Cassandra is a NINJA CPA Blogger.

I had originally planned to take my REG exam on April 3rd. That’s the day that my NTS expires. However, I’ve decided to re-apply for a new NTS (and drop a few hundred dollars) and postpone my exam until late April or early May.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that life happens. We CPA candidates tend to be planners. We plan when we’ll take our next exam. We plan out our studying roadmap. We plan on studying a certain number of hours this week. Plan, plan, plan. But in the end, life happens.

And it seems that life really starts happening on the day you decide to begin your CPA exam journey. However, you are not alone! We’re all in this together, and life is happening to all of us. Just own it, and carry on!

I tend to get frustrated easily when I study. The overwhelming amount of information on each exam is intimidating. I have so many great resources—books, lectures, MCQs, sims, flashcards, audio, and notes galore. When I sit down to study, I get overwhelmed. I focus too much on trying to decide how I should study that day.

Where do I need to devote my time most? Reading notes, drilling MCQs, studying flashcards? So I tend to jump from one thing to the next in a fury of panic. But it occurred to me today. I just need to relax and ask myself, “Do I know more today than I did yesterday?”

If the answer is yes, then I’m making progress! This material can’t be learned overnight. It takes time, diligence, and persistence. It also usually involves anger, frustration, and tears. That’s part of it. That’s what we signed up for, whether we knew it or not.

So remember, no matter how much you plan, things will still go awry at some point. But if you know more today than you did yesterday, then you’re on the right track!

Until next time, NINJAs!