Hi Reader,

For over four months, I have been working on consolidating what I learned when I took the PE Exam. It has been fun to go back and see at what I learned and how I studied.

Today, I am launching a course to help you prepare for the exam. It includes the tools and strategies that I personally used to prepare for the exam.

Today I simply wanted to share one of the lessons on time-management from the course. This is just a glimpse into what the whole course covers.

When you sign up for the course, you not only get over 20,000 words of insightful content, you also get:

• Access to the private Discord server to connect with others taking the exam.
• Direct access to me on the Discord server to ask questions and work on a plan to pass the PE.
• Science-backed study techniques and industry leading technical resources.
• Opportunity to become an affiliate and earn money!
• ... and more

As a thank you, I want to give you a 20% off with code "EOF20". This is the lowest price this course will ever be!

If you are interested in learning more, check it out here.

If you are hesitant or unsure if this course is for you, reach out by replying to this email or booking a call with me here. I would love to help you through this process.

---

Shortform is the best way to learn ideas from all those books you’ve always wanted to read. They have one-page summaries and detailed summaries that help you understand the books in a completely different way.

I use Shortform in two ways — before reading a book to figure out if it is worth my time and to get key insights without reading the whole book, and after reading a book to remember the main ideas when I want to apply them or share them with others.

If you want to get new book guides and articles every week from topics like Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship go to Shortform.com/luis and get 5 days of unlimited access to thousands of books and a 20% discounted annual subscription.

---

In the past two lessons we talked about the VARK learning styles and study techniques that correspond to those learning styles. Today, I want to share some time management tips to help you create your study plan.

As a father of 3, full-time engineer, podcaster, volunteer, and more, time is limited. When I was studying for the exam I had to be strategic with how I used my time.

These six time management tips will help you get more done and take control of your time.

You Own Your Time

We all have 24 hours in a day but the way we spend them defines if we succeed or not. If you are constantly saying you don’t have time to study maybe you are simply choosing to do other things over studying.

The next months will impact the rest of your career. Getting your PE license will not only allow you to earn more but it will show you are committed to be an engineer.

At the end of the day, you control your time. Define your priority over the next month and ACTIVELY choose to make time for it. Remember, you own your own time.

The One Thing

I learned this tip from The One Thing book. This concept is simple. Each day, decide what is the one thing you are focusing on that day. This could be based on a subject, a study method (i.e. Review vs Recall), or any other parameter.

It is important to have a specific goal in mind for your study session. You will prepare better as well as be more efficient.

The One Thing can also be applied at the macro level. Your one thing for the next few months is preparing for the PE exam. Nothing else should take priority over it. Once you understand that, create a detailed plan (more on this in the next lesson) that allows you to work towards that goal.

Time Blocking

The concept of time blocking is simple. When you look at your week schedule, block a period of time to study. That is it.

This time management tip works well because it ensures nothing else gets booked when you said you were going to study. Also, you are constantly reminded of when you will be studying.

Time blocking can be done on your paper or digital calendar and it works just as good. The important part is to actually write down the times you will be studying.

This concept will be a major part of your study plan in the next module.

Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s law states that work expands to fill the time that we allocate to it. As you plan your study sessions you will start to realize that you may allocate more time than needed for the material you need to study. When that happens, either cut down on the amount of time or increase the amount of material to the point where you feel tight on time.

This tip is very effective because it will allow you to do more in less time. For instance, I am currently writing this course in two hour blocks. Most days I am very close to finishing one session with just a few minutes left. Having that artificial deadline allows me to hyper focus on this one task and write more in less time.

This method is hard to apply at the beginning but after just a few study sessions you will learn to adjust your study session to maximize your time.

Pareto’s Principle

Pareto’s principle or also known as the 80/20 principle states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the input.

Here are some examples:

• 20% of drivers cause 80% of all traffic accidents
• 20% of a companies products represent 80% of sales
• 20% of employees are responsible for 80% of the results

Put simply, find the 20% of tasks that will yield 80% of the results. In my case, focusing on the depth portion of the exam was my 20%. Knowing that the morning session also had structural questions, I focused my time studying for the depth session.

I studied a total of two weeks for the morning session. That is all I felt I needed in addition to doing a lot of practice problems.

The Pomodoro Technique

This technique is great if you have limited time or are easily distracted. Pairing the Pomodoro technique with Parkinson’s law is a killer combination.

The Pomodoro technique is simple, set a timer for 25 minutes and focus on one thing and only one thing during those 25 minutes. After the time is over, spend 5 minutes relaxing and taking a break. After four of these sessions, take a longer 15 to 20 minute break. That’s it.

This technique is very efficient because it sets an artificial deadline but also allows you to take frequent breaks. I found this technique very helpful to eliminate distractions and replace them with planned breaks.

These six techniques are great and have helped be beyond studying for the exam. I recommend you pick one of them, try it, and see if it works for you. Once you are comfortable with it, start implementing the others as applicable.

This is the end of the second module. You now have the resources and tools to prepare for the exam. In the next module we will create a study plan to bring everything together and help you make the most out of the next months.