Getting Certified Vs. Life's Other Priorities

Welcome back, Mr. Wendell!

It's kinda funny how you start your return-from-exile post with a theme that I've been noticing lately; and that is being side-tracked from your goals.

Lately, I've been experiencing the same. Some of my favorite blogs that I like to follow (partly for measuring up where I stand) have been MIA as well... Hmmm.. I wonder who that might be? :D

The first six months that I set out to study for the CCNA worked perfectly as I had I written on my plan - thanks in huge part to your excellent books. However, lately I've been missing my targeted short term goals in my BSCI studies. A lot of it is due to changes at work and all other stuff.

Although I'm running a little behind on my schedule, I always try to make sure that I do even the most minimun just to keep me going. The way I see it, no matter how huge the mountain is that your climbing, even a half step up is progress and it's a step you don't have to take again tomorrow. The point is keep moving forward. I might get there in 3 months, 3 years, or 30 years, but I make sure I keep going. Most of my failures have been because I stopped when I am faced with a formidable foe. Sometimes it's easier to just quit when everything in life gets in the way of what you're trying to accomplish. I may have the right plan, all written out with clear sense of how I want to execute it. But when those plans are attacked by outside forces, we have to have the fortitude to fight through it and carry the plan through - albeit much slower than you thought you would. These are the things I tell myself. But when I'm too distracted, too busy, or too pre-occupied to tell myself these things, I make sure someone else does. For me, it's my wife. And when she sets me straight, I'm good again - at least for the next few months.

I'll save the rest of my philosophication (is that even a word?) at a later time, but you get my point. Keep those legs moving.

Welcome back Wendell.
My goals this year as far as certs were:
MCSA, CCVP...I didn't realized how hard it would be until I took on it. I knew that I had the knowladge and expertise to accomplish them both, but again, when I realized that it was 9 tests in one year it hit me hard.
I realized that I as good as I think I am in voice (except for QoS, which I know is still my weak spot) I needed to go to training. So I set my mind into going to a bootcamp. I did not have the money, I did not know nor I care how I would achieve this. And then it happened. I am fortunate enough to work in an organization that values training and certs. Being able to save the firm around $200K in projects and consulting fees since I joined them 18 months ago helped me. Anyway, that took care of that one. Being away from work and family for two weeks was all that worth. I passed all the exams after working really hard while in there.
I've been doing MCSA on my own and I am only one away, which is the elective and is going to be MOSS 07.
The other big part of it, probably the biggest..the support I get from my wife and kids. I told her that I would go in a two year jorney because I understimated the value of certs for a long time. Now I am in like a master degree program. I do take a 2 weeks to a month break in between each exam, exept for this one. I also dedicate the entire weekend to my family, unless there's in emergency at work which have minimized as of late.
I passed the third MCSA this past monday, and don't have time to wait. I've 6 weeks to get sharepoint in.
I also go for certs where I have expertise or know will have. I took on SharePoint this year because no one else want to do it. I knew nothing about and learn something new every day, but I did have extensive experience with all the other.
I use CBTs to complement reading, and use blogs such as this (most frequently visit)
Next year I'll take it easy. CCNP, and Exchange 2007 will be enough. And I will persue training opportunities again. I think they are sending me to an exchange class in January...
Good luck to everyone, and remember, your mind is your best tool. Focus on your goals and you will achieve them.
"Whether you think you can or can't, either way you are correct" H. Ford.

Regards.

Its good to have you back. I hear you on how hard is it to balance work, family and certification. I am working towards R&S CCIE right now and it has been tough balancing studying, labbing, redesigning a data center, rolling out a DR plan :) It can have serious implications on one's health but hopefully I will be able to finish it.

I look forward to reading great posts from you again.

Personally, I find a little pressure works best for me. I've tried fitting self-study around work and other commitments, and it just ends up dragging out to the point that, by the time I've finished, I've forgotten what I learned at the start.

When I did my MCSE upgrade earlier this year, I simply booked a week off work, bought the MS self-study books, and plodded through it. I think that a concrete deadline helps to focus the mind a bit, and actually explicitly taking the time off work means you can lock yourself away in the study with the phone off.

I've now got (your) ICND1 and 2 books to do much the same with: I'm reasonably confident I can do it all in a week, having had a few years hands-on with Cisco kit. (I actually did the ICND classroom course about 5 years ago, but didn't take the exams at the time. Big mistake!)

I realise that this won't work for lots of readers - some people need to have other people to bounce ideas off, or like to be 'fed' information in a classroom setting, but this is what works for me.

One technique i found useful when studying for the CCNA was to put myself in a postion where i had no alternative but to study.
I don't know about you guys but as soon as i sat down to read a book or watch a nugget, my mind would wander. If i wasn't browsing irellevant websites then suddenly, the least important of domestic tasks would take on a whole new urgency that required i put down my books and go mop the kitchen or wash those dishes etc.
Having had experience of this when attempting to meditate i recognised it was not the tasks that needed doing, rather my mind was trying to distract me from the hard and difficult work of study. It would rather laze around so would provide me with endless distractions and tasks!
To beat this i started taking my laptop and study texts to the local library. There my laptop could not connect to the internet and there was far less to distract me. If i ever did feel the urge i could take a quick break but as there was little else to engage me, i would get back to studying within 5-10 mins. As i had made the effort to pack up all my kit and travel to the library, it further pushed me to study as it would be waste of time to do all that then just sit around reading unrelated books!
I think the concrete deadline is also a good idea, it's too easy to flip flop if you do not have a set target date and having a deadline gives you an ultimate target to set other dealines around. Remember, if you really feel you are going to fail an exam with say 3 or 4 days to go, you can always reschedule it.

Wendell,

Good to hear that you're able to tear yourself away from the sim project to get back to your blog. It sounds like a huge project. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Studying for me requires two to three hours of peace and quiet along with a solid writing surface and plenty of paper. The hours can be hard to come by but given that I'm very goal oriented I need to have the time to actually reach a significant goal that I've set (which is usually to complete a chapter). The solid writing surface is for taking notes which tends to slow the process down, but increases my retention. I am in an unrelated field and don't have real lab gear to work on at this point, so everything is very academic for me. It makes the note taking a requirement and there are no "oh, I recognize that concept from work" moments for me. The whole process is pretty laborious as I'm learning from scratch.

I do have a great friend in networking who is willing to clarify things for me when our schedules align. I consider him an invaluable resource. I'd recommend finding someone who knows the material, understands where you're coming from and is willing to clarify things from time to time. That kind of resource is priceless. If you get a knowledgeable ally it's probably the next best thing to talking to the author of the ICND1 and ICND2 books directly.

By the way, I passed ICND1 this summer and am working on ICND2 now. It doesn't look like I'll pass ICND2 by the end of the year, but I'm looking to pass it by summer.