Taking the PMP® examination is one of the biggest steps you’ll take in your career as a Project Manager and one of the most daunting. There seems to be an endless parade of information to stuff into your brain but don’t be discouraged! By careful planning and structure, you can pass the exam with a minimum of stress and absorb more of the information you need to be a success in your chosen career.
The very first thing you need is a study plan. Assess your daily
obligations; many people devote months to their studies and ignore the
other things they need to do every day. Distraction sets in; catch-up
becomes tedious and interferes with studies. List your normal schedule
and then assign a daily time for study, usually 90-120 minutes. By
establishing a routine, you have study time allotted and everything
else that can distract you has already been taken care of.
Why assign a time limit for study? There are only so many hoops you can
make your brain jump through before it tires and begins to stumble.
Just like pushing yourself physically, after awhile pushing yourself
mentally becomes redundant and you start to lose the progress you’ve
made. By limiting your study time, you actually increase your retention
and the amount of knowledge you can absorb! If your goal is to be the
best Project Manager you can be this may be one of the most important
things you can do for your future. You’ll only need sixty one percent
to pass the exam but if you want to enjoy being the very best at what
you’ve chosen to do, aim a lot higher.
Setting weekly goals and keeping track of your progress will not only
encourage you as you study, you’ll be able to make the most of your
time and study more effectively. Instead of skipping around and perhaps
missing an important area of study, you’ll cover everything thoroughly.
It would be a good idea before you begin to make a chart of your
objectives, week by week. This will help you to focus on daily goals
but be sure not to cram too much into each session. You will retain
much more by concentrating on one subject at a time. Since you need to
learn so many things about so many subjects, it may be best to divide
the subjects into categories that make sense to you. If there is
something of particular interest to you that you really enjoy, you
might place it in such a way that it “rewards” you after an especially
difficult section of study.
Repetition is another good technique for solidifying your new
knowledge. Believe it or not, repeating a fact to yourself creates a
neural pathway that your memory can travel again. Rather than “burning”
it into your memory, you’re clearing a trail through the undergrowth
with the important knowledge at the end of the path. By repeating
something to yourself or writing it on paper, you’re walking it home
where it will stay as long as you visit it occasionally. It’s best to
practice repetition every day for at least a month and ideally for two
months. If possible, you should do your repetitive mental calisthenics
when you first get up, as the brain is at its most receptive
immediately upon awakening. Plus, relaxing in bed for ten minutes while
you mentally repeat what you want to remember can be very pleasant and
reinforce a positive outlook toward your PMP test!
You have undoubtedly heard of PMP boot camps, 2-5 day cram courses for
the exam that can cost thousands of dollars and claim a 95% pass rate.
Most boot camps base most of their class time on the PMBOK, which is
available for much less than the cost of a boot camp. By reading
through and highlighting the most important passages, you’ll probably
learn nearly as much for a fraction of the price of a boot camp. You
would be better advised to make your plan, establish a routine, break
your learning into small chunks and reinforce your learning through
repetition.
A very important last suggestion--everyone needs a break. Even if
you’re enjoying your studies, you should take at least one full day a
week to get completely away from it and do other things. It doesn’t
have to be a big production or cost a lot of money; a morning walk,
reading, a movie, a play, or anything that truly relaxes and refreshes
you is just as important as the work you do the rest of the week.
