May 2024
ACCA launches podcast series designed to help to PQs deal with the common issues confronting them as they look to get qualified.
Are you putting off booking your first exam, or struggling to get back into studying after a failure?
A new podcast series launched by the ACCA, called ‘On Your Marks’, explores techniques to help students tackle any potential challenges head on, wherever they are at in their journey to qualification.
Hosted by ACCA’s Krutika Adatia (pictured), podcast guests include experts ranging from a life coach to a neuroscientist, to help students understand what can hold them back when setting out to achieve their goals – whether that’s preparing for an exam or training for a marathon.
From the importance of hanging out with your mates to the neuroscience of procrastination, the series explores how to get going when the going gets tough – including techniques for building resilience for when life doesn’t go our way.
The episodes
Episode one – Preparing to start: Why can it be so hard to start something new, even if we want to? What might help us take the first step? We sit down with Michelle Elman, a five-board accredited life coach, author, broadcaster and public speaker, and all-round expert in helping people face their demons and rise to personal challenges. From coping with pre-exam nerves to dealing with envy when people post their wins on social media, we look at how we can clear the path ahead and get working on our goals.
Episode two – Setting great goals: In this episode we’re talking goal setting. We sit down with cognitive behavioural therapist Sarah D Rees to understand why some of us struggle with setting, and achieving, our goals. From breaking down big plans to calming your inner critic, and rewarding yourself along the journey, we look at strategies to help keep us all on track – both practically and emotionally, while working towards our objectives.
Episode three – Building resilience: Pushing on towards our goals is great, but as we all know life can have a way of messing with even the best laid plans. In episode three it’s all about becoming more resilient. We sit down with Josh Wintersgill, Great Britain’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019 and founder of AbleMove, to dig into the topic of resilience. From tips on facing up to failure to an honest look at coping when we’re feeling low, we talk about strategies to keep us all going when the going gets tough.
Episode four – Nourishing relationships: When we’re pushing towards a goal, or just generally having a tough time, many of us will instinctively turn to our friends, family, colleagues or even pets for support. Why? In this episode we’re talking relationships. We sit down with Dr Anna Machin, an evolutionary anthropologist who has spent her career studying the science of close human relationships. From the neurochemicals underlying your tightest friendships to tips for the best social activities for your brain when you’re facing down deadlines, we dig deep into how our connection with others helps us get where we want to be.
Episode five – Beating procrastination: Procrastinating over tasks, even ones we care about, is a normal if painful part of life for most of us. We sit down with Dr Julia Ravey, a neuroscientist, author and self-confessed procrastinator. She’s an expert in understanding what’s happening in our brains when we put off tasks – from conflicts between the logical and emotional centres of our brains, to tricks for creating sustainable revision habits.
Episode six – Exploring ACCA resources: In this final episode we sit down with Paul Kirkwood, ACCA’s Regional Head of Education and Learning for ACCA in the UK. Paul is joined by new ACCA member Shaun Fenwick, who works in the accounting team at Brixton Brewery and recently completed all his exams. We talk about starting the qualification and the decisions you need to make, the common fears and struggles, resources available through your ACCA journey and how to push yourself to take that first step.
View now or listen through wherever you get your podcasts. And don’t forget to subscribe!
- Thanks to ACCA for this article
