How did I prepare for my CISSP exam?

I cleared CISSP exam in the first attempt last week. I have been working in the technology area for 10 years now in several roles (from the Engineer level position to the Director level position). I followed the following resources in the sequential order.

• Cybrary CISSP Free Online course by Kelly Handerhan : This gave me a quick overview of CISSP course. [Spent roughly 30 hours here.]
• CISSP by Shon Harris : Read first four domains. I got in-depth knowledge of those four domains. [Spent about 20 hours here.]
• Simple CISSP by Phil Martin (Audio Book): Great to listen during lunch, workouts and drive-time. [Spent about 30 hours here. Listened to some sections multiple times.]
• Spent some time going over r/cissp comments. Saw lots of advice that CISSP exam is more about management-based questions and less about knowledge-based questions. I decided to focus more on 'WHY' factors of all the security domains, rather than trying to memorize every technical details and numbers.
• I set a 60 days goal to appear for the exam and registered for the test.
• During first 50 days, I read CISSP Official 7th edition book cover to cover, word by word, highlighting the areas that I felt crucial. Also, completed CISSP Official Practice tests during those days. [Spent roughly 2 hours each day; 1 hour during the work lunch and 1 hour at home]
• Next 7 days, I read Eleventh Hour CISSP study guide by Eric Conrad.
• During last three days, I reviewed all of the highlights I made on CISSP Official 7th Edition book and summaries/quizzes at the end of each chapter.
• Took a good enough sleep and rested before the exam.

During the testing, I planned to finish 40 question during the first hour, 50 questions during the second hour and 60 questions during the third hour. Since CISSP exam is the adaptive test and can't go back to correct the answers, I wanted to make sure I carefully read and answered the top 100 questions. I kept track of the number of questions I answered approx every 30 minutes and made sure I was on track.

Majority of the questions were scenario based questions and I had to think from the management perspective to answer the questions. It was a terrifying experience to go through those questions. I had to remind myself several times not to worry but focus on the questions and what would I do as a CIO or CISO while answering the questions. My test completed at 102 questions. And, sure enough, I passed the test.

I hope you find this information useful for your own CISSP journey. Best of Luck!