Mock exams or study guides? After 200 hours of prep, I have an answer.

I tracked it. From January to early June 2024, I logged study time in a Notion table for the CKA exam. 211 hours total. Not because I'm hyperorganized (I'm not), but because I wanted to actually answer this question for myself.

Here's the breakdown:

• 84 hours of reading and video courses
• 47 hours of hands-on labs
• 80 hours of mock exams and reviewing them

The first month I was a study-guide person. I had two books, three Udemy courses, the official curriculum PDF. I'd read for two hours after work, take notes, and feel productive.

I wasn't learning much.

The shift happened around February. A friend who'd just passed told me: "stop reading, start failing." I bought one practice exam set, did the first one, and got 41%. It crushed me. But that 41% taught me more in 90 minutes than the previous three weeks of reading.

The thing nobody warns you about: study guides feel like progress. You finish a chapter, you tick a box, your brain releases a little hit of "I'm doing it." Mock exams feel like punishment. You keep getting stuff wrong. There's no reward chemistry. So your brain quietly steers you toward the books.

Don't let it.

After six months, here's what I actually believe. Study guides are for the first 20%. The foundation, the vocab, the mental model. After that, every additional hour of reading has shrinking returns and you should be doing mocks. By the end I was averaging four full mocks a week and only opening books to clarify a specific point I got wrong.

I passed on June 11th. 79%. I was aiming for 75%, so I was happy enough.

The honest, slightly annoying answer to "guides or mocks" is: both, but in the right ratio. And the ratio isn't 50/50. It's closer to 25/75 the closer you get to exam day.