Monday - Reflection
Two weeks ago, I have taken the the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) Exam. Unfortunately, I did not pass. As this was one of my first quarter goals to complete for this year, it was disappointing that I was unable to accomplish it.
I want to make it a priority to ensure that this failure does not occur twice.
To begin with a clean slate, I completely refreshed my 4 practice Linux VMs on VirtualBox on my laptop, and performed fresh installs.
Additionally, I gave myself a mental reset. This included indulging in no Linux materials, as well as taking a weekend trip to Chicago.
Now, with a renewed focus, I want to put more thought into my preparation that would challenge me to develop a more diligent mindset and become more consistent, in which to produce the best chance for success.
Tuesday - Commit to an study schedule
Preparing for the first exam, I was not fully committed to as set study schedule. I took the approach of just taking 2 hours a day wherever I felt, and skimmed through a study guide, or watch a lesson in a Udemy course or YouTube. Ultimately this proved to be unsuccessful.
Being that I am a early riser, primarily due to my workout regimen, I tend to be the most productive on my gym days. On my off-gym days, I often use it to get a few extra hours of sleep.
In lieu of getting some extra sleep of my off-gym days, I will use those two early morning hours to get my mental workouts in, by way of understating the exam objectives and taking the same discipline and consistency from the gym to my Linux lab.
On my gym days, I plan to have my study hours in the early evenings, typically an hour after I have finished working for the day.
This will not only help me create a more structured, consistent schedule in terms of my studies, I will also be able to challenge myself to start my day at the same time and fully maximize each day.
Wednesday - Commit to a set of exam materials
During the first exam, I was bouncing across multiple learning sources that was geared towards learning Linux and preparing to take the RHCSA exam. As I have learned, this was an undisciplined approach. Most of the time I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I had to learn, and had difficulty discerning what I had to know to pass the exam.
In a effort to reduce the amount of angst while studying, I have honed in on 3 sources (2 visual, 1 physical study guide):
Study Guide
Visual Sources (Both by Red Hat)
Thursday - Commit to an Practice Exam Day
To get a gauge of my preparation of being able to take the RHCSA exam, I will also retake the preliminary exam offered by Red Hat one week before the full exam (The first attempt of this exam, I did not pass either.).
This exam is a more condensed version of the full exam that is based on the same exam objectives, and will serve as a measure as to which concepts I have mastery of, and which ones I will need prioritize going into the final week of exam prep.
Friday - Commit to an Exam Day
Today, I have scheduled my exam retake for the first Wednesday in June (6/5). Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I do not intend to reschedule this exam, for I believe that 7 weeks is more than achievable to pass the exam.
Weekend - Catch Up & Review upcoming study objectives
For the weekends, I will reserve them for catch up buffer if I have scheduling conflicts that may come up during the week, or as a time to reflect and reinforce concepts that I had difficulties with during the week.
Additionally, I will use the weekend to review the upcoming week's study objectives, as well as laying out which subjects will be addressed on which day.