Security + 701 - Study Plan
This study plan contains general study tips, an overview of how to create and use flash cards
effectively, other study tools, a suggested 30 day study plan, and a suggested 60 day study plan.
The purpose is to provide students with some general information and a general plan that they
can adapt to fit their own learning goals.
General Study Tips
● Studying and learning are very individualistic. Not everything works for everybody. Find
the tools, methods, and strategies that work for you.
● The average person has an attention span of 20-30 minutes.
○ Once you have reached the limit of your attention on a task you should do
something else for a while.
○ Any time you spend studying beyond your attention span is generally wasted
time because you the studying will become increasingly inefficient.
○ The key to maintaining attention is to divide work into different tasks and
alternate types of tasks. For example, you can watch videos for 20 minutes, then
review notes for 10 minutes, then work on learning tools for 15 minutes, then
get up and move around for 15 minutes before returning to videos. You can also
alternate watching videos with another task like working on learning tools.
● Be realistic and learn how you learn. If you have a shorter attention span, then set your
study time accordingly. Try some different time spans and activities and see what works.
If, for example, sitting still makes you lose focus quickly, try to engage in some activity
such as following along with the closed captions, taking notes, or even walking around
as you watch the video.
○ If a strategy or tool isn’t working after a few days of trying it, change to it.
Learning how you learn is mainly the result of trial and error.
● Once you have the plan set, establish small rewards for following the plan. This could be
30 minutes of uninterrupted video game time, a food or drink treat, or anything else
that will motivate you to stick to the plan. The reward is just for following through on
the plan for that day, not for getting a particular score on a practice exam or a quiz.
● Find the balance between strictly following the plan you created and extreme flexibility.
○ Strictly following a plan that isn’t working or is too ambitious will create anxiety
and you will lose motivation. If the 30 day plan is creating too much anxiety, you
can switch to the 60 day plan, or modify it so it fits with your learning style.
○ Being extremely flexible, for example, constantly changing the plan, will cause
you to lose focus and lose motivation.
● Don’t beat yourself up over a perceived failure. This includes not sticking to the plan,
failing a quiz, or failing a practice exam. Instead think about the factors that may have
led to the perceived failure.
○ If the factor is something in your control, change it. For example, if you planned
on studying for an hour and lost focus after 30 minutes, change up the plan to
make it work for your attention span. If studying during your lunch break was
