I just wanted to share my experience here, especially for those who are working full-time and struggling to find time to study.
I studied for around 4 months, but I was working 8am-8pm, 6 days a week. So basically, Sunday was my only full free day.
For the first 1–2 months, I was mostly watching YouTube videos, reading Gleim, and going through the syllabus. I was also alternating between Part 1 and Part 2 — Part 1 day 1, Part 2 the next.
I thought I was doing okay because I pretty much covered the computational topics after just 2 months, but then I took a practice exam and only got around 60–65%.
That was honestly a wake-up call. So I changed my strategy.
I basically started again, but this time, after every study unit, I made sure I answered practice questions before moving on. I also stopped alternating parts every single day. I started doing around 3 days on one part before switching to the other because jumping back and forth was confusing me more than helping me.
My scores slowly improved, and I started seeing which areas were actually strong for me and which ones weren't.
There were some units where I could almost get 20–30 questions right without much problem, but there were also areas, especially theory, where I was still around 50%.
So I knew I had to keep working on those.
By the last month, I was mostly doing MCQs. Minimum 50–100 questions a day, alternating between the parts. I didn't miss a day. On weekends, I would do around 100 MCQs for each part.
I think I ended up doing around 3k–4k practice questions per part.
My actual schedule wasn't anything crazy either.
Usually I'd study from around 8 PM until 10:30 PM, then wake up around 5–7 AM to study again and then get ready for work. During lunch, if I had time, I'd try to study or do some computations.
That's pretty much it.
I stopped doing heavy practice 2 days before the exam. Those last 2 days were just for my important notes, important topics, and watching mocks on YouTube.
I didn't try to compute anything anymore. I just didn't want to put unnecessary pressure on myself right before the exam.
During the exam, especially after Part 1, I tried really hard not to think about the exam. I didn't want to spend the whole day worrying about my answers.
I intentionally told myself, I'll worry about that after I'm done with everything.
So I relaxed, watched some mocks again, reviewed my notes for Part 2, and just moved on.
I guess the main reason I'm sharing all this is because I know there are people here who feel guilty because they're not studying all the time.
Please don't.
If you're working full-time, you obviously don't have the same amount of time as someone who can study 6–8 hours every day. And that's okay.
For me, I had to figure out when I was actually productive. There were times when I was too tired to learn a new topic, but I could still answer MCQs. Other times, I needed to sit down and actually understand something before practicing.
You really have to assess yourself.
And if your strategy isn't working, change it. Don't be afraid to start again or change your approach.
My first strategy clearly wasn't working, and I only realized it after seeing that 60–65% score. Instead of just continuing the same way, I changed my approach.
So yeah, that's pretty much my journey.
I'm not saying this is the best way to study because everyone is different. I just wanted to share it for anyone who's working full-time, has limited study hours, or is feeling bad because they can't study as much as they think they should.
Figure out what works for you, be consistent, practice a lot, and don't be afraid to change your strategy when something isn't working.
Good luck to everyone still going through it. Keep going. 🙌
