#66 October 11th, 2022
Blake Carroll, CPA
PwC People Team - Manager | Helping Aspiring CPAs Navigate the CPA Exam with Confidence
Thought of the newsletter: CPA study tips
- trying to explain a concept to someone else who has no prior knowledge can be a great way to test how will you know it yourself. When you totally understand something you should be able to break it down into simple ideas that a friend can understand
- When you are reviewing it is tempting to only review the things you already know because you get easy validation, but what is more useful is looking back over the difficult materials that you are struggling to master. It doesn’t feel as good to realize you still don’t know it all, but that’s the point: to show you where you need to focus
- one useful way to test yourself is free recall: after a study session, sit down with a piece of blank paper. Challenge yourself to write down everything you can remember from what you’ve learned, in as much detail as possible.
- a simple way to test your learning methods is to track your learning rate – for example are your scores on practice questions improving? If your learning rate isn’t tracking upward, act on this negative feedback by revisiting your learning methods.
This article deals with how difficult it can be to stick to a diet or eating plan while seeing so many social posts of delicious food. It’s very tough to eat grilled chicken and veggies when you see photos of elaborate desserts, a juicy burger, or an amazing looking pizza. The author talks about how people are only posting their amazing meals or their cheat meals, not anything normal or boring. Appreciating that can reduce the pressure we feel to also indulge in delicious but unhealthy food. The author then describes practices you CAN build into your eating plans that still enable you to enjoy all the foods you love, such as cheat days and carb cycling.?
Quick read with a self explanatory title! I think the author nails it that one of the main reasons we don’t take a lunch break is we think that will help us get off work earlier, but how often do we end up just doing more work? There’s always more we could be doing; Parkinson’s principle is real that work expands to fill whatever time you give it. You owe it to yourself to take a chunk of time to disconnect around the middle of the day. Your brain cannot work for 8 hours straight and function well, it’s just not possible. The whole lunch break doesn’t have to be eating; you could get some exercise or socialize with coworkers or family. Whatever you need to do to recharge a little.?
This article has an alternative take on the Eisenhower matrix that measures urgency and importance; this one measures skill on one side and passion on the other. Love versus hate and highly competent versus incompetent. If you could through this exercise you would need to list a few, but not too many, top priorities that you’ll have over the next year. The article talks about CEO priorities for their start up, but I think it could apply to your career and a large company or even your personal development and day to say life. The priorities you pick need to be the truly most important things and it needs to be a small number. Then you would map those things onto your two by two grid. Seeing what priorities are in line with what you love and are good at will show you where to focus, and seeing where priorities match up to things you hate or are not good at will show you what to delegate and hire for. Spend time on your strengths not your weaknesses.?
This is a quick article to help you appreciate both the vastness and scale of humanity and also the fact that we will simply not have enough time to do everything we want to do in life. The great secret is that is totally okay. We need to embrace that, not fight it. You can literally only be where you are right?now, both physically and mentally. There’s so much out there to see and do, but you miss out on your present when you give your attention to those other places.?
Another quick read for anyone who is an over saver when it comes to their money and finances. Yes it is possible to be one. The author was so focused on maximizing saving every penny that it actually ended up costing her, and not just in surprise fees. She also lost a lot of time and peace of mind. Don’t lose the forest for the trees. Don’t be so focused on saving small amounts that you don’t realize that you’re costing yourself much more overall in other areas such as time and energy.?
We spend too much time working to not get at least some happiness and fulfillment from work. It would be tough to convince me otherwise. So what can we do to improve our work situations if we’re feeling very stuck or frustrated at work? The first step to get in the proper mindset is recall what you currently do enjoy. If you look hard enough you will find something positive, and it’s always good to start from a grateful mindset. Maybe more importantly, thinking about what you enjoy the most can show you what to make sure you can do in any future roles. Throughout the day you can check in to see how different parts of your job make you feel. What leaves you energized and excited, versus drained or anxious? Don’t beat yourself up for wanting a better situation if where you are now just isn’t working any more.
Video of the newsletter: Which CPA section do I take first?!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FkoVhTHxZM