After months of studying and practice tests I finally got my certification. Its hard for me to explain the feeling of getting this certificate, but the best part was when I came back to work and started spotting the concepts I studied and applied the best practices, not from faith that it's gonna work, but because I know how and why it works. It really puts an 'oomph' into my motivation at work for doing my best to provide the most secure environment while being transparent to the end users. Here I leave some tips that really helped my ADHD brain retain the information (even though it really didn't feel like it was).

This is by no way a guide to pass the exam; it's more of an idea of what to do if your brain has a hard hard time focusing as mine does. One thing that I will say is that one of, if not THE most important thing for me to do was to find a purpose. This came to me in the midst of studying, not before. I find many people get stuck in the beginning looking for purpose when sometimes it comes to you in the middle of the fray. At first, try find a reason behind the madness you're gonna put yourself through and while you develop yourself think about that purpose,  because Cyber Security is a MASSIVE field that can lead to never ending rabbit holes. Find your why; reason is the surface level justification for your actions, purpose is the subconscious push for the efforts and sacrifices to be made.

Handwriting

Once I decided I was going to get certified I bought a notebook in which I wrote down the concepts in my own words. I know it might seem a bit daunting, especially with the amount of information that is going to be presented, but the hardest part is usually starting. Writing things by hand and revisiting it had a lasting effect on me, especially when I would see all the work I had done it made me feel like I was putting in the physical AND mental work.

My set up was the following:

• Instrumental music: I do almost everything with music and being the energetic ball of fire I tend to be, my kind of music tends to reflect that. While it helped me stay awake during the difficult concepts (I'm looking at you Cryptographic Solutions...) it did me a disservice since I found myself jamming to the song instead of focusing. Try to find what kind of instrumentals you like so your brain has that background sound to prevent sleepiness, but try to strike a balance between energy and calmness. What did it for me was Jazz Hip Hop, think A Tribe Called Quest, MF DOOM beats and the sort. Experiment and find what works best for you individually.

• Taking breaks: A lot of people swear by Pomodoro Timers and while they do work well, I took a bit of a different approach to it. Instead of adhering to the X work time, Y rest time, I would do the working time until I caught myself starting to get distracted or sleepy and then I would take a fixed amount of rest time.

• Remember your WHY: Piggybacking off the previous point, at the start I would rest more than work, but this is where finding your reason and purpose really comes through; remind yourself of why you're putting yourself through this difficult task and rip yourself out of that comfort zone so you don't overindulge. For me, as soon as my mind gets into rest mode its incredibly hard to get back into work mode, especially after eating, so keep strong and know your limits, both when to rest and when to back to work mode.

• Keep hydrated: Mental fog is no joke, it can easily be the reason why you don't push as hard as you could. Drinking water might not eliminate it, but your brain uses a lot more water than you think. Take care of your brain and make sure to drink enough water during study sessions.

• Mistakes: DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM. Write with a pen so you subconsciously admit that you're committing to the task. If you make an error then just cross it out and keep going. If you're reading back your notes and find that you explained something wrong, cross it out and make a note somewhere, anywhere, but be honest with yourself. You're an ever growing entity and have no idea what you're gonna learn tomorrow; don't judge, just correct and keep going.

Learning Sources

One thing I found out quickly was that if you stay with just one source for learning you're going to fight an uphill battle since as a learner all you have is a single point of view, meanwhile, security in itself is a concept that MUST looked at from every angle. I completed the Dion Training course and while it was an excellent resource, on practice exams I found myself stuck on many things that I had not considered. This isn't to say that Dion didn't provide me with enough information, it's only a remark for you as a future security enforcer to consider and take advantage of as many sources as you have.

• My own notes: Make sure that at least once a week you reread your notes; make any corrections by looking up subjects that give you a tough time. If it gives you uncertainty, its reason enough to search for definitions and compare to what you wrote down. Make any corrections and ensure that you can explain it to yourself and to someone else.

• AI: These tools are great at breaking down concepts into understandable pieces, especially if you use a prompt that suits your preferred language. For example, I prompted my preferred AI bot to answer my questions as a Security+ tutor and that for my questions to give me 1: a general overview of the concept, and 2: any tips for the Security+ exam. This helped me getting clarity confirming any confusing subjects. Again, make sure you can explain it for yourself and to someone else as a way to test your understanding.

• PocketPrep: While I will always try to recommend free alternatives, this one really is worth paying. This was my favorite way to get practice exams. It is unforgiving in the sense that it will ask you very specific questions and it's clear about what you're failing and succeeding at. What I did was answer at least 30 questions a day and whether right or wrong I would read the explanation. Use my referral link for a discount ( I get nothing from this, I just want to help ): https://study.pocketprep.com/register?referral=l3xzqDFYw9

Mentality

Like I said, try to find your why. You don't need to have a reason at the beginning (or ever, if you're one of those people), but make sure that what you're doing has meaning to you, be it for growth or enjoyment. Just make sure you're honest with yourself.

Keep in mind:

• Personal weaknesses: In my case it was Cryptographic Solutions. Sure, Public and Private key Infrastructure is simple enough, but as soon as we started getting into the algorithms and the whole certificate mumbo, my brain just goes flat. Make sure to read into the subject and look for videos explaining it. Sometimes a different point of view is all we need to get that "Aha!" moment.

• Be consistent: Life happens, I'd say 80% of situations are out of our control. Life takes and sometimes it doesn't give back, so make sure that what you can take back from it you do without hesitation. Even if its just a quick 15 minute study session, put all your energy into it and be ravenous in your learning.

• Be kind: Don't let your insecurities and your inner monsters win the fight. You're learning, that's what you're here for. Please be kind to yourself and allow mistakes to happen.