There’s a reason your CFA study plan isn’t working.
It’s not because you’re lazy. It’s not because you’re undisciplined. It’s because your plan has become detached from reality.
Let me show you what I mean.
The Plan vs. The Reality
Let’s say it’s Tuesday, June 17th. Your perfectly structured schedule says the following:
Study Financial Statement Analysis >>> Multinational Operations, with a focus on forex disclosures and translation methods. Then review Economics >>> specifically, the factors influencing economic growth, forecasting GDP, and labor supply. Finally, complete 20 Quant practice questions on time series, nonstationarity, and the Dickey–Fuller test.
But here’s what actually happened:
You studied Ethics >>> Standard I(B): Independence and Objectivity.
That’s it.
Sound familiar?
Why It Happens
We’ve all been there. I’ve seen this pattern play out over and over again with the candidates I coach.
Here’s what tends to go wrong:
We overthink and over-engineer our study planners. We’re wildly optimistic about what can be achieved in a single day. We prioritize the wrong things. And worst of all, we “set it and forget it” — we don’t adjust the plan as real life inevitably shifts our schedule.
Soon enough, that beautiful spreadsheet is buried in some forgotten folder under the file name “L1 CFA Exam Schedule V3 (final) – Copy – Copy.”
The Hidden Cost of a Bad Plan
It’s outrageous when you consider that your study plan is supposed to be your roadmap for exam success. It’s the game plan. And when the plan breaks down, so do you.
You feel anxious. You feel scattered. You feel overwhelmed. You spend the first 30 minutes of every study session trying to remember where you left off and what to do next.
But here’s the truth…
Your brain craves clarity. There’s already enough complexity in the CFA curriculum – your plan should make life simpler, not harder.
A clear study roadmap creates its own momentum. When you know what needs to be done this week (and today) you create energy and focus.
When you see the path to exam day, it becomes easier to trust the process and zero in on what’s in front of you.
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Plan
Everyone has a different study rhythm.
Some candidates hit the ground running with practice questions. Others binge-watch video lectures at 2x speed.
Some skim the readings, while others highlight and annotate every page. Some do the bare minimum during the week and then power through 16-hour weekends.
Others put in two hours a day, come rain, shine, or snow.
Here’s the kicker… All of them can pass.
There’s no single approach that guarantees success. But one thing is constant across all of them – you have to do the work.
Planning is not about being fancy. It’s about execution. A plan that works is one that helps you sit down, study, and make consistent progress.
What a Broken Plan Looks Like
You know your plan is broken when…
There are gaps in your knowledge because certain topics never got covered, or revised.
You feel pressured to rush through topics before you’ve truly understood them, simply because the calendar says time’s running out.
You keep postponing revision, only to realize you’ve forgotten everything and now have to relearn it.
You get to the final month and, instead of focusing on mock exams, you’re still scrambling to finish readings.
This isn’t a study problem. It’s a planning problem.
The Real Mistake
The mistake isn’t making a schedule that’s too rigid or too loose. The real mistake is not tailoring your plan to your learning style.
If you hate the Financial Statements Analysis readings, stop pretending you’ll read 300 pages a week.
If your brain switches off at night, don’t schedule your heaviest study blocks for 10 p.m.
If weekends are unpredictable, don’t anchor your plan to long Saturday marathons.
Stop fighting yourself. Start designing a plan you’ll actually follow.
Let’s Fix It
If any of this hits home, you’re not alone. Ninety percent of the CFA candidates I coach have struggled with this.
The fix isn’t complex… but it does require intention, reflection, and sometimes, a little help.
If you want to sort out your study plan, I’d be happy to take a look. No strings attached.
Just hit me up.
Let’s fix your study plan together.
