At first it seemed grueling and I found it hard to even find time for the most mundane tasks like laundry and grocery shopping. This forced me to look at my daily routine and run through it with a fine-toothed comb of efficiency. It was time to get lean, trim the fat off unnecessary activities, and figure out a way to make life work again.

This simplest and most effective thing I did to support my new study plan was canceling my cable and selling my TV and DVD player on Craigslist. Being a year round sports fanatic, I expected myself to go into some sort of catatonic state of depression. I mean seriously, what if Lebron James goes for 40 points and 20 boards against the Lakers and I don’t even hear about it??

Absolutely. Fracking. Nothing. That’s what.

Coming to terms with my sports addiction wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be once the TV was out of the house. This single change added 2 extra hours a day to my life and also made it much easier to study at home knowing being a couch potato and watching Sportscenter was no longer an option.

Weekend Study Habits

On the weekends I would aim to study for around eight hours, typically all on Saturday, reserving Sundays for my social life and enjoyment. Giving myself one day off a week to do whatever I wanted without having to think about work or the CPA exam proved to be one of the best things I did for my personal and work life.

It felt like I was hitting the refresh button on my life every Sunday, leaving me full of energy, ready to tackle the week again when Monday morning rolled around. It also gave me something to look forward to all week long and served as a solid crutch to lean on when things got stressful and seemed almost unbearable. Suffering and sacrifice are a lot less painful when you know there’s a reward waiting for you in the near future.

Using this study plan along with UWorld helped me to pass all 4 sections my first time through in less than 9 months. Everyone learns differently so you should experiment with your schedule until you settle into a routine that best fits your needs. It doesn’t matter if you decide to study everyday, or every other day, the most important thing to be successful and pass the CPA Exam is to stay consistent and stick to your plan.

Bryce Welker, CPA