My CompTIA A+ Study Plan: Week 1

Week 1: Getting Organised

Before diving into any content, I spent the first few days just getting organised. Here’s what my first week looked like.

The Study Plan

After researching dozens of study guides (and getting overwhelmed), I settled on a structured approach:

Core Resources:

• Professor Messer’s free A+ video course (YouTube)
• CompTIA A+ official exam objectives (free PDF from comptia.org)
• Practice questions from ExamCompass (free)

Study Schedule:

• 1.5 hours on weekday mornings before work
• 3-4 hours on weekends
• Target: 8-10 hours per week

Timeline: 5 months for both Core 1 (220-1101) and Core 2 (220-1102)

My Study Method

I went into this thinking I could learn everything by watching Professor Messer’s videos on 1.5x speed and calling it a day. That lasted about three days before I realised I couldn’t recall half of what I’d watched.

The problem with passive video watching is that it feels productive. You’re nodding along, the concepts make sense in the moment, and you think you’ve learned something. But when you close the laptop and try to explain the difference between SATA and NVMe from memory? Nothing. It’s like trying to learn to swim by watching YouTube tutorials from the couch.

So I switched to active recall + spaced repetition, and the difference was immediate.

Active recall means forcing yourself to retrieve information from memory rather than just re-reading it. After watching a Messer video, I close my notes and write down everything I can remember. The gaps hurt — but those gaps are exactly where the learning happens. Then I check against my notes and fill in what I missed.

Spaced repetition means reviewing material at increasing intervals. Instead of cramming connectors for three hours and forgetting them by Thursday, I review them briefly each day, then every other day, then weekly. I’m using Anki flashcards for this (more on that below), and it’s genuinely the single biggest improvement I’ve made to my study process.

Here’s what my daily study session looks like now:

1. 10 minutes: Anki flashcard review (spaced repetition of previous material)
2. 30 minutes: Watch one Professor Messer video section, pausing to take notes
3. 20 minutes: Close notes, write a summary from memory (active recall)
4. 15 minutes: Practice questions on the topic I just studied
5. 15 minutes: Create new Anki cards for today’s material

It’s slower than binge-watching a playlist, but I’m actually retaining information between sessions now. That matters far more than ticking off video after video.

What I Learned This Week

I started with the hardware fundamentals section of Core 1. Topics covered:

• What’s inside a computer (motherboard, CPU, RAM, storage)
• Different types of connectors and cables
• Basic troubleshooting methodology

What surprised me: I actually recognised more than I expected. Years of using computers meant I had passive knowledge of things like RAM and hard drives. I just never knew the technical details.

What confused me: The sheer number of connector types. USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, Mini-USB, Micro-USB, Thunderbolt… I made flashcards for these.

I also started getting comfortable with basic command-line tools for identifying hardware. This was one of those moments where the theory suddenly felt real — I could actually see the specs I’d been studying:

# Windows commands I learned for hardware identification
systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"Total Physical Memory"
wmic cpu get name, numberofcores, maxclockspeed

Running systeminfo on my own machine and matching the output to what I’d learned about RAM types, CPU architecture, and OS versions made everything click in a way that flashcards alone couldn’t. I’d strongly recommend doing this as early as possible in your studies — it bridges the gap between abstract knowledge and the real hardware sitting in front of you.

What Clicked This Week

The biggest shift in week 1 wasn’t technical — it was mental. I came into this assuming that because I don’t have an IT background, I’d be starting from absolute zero. But that’s not quite true.

Every time you’ve troubleshot a Wi-Fi issue, swapped a phone charger cable, or wondered why your laptop was running slow, you were building intuition about how computers work. You just didn’t have the vocabulary for it.

The A+ exam isn’t testing whether you’re a genius. It’s testing whether you can name and explain things you’ve probably already encountered in everyday life. Once I realised that, the whole certification felt less like climbing Everest and more like putting labels on a map I’d already been walking.

A few specific “aha moments” from the week:

• The motherboard is literally a city map. CPU is the town hall, RAM is the workspace, the chipset is the road network connecting everything. Once I started thinking of it spatially, the component relationships made sense.
• Troubleshooting methodology isn’t just an exam topic — it’s a life skill. CompTIA’s six-step process (identify, theory, test, plan, verify, document) is basically what good mechanics, doctors, and plumbers do. Framing it that way made it memorable instead of just another list to memorise.
• Connector types follow a logical evolution. USB-A was big and one-directional. Mini and Micro made it smaller. USB-C made it reversible and universal. Thunderbolt added speed. Seeing the why behind each generation made the memorisation far less painful.

Resources Ranked

After a full week of study, here’s my honest assessment of each resource I’ve tried so far. Keep in mind this is a beginner’s perspective — your experience may differ.

Professor Messer is the standout. His videos map directly to the exam objectives, he doesn’t waffle, and the fact that it’s completely free is remarkable. The exam objectives PDF is non-negotiable — print it out and tick off topics as you cover them. It’s the closest thing to a cheat sheet the exam will give you.

Study Tips from Week 1

1. Don’t just watch videos — take notes and explain concepts back to yourself
2. The exam objectives PDF is your bible — every question comes from these objectives
3. Practice questions early — even when you feel unprepared, they show you what the exam expects
4. Set a realistic schedule — 10 hours/week is achievable alongside part-time work
5. Use the Pomodoro Technique — I study in 25-minute focused blocks with 5-minute breaks. It sounds almost too simple, but it stops that mental fatigue from creeping in around the 40-minute mark. After four Pomodoros, I take a longer 15-20 minute break. My retention in the last block is noticeably better than when I used to push through for 90 minutes straight.
6. Build Anki flashcards as you go — don’t wait until the end of a chapter. After each video or study section, create 5-10 cards while the material is fresh. Front of card: a question. Back: the answer. Keep them short and specific. “What socket type does an Intel 12th-gen CPU use?” is better than “Explain CPU sockets.” Review your deck every single morning before starting new material.
7. Teach it to someone (or something) — I’ve started explaining concepts out loud to my cat, and honestly, it works. The moment you try to explain the difference between dynamic and static RAM in plain language, you discover exactly where your understanding breaks down. If you don’t have a willing audience, write a short paragraph as if you’re explaining it to a friend who knows nothing about computers. The Feynman Technique is real.

Hours Logged

Slightly over my 10-hour target — I’ll try to stay consistent rather than burning out early.

Next Week

Moving on to networking fundamentals — IP addressing, DNS, and the OSI model. This is where it gets properly technical.

Check out my networking basics guide as I build it alongside my studies. If you want to pair study time with hands-on practice, see how I set up a home lab for free — it’s the best complement to textbook learning.

For the full exam breakdown, costs, and study resources, check the CompTIA A+ study guide.

Further Reading

• CompTIA A+ Study Guide — full exam breakdown, costs, and study resources
• Networking Basics — what I’m tackling in week 2
• How I Set Up My Home Lab for Free — pairing study with hands-on practice
• Career Roadmap — the full picture of where this all leads

Individual results vary based on location, experience, market conditions, and effort invested. Study timelines are my personal targets, not guarantees.