Hi m4x
Check out this thread on the subject I started a while ago:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=267998
I would ignore any disheartening comments, there is nothing unsual about you situation. My comments would be:
1. It takes a while to get into the swing of it and find your own effective techniques and practices.
2. Don't be too ambitious about timescales . You don't get any extra brownie points for finishing in 8mths as opposed to 15mths. Concentrate on quality time of study time, not quantity. I don't study past 9pm, I usually do 1-2 hrs before work, 2hrs during the day at work (!) and maybe an hour in the evening, plus time on the train in/out of London every day. Seems to work quite well.
3. Getting up very early and studying is better then studying in the evening. Better to use your evening for sleeping!
4. I guess the previous points lead to...
having a study plan.
5. Don't try to reach some kind of nirvana of understanding on each topic. Firstly, the material isn't appropriate for doing so, and secondly its just about passing exams.its not a Phd....you can go back and do it in more depth after you have qualified if you want to.
6. Half the battle is being familiar with how the exam questions are phrased and applying your recall to them correctly. Therefore I personally am spending at least a third of my time practising questions from question banks.
and finally, don't get disheartened (thats a waste of valueable time for a start!)....and try and enjoy the work....
some of it is actually interesting...I thought, for example, I knew a bit about how wings worked from my PPL...I now realise I knew diddly squat (now I just know squat!)...
all the best
