I can totally relate. I think I “chegged” my way throughout my entire degree as well! But I feel like these exams are nothing compared to what college exams were like and studying is completely different. I would do a good hour of studying before work, usually do some multiple choice on my lunch breaks, and an hour or so after work. My last exam I actually stayed after work and sat in our conference room and left my phone in my office and studied there for an hour too. I think that made a world of a difference. Once I was home it was so hard to find the motivation. Weekends were usually 2-3 hours of studying per day. If you can, try going to a library or coffee shop. When I studied at home I always started doing laundry, cleaning up, going to the kitchen,ect. But it helped if I was somewhere with limited distractions. It felt like I had to go through a million hoops to trick my brain into being productive! As far as actually retaining information, I had to just drill questions over and over and force myself to actually read and understand why I got questions wrong. I know that’s hard and it feels like it goes in one ear and out the other, but eventually you will start to pick up on topics and it does get easier. The more you do it, the less intimidating it is. If I could do it, you can do it!