ENCOR Journey – The Plan

I’m not particularly proud of this, but I actually began this ENCOR journey at the end of 2019/beginning of 2020. I spent a lot of time studying throughout 2020, and I won’t call that time wasted by any means, but where I feel I failed is I did not have a proper plan for absorbing and reviewing content. I would go through multiple content sources for each topic, but did not have a review process to go back and keep the knowledge “fresh”. One thing I was proud of in 2020 was that I spent a decent about of time with lab practice of different concepts. All of this being said, something had to change, and I needed a “real” plan. One tool that I have been really excited about (thanks to @artofneteng for the advice) is the digital flashcard concept with Anki. I have incorporated flashcards into most of the steps in my plan. Here is the current plan I’m working through for each topic or grouping of topics.

1. OCG chapter (creating flashcards along the way).
2. OCG chapter key topic review.
3. OCG key terms (create flashcards).
4. OCG command reference (create flashcards).
5. Cisco On-demand learning (creating flashcards along the way).
6. CBT Nuggets (creating flashcards along the way).
7. Labs as necessary.
8. Flashcard review.

As far as flashcard content, from the sources I’m leveraging, I create cards for quiz questions, key topics, key terms, and anything else that I deem necessary. One thing that I have found myself doing, is starting each study session by going through flashcards. A benefit I see to this is that I don’t go over just the current topic’s flashcards. I feel that is the review concept that I was missing last year. I feel really good about this plan and am very excited to continue this path. Due to the recent @artofneteng podcast episode titled “Goal Hacks“, I am also now considering adding in practice exams sooner than later. On your path to your goals, I think you need to find what steps work best for you, but I do recommend making a plan and sticking to the core concepts of that plan.