Building an Effective Study Routine for Actuarial Exams

Early on in an exam sitting, it’s important to get into a good studying routine that will carry you through to exam day. A good studying routine will help you to:

Avoid procrastinating
Make studying less stressful day-to-day
Be better prepared for the exam by exam day

It’s much better to consistently make progress on studying every day (or daily-ish) as opposed to studying in fits and starts. Studying incredibly hard over the weekend without giving yourself a break or rest will likely leave you burned out and not getting any meaningful studying done for days.

One of my favorite quotes is by the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope who wrote 47 novels while working at the Post Office and only writing his novels before breakfast:

“A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules.”

The best way to get enough study hours in to prepare for actuarial exams, whether it’s Exam P or CAS Exam 5, is by making steady, consistent progress every day.

This principle is particularly important for actuarial candidates balancing full-time work with exam preparation. Let’s explore how to build a sustainable and effective study routine for your next actuarial exam.

Optimizing Study Times for Peak Performance

It’s best to study earlier in the day rather than later. In the morning, you have the most energy and focus. If you can, try to schedule your study sessions in the morning or during the day. Here are a few ideas for how to do this:

Schedule 90-minute study sessions before work, focusing on the most challenging topics when your mind is fresh.
Use your workplace study hours strategically – consider studying during your most productive hours, such as mid-morning, rather than at the end of the day when mental fatigue sets in.
If morning studying isn’t feasible, establish a consistent early evening routine. This allows time for meaningful study while maintaining a healthy sleep schedule.

The important thing is to be consistent by having a regular ritual and schedule for studying. I often studied in the early evening or by using my work study hours to study before lunch.

Creating a Better Study Environment

Your study environment significantly impacts your ability to focus and learn. You should study alone if at all possible. That will allow you to have greater focus when you’re studying. Studying with or around others will make it more challenging to focus. It’s better to study for a shorter amount of time with deep focus as opposed to a longer amount of time where you’re only half-focused on studying.

Below are a few elements to creating a better study environment:

Dedicated Study Space

It’s best to study in a designated area solely for exam preparation. This could be a home office, a quiet corner of your local library, or a reserved space at your workplace. The key is consistency – your brain will associate this space with focused learning, making it easier to concentrate when you’re there.

One of my favorite places to study for the actuarial exams was at the local state college library, which was open to the public. I would find a quiet spot in the library and be able to more easily focus on studying for the allotted time I’d scheduled for studying.

Minimize Distractions

You should realize this by now, but studying with your phone next to you or easy access to internet distractions will severely compromise your ability to focus and study effectively. It’s best to put your phone away while you’re studying. You can also look at applications like Freedom that block distracting websites or apps for scheduled blocks of time.

Structuring Effective Study Sessions

Take Short Breaks When you Study

It’s best to study for no more than an hour at a time before taking a quick 5-10 minute break. This aligns with your brain’s natural attention cycle. If you study for hours on end, you’ll lose focus and won’t retain most of what you studied during the middle of that study period.

When you study, you best retain what you learn at the beginning and at the end of a study session. By taking a short 5-10 minute break after every hour of studying, you’ll be able to focus more deeply during that hour and retain more.

Active Recall Techniques

Make sure to incorporate active recall methods instead of studying passively:

Solve practice problems without referring to solutions
Create and review flash cards for key formulas and concepts
As you learn a complex concept, look up and explain it out loud as if you were teaching it to someone else

You should continually be testing yourself as you study to make sure you understand concepts and how to solve problems without prompting.

Conclusion

Don’t just study haphazardly, but be intentional with how you structure your studying. By optimizing your study environment, timing, and techniques, you can maximize the effectiveness of each study hour. Start implementing these strategies early in your exam preparation, and adjust them based on what works best for you.

As you progress through your actuarial exams, you’ll find that a well-structured study routine not only improves your chances of success but also helps maintain a healthy work-life balance during the demanding exam preparation period. Spending some time early on to make a plan for how, where, and when you’ll study is a great investment that will make your actuarial exam journey less stressful.