Cornelius Ficthner: Break Your PMP Studies Into Small Pieces

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.
About the author: Cornelius Fichtner, PMP is an international project manager and noted PMP expert. He is the host of The PM Podcast at www.thepmpodcast.com where you can hear his free interviews with project management experts from around the world. His PM PrepCast at www.pm-prepcast.com has also helped over 2,000 project managers to prepare for the PMP exam. Please send your comments to pm@pm-prepcast.com.

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3. Cornelius Fichtner: PMP® Questions and Answers