Update at Stupid O'Clock
Time for my 3AM coffee and a Salesforce cert progress update...
Pain wakes me up in the middle of the night. I try to just go with it; I make a cup of coffee with cream/sugar, put a heating pad on my chair, and get to work.
This morning (is it really morning if it's still pitch black outside?) I'm posting a quick update before work.
Salesforce Associate Cert
I have not taken the Salesforce Associate cert exam just yet, but I'm getting close. My goal is to schedule it sometime in the next two weeks and (hopefully 
) earn the cert before the end of the year.
Studying for the Exam
Salesforce offers a free comprehensive guide for every certification exam. This includes links to Trailmixes, exam prep, and exam scheduling. I've been following the Associate cert guide along with courses on Pluralsight and Udemy.
I've also been reviewing the exam sections and how they are weighted to test my readiness. For example, the Salesforce Associate exam consists of four parts:
- Salesforce Ecosystem (32%)
- Navigation (28%)
- Data Model (25%)
- Reports & Dashboards (15%)
I've been acing sections 1 and 2 on practice exams, which means I'm most of the way there at 60% (62% is passing).
For sections 3 and 4, I've been drilling, memorizing, and playing around with objects, data, and Reports & Dashboards in my dev org. Although I understand the concepts, I need to do more to prepare for scenario questions (i.e., "given a scenario, how would you solve this in Salesforce..."). These are challenging and require hands-on practice and/or real world experience.
Exam Setup
The remote exam is a whole other matter. It's proctored, and you have to install software and set up a webcam to keep things honest. I've been reviewing the technical spes to verify that I can do this at home; my disability doesn't allow for a trip to a test center right now.
I think it'll be fine, I just need to find time to get my laptop ready.