How to stay organised ahead of your exams

You can’t be a good accountant if you aren’t organised. Revising for your CIMA exams is the perfect way to prepare yourself for the high levels of organisation and time management that you will need to consistently retain throughout your career as an accountant. With this in mind, what changes can you make to help yourself stay organised ahead of your CIMA exams?

I’m sure you know how difficult working and studying for your CIMA qualification at the same time can be. Without sophisticated time management ability, it’s unlikely you’ll pull it off, and even more unlikely that you’ll be able to hack a career as an accountant! In fact, for CIMA qualified accountants, the phrase ‘strong organisational skills’ isn’t just a CV catch-phrase, it’s a way of life. Organisation needs to become second nature to you - so here are my top tips for making organisation a part of your daily routine:

1) Make lists.

The best way to plan your time is to make lists of things that you need to achieve. At work, this can include a list of various jobs you need to complete. When it comes to studying for your CIMA exams, this could be a list of the different study materials that you need to visit or re-visit. Try to put the most pressing tasks at the top of your list, so that you achieve them first. Once the most important tasks are out the way, the rest will follow; the more items you’ve crossed off your list, the more motivated you will be to reach the end.

2) Set reminders and deadlines.

Use whatever device you can to set yourself time-based reminders. Reminders can be used for things as simple as purchasing bread. When studying for your CIMA exams, you might want to use a reminder to tell yourself you need to start working on Chapter 2 of a study text, for example. Giving yourself individual deadlines will allow you to work towards tangible goals for each task, but deadlines don’t work if you aren’t reminded of them! Remember to make your deadlines realistic so that you avoid cramming for your CIMA exams.

3) Start early.

Make sure you wake up early every day – even on the days when you don’t have many things on your list. A healthy sleeping pattern is key to allowing you to utilise all the time in your day efficiently, especially when studying for CIMA exams. Start on your list as early as you can – achieving tasks early will give you extra motivation to complete your list within the day so you can have some chilled time in the evening. 

4) Allow yourself down time!

Chilled time is important, even when studying for CIMA exams! You should find some time in every day to relax, although ‘chilled time’ should generally be the last item on your list. If you complete all the tasks on your list, great, that means you have really earned your evening downtime! If you haven’t managed to do everything, still give yourself a cut-off point (for example, 8pm) and continue on your list the next day.

If you start to use these tips to plan your everyday life, organisation will soon become second nature to you and no task, even studying for your CIMA exams, will seem too difficult to handle. An organised mind makes a fine accountant!

One of the many reasons I rate Astranti’s courses so highly is that they come with detailed study plans, which really help students to stay organised and on-top of their revision. Sophisticated consideration has gone into planning which materials should be studied at different stages of the CIMA course and on which particular dates. Working in a structured way is extremely important in helping you develop your organisational skills – just make sure you follow Astranti’s CIMA revision plans as best as you can!

Find our more about Astranti’s OT full courses here and their Case Study courses here.

I hope this has been helpful for all you CIMA students! Don't forget to follow Astranti on Twitter and like us on Facebook to get the latest info on all Astranti discounts and offers. Until next time, happy studying!

By Sapphire Plant