Childcare x Self-study x Administrative Scrivener Exam: What I did and didn't do to secure study time

The biggest hurdle in studying for the Administrative Scrivener exam while raising children was securing study time.

I could hardly ever find a solid block of time.
When the kids fell asleep, I was at my limit too.
During my studies for the Administrative Scrivener exam, I also had to deal with my child's surgery and hospital stay.

Honestly, there were many days when things didn't go as planned.
Even so, to keep moving forward little by little, there were things I 'did' and things I 'deliberately didn't do'.

I have compiled the methods I arrived at through trial and error for those who are struggling with a lack of time just like I was.
I hope this will be of some help to you.

What I did to secure study time

I have summarized the things I kept in mind to secure even a little bit of study time within my limited schedule.

1. Use morning time

The main time I utilized was the morning.

At night, once the kids were asleep, I was at my limit.
I did study at night sometimes, but mornings suited me better.

In the summer, I woke up early naturally, making it easier to work on, and it became a full-fledged habit from summer through the final preparation period.
In the winter, there were many days I couldn't wake up, and it didn't go very well.

After the exam was over, I started going to bed with my children, which made it even easier to wake up early.
I still write my notes in the early morning hours.

I wish I had started going to bed with my children even while I was studying for the Administrative Scrivener exam.

2. Utilize gap time

During childcare, it is hard to find solid blocks of time.
In my case, there were times when I couldn't sit at a desk to study due to my child's surgery and hospital stay.

That is why I focused on utilizing gap time.
I set up an environment where I could complete everything on my smartphone so I could study anytime, anywhere.
I used apps and web services to just keep solving problems.

Also, there were times I watched YouTube on the TV while playing with my children.
Even if I couldn't concentrate fully, the content explained with diagrams and concrete examples was easy to remember, and I could feel the effectiveness even in gap time.

I have summarized my smartphone study method for the Administrative Scrivener exam in 'Smartphone Study Method for the Administrative Scrivener Exam | Summary of Services Used and Study Content'.

3. Decide what to do in advance

When I thought, 'Okay, I have some time!', if I was unsure about what to do next, that alone would waste the time.

Therefore, I made a rough study schedule in advance and proceeded while making adjustments as needed.
By deciding how to proceed with smartphone study and workbooks in advance, I was able to create a state where I could start without hesitation the moment I had a gap in my schedule.

I believe that by doing these things, I became able to study efficiently even in short periods of time.

4. Switch to 'light study' on days when you are tired

On days when you are tired, forcing yourself to tackle difficult problems will result in almost nothing sinking in.
On such days, I made a point of switching to 'light study'.

For example, I would copy out model answers for descriptive questions, or go back to one-question-one-answer formats instead of five-choice questions.
I looked for things I could do without having to think too deeply.

Just lower the load, don't make it zero.
I was conscious of continuing to study, even if just a little.

Things I didn't do to secure study time

Here, I have summarized the things I intentionally did not do in order to secure study time for the Administrative Scrivener exam.
Deciding 'what to stop' was more effective for creating time than increasing 'what to do'.

1. Stay away from social media

I would often reach for my smartphone and look at social media, only to realize an hour had passed...
I felt that this couldn't be helped by willpower alone, so I decided to restrict it through a system.

I logged out of my private account and only posted once a week on my work account without looking at other posts.
Furthermore, I used a blocking app to set it so I couldn't open social media at all.

Creating an 'environment where I couldn't see it' was the quickest way.

I have summarized my story about staying away from social media in 'The story of how I secured study time by restricting social media while studying for the Administrative Scrivener exam'.

2. Do not record study time

Since my study was centered around gap time, I felt that measuring the time itself was a waste... so I did not record my study time.

During childcare, it is inevitably difficult to secure long periods of study time.
I thought it was better not to record it at all than to keep a daily record and feel discouraged by seeing how little time I had.

Rather than time, 'whether I did it or not'.
I made sure to just keep stacking that up.

3. Do not spend too much time on one thing

Even if there was a problem I didn't understand, I made sure not to pursue it too deeply.
This is because if you get too hung up on one thing, your study time will end just like that.

Even if you don't understand it now, there are times when you will be able to understand it as you continue your studies.

When I didn't understand the meaning of terms or systems, I asked ChatGPT.
Since I could resolve my doubts immediately, I was able to reduce the time spent standing still.

I have written in detail about how I used AI in "The story of using AI (ChatGPT) as a supplementary tool for Administrative Scrivener exam study".

Move on once you have understood it to some extent.
I valued this rhythm.

④ Do not increase study materials unnecessarily

I made sure to repeatedly use the materials I decided to use, rather than increasing the number of problem sets and reference books here and there.

Trying out new materials takes both time and money, and in the end, everything tends to end up half-finished.
Narrowing down the materials reduced the time spent worrying, which consequently led to securing study time.

The materials I actually used are summarized in "Choosing materials for self-study for the Administrative Scrivener exam | The textbooks and problem sets I used".

⑤ Do not make plans too detailed

Irregularities are the norm during childcare.
Things not going as planned, such as a child getting sick, were an everyday occurrence.

Therefore, I made it a point to create rough plans from the start.
If you decide things too precisely, the plan will fall apart with just a slight deviation, which becomes a source of stress.

If the plan deviates, correct it each time.
Even when correcting, I would just adjust it roughly rather than redoing the whole thing in detail.

By repeating this, I was able to continue without strain.

The way I practiced adjusting my study plan is summarized in "Childcare x Self-study x Administrative Scrivener Exam: How to adjust a study plan that I revised many times".

A mindset that was important when there was no time

In order to continue studying when there is no time, I think the most important thing was "not trying to do it perfectly".

Even if you can't find a block of time, proceed in your spare moments.
Switch to light study on days when you are tired.
If the plan deviates, correct it roughly.

All of these are methods far from perfect.

Even so, I kept at it while being conscious only of "not letting it reach zero."
I feel that the result of that led to passing the exam.

Do not use having no time as an excuse, and do not overdo it.
I feel that finding that balance while moving forward was what suited studying while raising a child.

Thank you very much for reading until the end.

I will continue to update my experience regarding studying for the Administrative Scrivener exam in the note magazine "Study record until passing the Administrative Scrivener exam".

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