I put together a little list of study tips for you to give you a better idea of the strategy for studying for the exam. I hope you find it helpful.
1) First go shallow, then go deep.
When trying to tackle a huge subject like TOGAF, you need to understand the purpose of it, and what it’s trying to achieve, before digging into the details.
For instance, with the ADM, it’s better to understand the phases and their objectives first (all of them), and then go back and then learn the individual steps inside each phase.
2) Set a goal. Pick the exam date now.
If you give yourself 4 weeks to study for the exam, go ahead and book the exam with Prometric now. This will motivate you to study and give you a natural pace. You will know that you need to have covered the specification completely within two weeks, and spend the last two weeks reviewing, and taking sample tests. If you choose a date 2 weeks from now, your pace will be faster. Having an end date is motivating.
You can always change that date for free if it gets closer to the exam date and you feel you’re not ready.
3) Don’t take any sample exams until 10 days before your exam date.
The thing about sample tests is that, after the first time you take them, taking them again isn’t a true test any more. You’ll begin to remember the answers to these specific questions. So resist the temptation to take the sample tests too early or too often.
Once you feel you are ready to take the sample test and have a good chance of passing it, then go ahead.
4) Discover a better way to study.
We’re all different. Some of us prefer to learn by reading, while others prefer audio. Some need to be in a quiet room with no distractions, while others can play the videos in the same room that other family members are watching TV.
If you’re finding it hard to learn the TOGAF information, change something. Instead of sitting on the sofa, sit at a table. If studying at night is difficult, try doing it first thing in the morning.
5) Just do it.
For some reason, I’ve really gotten into that Shia LaBeouf motivational video. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the original. There have been hundreds of creative and funny edits to it.
Shia LaBeouf Motivational Video on Youtube
“Don’t let your dreams be dreams. Yesterday you said tomorrow, so just do it.”
I know that he’s mocking the motivational speaker industry, but it’s still somehow motivational to me. 🙂