TRUTH About 12 HOURS Of Studies!
If you’re a CA Final student, you would have surely heard of the term “12 hours”. It is a bragging symbol among students and you can find a ton of videos on YouTube showing you how to study for 12 hours daily. I don’t like this fixation with the number of hours of study and have presented an irony in this post between “12 hours” and “40 hi laane hain (I only need 40)”.
Key Takeaways
- Hours spent in front of books don’t matter, what you write in the exam does.
- Aim for exemptions, not just passing marks.
- Study with a happy mind.
Things CA Students Say
You might’ve heard your friends say (or maybe you are that friend) some of the following:
- Aaj se roz 12-12 ghante padhna padega! CA Final hai bhai, itna to minmum hai. (I’m going to study for 12 hours daily from today onwards. This is CA Final bro, this is the minimum that you have to study for this exam.)
- Abe se hogi only padhai! Koi ghumna nahi, koi movies nahi, koi exercise nahi! Chalo exercise to pehle bhi nahi karte the. (From now on, I’m only going to study. No hanging out with friends or family, no binge-watching movies, no exercise! Well, I wasn’t exercising anyway.)
- Ek baar CA final ho jaye clear, use baad jiyenge zindagi! Abhi to mar-mar ke padh lo! (Once CA Final gets cleared, I will live my life to the fullest! For now, it’s a crime to live my life even a little.)
- Rank to tera bhai layega! Aag laga denge aag! (Your brother will be a rank-holder! I will ace the paper!)
Reality
However, the reality of these statements is something else entirely. Does any of the following sound familiar?
- Bhai pura time padhai hi kar raha hun, bas padh hi raha hun, par kuchh yaad nahi ho raha! (Bro I’m studying all the time, but I can’t remember anything I studied.)
- Pakk gaya hun yr kitaabe padh padh ke! Mai kitaabo ko ghurta rehta hun aur kitaabe mujhe ghurti hai. Aage hi nahi bad raha silsila. (I’m sick and tired of reading the books man. I stare at the book and the book stares back at me, the story is not moving forward.)
- Bhai mujhe pata hai ki mere 4 rest days ho chuke hain is hafte me, but aaj bilkul padhai nahi ho rahi hai. Aaj rest day, kal se full motivation ke saath padhai! (Bro I know I’ve had 4 rest days in the week already, but I’m just not able to study today. I’ll take a rest day and will start studying with full motivation from tomorrow!)
- Relax karta hun to guilt hota hai ki padh kyun nahi raha, aur padhai karta hun to phir wahi ghurne ka silsila chalu! (If I relax then I feel guilty about not studying, and if I try to study then that “staring” situation restarts.)
- 40 hi to lane hain na? Le aayenge, shaayad. (I just need to get 40 to pass right? I’ll get it, probably.)
The Irony
Tell me one thing, if you’re only aiming for 40/100 then what’s the need to study for 12 hours daily? You can get that by studying for 6 hours a day as well right? And if you’re just aiming for 40 per subject then how will you get an aggregate of 50%?
And why do hours matter at all? Will ICAI give you marks for how much time you spend in front of the books or for what you write in your answer sheets?
You can’t find time to exercise, but you can find ample time to scroll Instagram. Such an amazing time management!
And does retention increase when you send snaps of every study session?
What did I do in CA Final?
I made similar mistakes in CA IPCC (Inter) and I failed. In CA Final I tried a different approach.
I focused on my study targets instead of focusing on the number of hours I studied. If my daily targets were getting completed then everything was good, if not then that meant I needed to push myself.
When I sat down for a study session, I tried to focus only on studying. And when it was leisure time, I tried to forget that I was a CA Final student.
I aimed for an exemption (60) in every subject so that even if I don’t get an exemption, I’ll still pass in that subject. Plus, I’ll also get an aggregate of more than 50% this way.
And the most important switch – I tried to study with a happy mind.
My CA Final Result
I cleared both groups of CA Final in 1st attempt with 62.25% and 3 exemptions.
My Approach
I can summarise my study approach in the following 3 points:
- Focus on the targets, not on the hours spent in front of the books.
- Aim for 60, not 40.
- Do a little bit of exercise daily, even if it’s just walking.
Everyone has a different style of studying. Even all the rank holders don’t study in the same way. Some people wake up early to study and some people go for all-nighters. Some people memorise by writing and others memorise by speaking. My style was different, your style would also be different.
So, don’t get swayed by other people’s words, including mine. Follow the approach that suits you the most.
And most importantly, always try to be happy while studying!
All the best for your exams and I’ll see you in the next post. Bye!
Disclaimer: The information presented in this post is for educational purposes. All the views expressed in this post are personal and are not intended to hurt any country, organisation, person, religion, caste, gender or ethnicity. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any facts stated in the post and your reliance on this post is your sole responsibility. All third-party content used falls under fair use. This post is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something I’ll receive a small commission.