Achieve the flow state to learn and retain the knowledge until exam day
Have you felt yourself at the end of study session feeling like you remember nothing of what you just worked on? You are not alone. Jonathan a candidate we worked with, was on LII for the 5th time. He already works as portfolio manager of highly rated $1B value fund. With a depleted brain after a demanding day, he clocks the hours but not in deep study. 300+ hours away from family for nothing; he fails.
The solution to his problem is to learn how to generated the flow state during which one can fully engage with the topic at hand.
What is a “flow state”? The most direct answer to that is from your own experience. Do you remember a time when everything seemed in sync? You were working on a project or even enjoying a piece of art or performance and your mind and body were totally in the present with the task at hand? You probably lost track of time and the work seemed to, well, flow?
(Want to know how effective your current study approach is? Take a 2-minute survey and get your score.)
You can learn to create that flow state. We’ll show you how. Follow these steps exactly and watch how much more productive each of your students sessions is.
Flow State Trigger 1: Eliminate All External Distractions
This first step is the biggest in today’s world. How many notifications does your phone send you each hour? Your iPad? Your laptop? Each one of those distractions takes 10 basis points off your exam score. You can’t focus on learning the material if you are interrupted while studying. Since our brains are built to be distracted, this step must be intentional and complete.
Flow State Trigger 2: Eliminate Internal Distractions
The conversation in your head has to be shut off too. This is not easy. Some people practice mindfulness to achieve this state. Another tool is the distraction journal. Keep a physical notebook by your study materials. Write down distracting thoughts and once on the paper you can go back to studying clean.
Refine Planning: Work At Your BPT (Biological Peak Time)
This is not always possible when prepping for CFA exams because high achieving people already have days packed with a career, family, and social obligations. But if you know that time of day when you are in BPT, do your studying at that time of the day as many days as possible. Prioritize exam prep and put the rest of your life on the second rung as much as you can.
Plan for flow state:
Set up each study session with intention:
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Listen To (The Right Kind Of) Music
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Work On One Very Specific Task
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Make Your Task for the Session Challenging Enough, But Not Too Challenging
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Have A Clear Outcome or Goal
Set the conditions:
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Strategically Consume Caffeine
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Stay Hydrated
Once you have completed all of these steps. one final action ensures you will move into your flow state.
Start Flow State: Create A Mental Cue
When you prep for every study session as carefully as you would for a client presentation, you’ll benefit from that last step before your client presentations. What do you say to yourself that focuses your attention on being present in the room and connecting with the audience. In the classroom setting, these cues are visible. You walk across campus among the building housing education in action. You enter your building, probably meet a few classmates. Then you walk across the threshold of the classroom and your attention is cued to listening, questioning, and taking notes.
Follow these prompts before each study session and you’ll jump ahead of the pack. Just imagine it. You will be engaged with the material and they will still be getting pinged and ponged, forgetting the beginning of forward swap formulas before they get to the end, and spending hours “studying” while feeling like they’ve retained nothing.
That won’t be you anymore!
If you want an app that moves you into the flow state, try our app. We created this app to get you to You Passed.
(Want to know how effective your current study approach is? Take a 2-minute survey and get your score.)
