Elizabeth is a NINJA CPA Blogger.

Greetings all,

I hope all is well and this entry finds everyone well and their studying progressing well. As to the house-keeping details, yes I read my notes and studied my flash cards religiously.

Additionally, there were a few days when I knew studying was out of the question as I had to drive the majority of the day so I listened to my NINJA Audio on repeat. I have also rewritten my NINJA Notes for the hundredth time (I am pretty sure my fingers were ready to fall off).

Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to take the motorcycle exam. A real estate opportunity presented itself and the time I had planned to dedicate to studying has been spent working on finances etc. That being said I am proud of fact that I let my non-CPA goal fall by the wayside as opposed to the CPA, which would have been less painful.

I am taking AUD this week and I have been pondering how to most efficiently use the remaining days. I recently read an article as to why humans choke at critical moments and in summary we over analyze/think to much. The study concluded at important times we should try to distract ourselves, i.e. hum to ourselves.

While I find this rather counter-intuitive, I know it is true for me while I am riding. Thus I attempted to see if it holds for the CPA exam and I have found that when I am studying flash cards, etc, it is true. Thus, I have been distracting myself in a way by studying my flash cards while exercising.

I am not sure of the name of the machine though it is similar to an elliptical, I suppose, and I have always used it without the handle bar for better balance. I find when I study on the exercise equipment I always know the answers and yes I do shuffle my flash cards so it is not just memorization. Yet should I be sitting and just doing flash cards I tend to forget.

Think Prometric will allow me to bring in some exercise equipment? I do believe there is something to distracting your brain and it seems beneficial to me. We shall see how if I am able to incorporate the same distraction techniques I have been employing at home into play on the actual test day.

A fellow blogger wrote about the need to prepare and the determination to see it through. I completely agree and a favorite quote of mine is “[t]he will to win means nothing if you don't have the will to prepare”. That being said, I also feel we need to believe in ourselves. We need to believe that we have made our preparations and we know the material.

This is not just a proverbial hail mary so to speak. Had I written this blog a few days ago I would have been espousing how ready I am. Currently, I am a wreck and am erring on the most basic of questions. I need to listen to my own advice.

I am also concerned regarding the new material tested for AUD and keep kicking myself for not taking AUD sooner. That being said, I have studied the additional material and there is nothing else to do except do some more questions.

Have an enjoyable and more importantly productive week.

Cheers,

EAB