How to Cover Your CIMA Syllabus In 3 Simple Steps

Turning a Daunting Task Into Child's Play

CIMA syllabus

In a previous post I’ve talked about the need for a step by step study schedule because you need to make sure you cover the whole CIMA syllabus for each paper well before that exam.

But that doesn’t stop you getting worried about how much there is to do.

You look at the thick study text sitting on your desk and dread how many pages there are for you to read, learn and digest.

Then there’s your revision kit…stacked full of questions on all manner of topics to test your understanding.

And, of course, in the back of your mind you know at some point you’re going to have to attempt a number of mock exams to ensure there are no surprises when it comes to sitting the real thing.

This can all be incredibly overwhelming.

And it can stress you out if you don’t know where to start, what to do next, and what realistic goals to set yourself.

Does This Happen to You, too?

These feelings of worry and confusion soon result in procrastination.

Instead of sitting down to study – like you said you would – you end up burying your head in the sand and doing anything other than studying.  (For me, it would be watching TV, going out with friends, or even doing the chores).

The same happens tomorrow.  The day after that.  And soon a whole week passes.

You look back and feel so guilty.  You know you’ve just wasted a week of valuable preparation time.

Despite your best intentions, you’re still no closer to getting your teeth into the CIMA syllabus, let alone covering the whole thing to your satisfaction.

Sound a familiar story?

It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

The good news is that this situation is only temporary.  It can be changed – and avoided – if you follow a few simple steps.  Starting today.

You see, the trick is to think of your CIMA syllabus as a project to tackled.

Have you’ve ever been involved with a big, important project at work? Perhaps a new IT system was installed or there was an office refurbishment? If you have, you know that in order for there to be a successful outcome:

  • The project needs to be broken down into stages
  • Key milestones need to be achieved before a stage is complete
  • Each milestone is achieved through completion of smaller tasks
  • There needs to be some sort of checklist to make sure all those smaller tasks are done.

You need to take this exact same approach with covering your entire CIMA syllabus.

Not only will this strategy reduce your stress levels.  It will actually help you make progress faster and more consistently than ever before.

Let me show you how…

Step 1 – Create a List of Manageable Steps to Complete

Chances are, you have an incredibly fast paced life.  Work is always busy, there’s family to look after, and lots of little jobs that need to be done around the house.

That’s why it’s important to have a system of studying that is both flexible and manageable – because life will always get in the way.

And that’s where the concept of a next actions list – from the book “Getting Things Done” by Productivity Expert David Allen – comes to the rescue

Here, the idea is to break down your project – i.e. your exam preparation – into a checklist of tiny, baby steps.  Where each baby step is a small, manageable task.  A task that you can perform relatively quickly and easily.

Think of it like following a set of instructions for preparing a meal.  You want your checklist to be easy to follow and very precise.  This way so you can quickly get going with each task and not be left worrying or confused as to exactly what needs to be done to get it completed.

Let’s Look At a Quick Example

Let’s say you wanted cook a tasty yet healthy meal such as a Greek omelette…

CIMA syllabus

You do some research and come across two sets of cooking instructions:

#1 Vague, confusing steps:

Add some spinach to boiling water and steam until cooked.   Then mix some eggs in a pan and add the spinach. Next, include just the right amount of cheese.  You can then use some seasoning for flavour.   Cook until brown underneath.

#2: Specific baby steps:

  • Take 150g of uncooked spinach and steam in a saucepan.
  • Squeeze the cooked spinach to remove any excess water.
  • Blend 3 large eggs + 3 egg whites with a fork in a bowl.
  • Add 25g crumbled feta cheese
  • Add 2 spring onions
  • Add thinly sliced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • Add freshly ground pepper
  • Add the spinach
  • Mix the above gently with a rubber spatula.
  • Heat 10g coconut oil to a non-stick pan over medium heat.
  • Pour in the egg mixture and tilt to distribute evenly
  • Reduce the heat to low and cook until the bottom is light golden brown on both sides

Which set of instructions tell you exactly what to do?

Which leave you in no doubt what to do next?

And which are you most likely to follow through with right until the end?

You don’t need me to answer that.

So How Can I Apply This to Tackling My CIMA Syllabus?

Okay, enough about food!

Now, let’s get back to covering your CIMA syllabus in a manageable way.

Imagine if you had a similar set of instructions to follow.  A checklist of baby steps which make going through your CIMA syllabus seem a lot more achieveable and far less intimidating.

Here’s what a next actions list of baby steps could look like for you:

CIMA syllabus

As you can see from the above, each baby step has a very clear outcome…a chapter read…notes taken… x number of questions attempted and reviewed…areas for improvement identified etc.

You’ll also note some items are highlighted – these are your key milestones. Think of them as marking the end of a stage of your overall project (more on these in a minute).

Think of These Benefits

It’s true that creating a list like this will require a bit more work up front…but in the long run it will make your life easier because:

  • It’ll stop you feeling lost and wondering what to do next…
  • It will give you motivation as you tick off more and more items on your list…
  • You’ll be in a better frame of mind when it comes to taking on your exam because you’ll know you’ve covered everything.

The other benefits are:

1) You can simply do one baby step per day and know that you’re making consistent progress.  No more procrastination or feeling guilty.

2) Whenever you have some spare time you can just pick an item on your next actions list – which is doable right now – and work on it.

Tip:

I use Evernote to create these checklists for the projects I’m working on. All you have to do is press Ctrl+Shift+C to create a check box in your note. And as you type out your list, Evernote will automatically create a new check box with every new line you create.

But you can also create your list of baby steps using MS Word or Excel (or even pen and paper.)

Step 2 – Check Up on Your Progress with a Weekly Review

Okay, so now that you have your checklist of baby steps to tick off, you can start to get going with chipping away at that CIMA syllabus.

You’ll find that once you get into the swing of things, you’ll start to build real momentum.   In fact, don’t be surprised if you’re not just getting one baby step done a day, but many more.  Talk about a boost to your confidence!

But, wait!

How do you know if you’re just getting stuff done for the sake of it?

What if you’re just doing easy tasks all the time rather than the right ones?

This is used to happen to me when I was studying.  For instance, I would read more and more of my study text and avoid doing the question practice needed to ensure I understood the entire CIMA syllabus content.

You see, it’s easy to trick our mind into thinking we’re being productive when actually we’re just keeping ourselves busy.

Here’s Where a Weekly Review Makes a Difference

CIMA syllabus

Here, you simply choose the first milestone uncompleted from your next actions list – such as completing the first chapter of your study text – and make it your aim to complete all the baby steps needed to achieve that milestone.

You then check up at end of the week to see if you’ve reached that milestone or not.

Now, it DOESN’T mean you have just imposed a strict deadline on yourself.   We want to avoid those feelings of stress, anxiety and guilt remember?

Because if you set a strict deadline, and don’t meet it, you’ll start to feel depressed, frustrated, and ultimately you’ll want to give up.

So don’t worry if you haven’t reached the milestone by the end of the week.   There’s another week ahead of you to work towards it.  Just keep rolling this target forward until you check it off.   The important thing is that you’re making consistent daily progress towards completing your coverage and understanding of the CIMA syllabus.

That sounds achievable right?

And as long as you get to a point where you have achieved all your milestones – and completed your whole exam preparation – you won’t be worried about when you finished.

You will have proven to yourself that you can start studying and see it through until the end.

Tip: 

To make sure you actually remember to do this review each week, I recommend you set a weekly reminder (on Evernote, Google Calendar, your phone etc) to pop up on say Sunday evening.

Step 3 – Simply Pick Your Next Action Item

In this final step, you just need to choose which item on your next action list you’re going to do tomorrow.

By deciding this in advance, you are much more committed to doing it and therefore more likely to go through with it.

You see, you don’t want to be sitting down at your desk tomorrow and then deciding what you will study.  Chances are you’d waste a whole load of time deliberating on what task to do, get frustrated and distracted, and end up doing nothing constructive at all.

So choose now.

Then you just need to show up the next day and do that one baby step.   That’s it. Just one.

Imagine how satisfied you’ll feel once you’ve ticked off that item from your list.  You’ll then be one step closer to completing your exam preparation then you were today. And you’ll be beginning to build momentum

Then just repeat the same process tomorrow.  Select another task from your next actions list which you will do the day after.  And keep going with this method of consistent daily progress.

Simple, right?

Manageable, right?

Achievable, right?

You’ll Soon See That This Strategy Works Because…

  • It isn’t intimidating.  You only have one task on your checklist to do each day.
  • You’ll be committed to doing it as you’ve already chosen to do it the night before
  • You know you’re building towards a key milestone and project completion
  • You can work around your daily life to fit this one task into your day

Just picture the scene when one day you go to choose your next baby step for the following day and realise that you only have one or two left unchecked…not only will you be relieved that you’re nearly done…but you’ll also have a huge sense of satisfaction as to how far you’ve come.

Tip:

If you have a day job, why not try to get your baby step done – such as reading your study text for 30 minutes – before leaving for work.  It’ll give you a huge mental boost as you go into the office and it leaves you with your evening free of study (When perhaps your mind and energy levels aren’t at their best).

So What One Task Are You Going to do Tomorrow?

It’s time to decide right now what that one baby step will be…

…the one task that will start off the snowball effect which sees you making consistent progress towards completing your CIMA syllabus in good time.

Let’s recap on what action you need to take first…

1) Create a next actions list of all the baby steps you need to take (and highlight the key milestones)

2) Select the first key milestone to be achieved on your list and set a reminder for your weekly review

3) Pick tomorrow’s task from your next actions list and commit to doing it

You now know what you have to.  But you must actually put this strategy into action. Now.

Don’t just think it’s a good idea that you’ll start another day.   After all, procrastination just leads to more procrastination.   And with that comes low self esteem and guilt.

Remember: a little hard work up front now – to break down your studies into small, achievable baby steps – means less pain, confusion and stress later down the line.


A Quick Thank You To Finish Off

Thanks so much for reading this article.  I know it was a long one! I appreciate you taking the time out to join me.

Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about putting this strategy into practice.

If you enjoyed this post, I’d love to hear how you benefited from it so that I can share your success story with my readers.

Please let me know by leaving a comment below, and/or by sharing it on social media (using the buttons below).

If you do leave a comment, you agree that I may share your name and kind words with my readers who will be inspired by your success .

Thanks once again,

Matt

 

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