Study, study, study — that’s how I’m spending my limited free time these days as I draw closer to my PMP exam date.   During the week I can devote three to four lunch periods to reading at work.  On the weekends I can afford to read for a few hours each day, taking short breaks in between chapters for chores like loading the washing machine or making dinner.

Now that I’ve taken my PMP preparation course and delved into the resource materials, I’ve discovered how to focus my studying and which areas of project management will be the most challenging for me.

I’m no longer reading through the PMBOK Guide because it’s rather boring and the same material is covered through a more engaging  summary format in the Key Consulting binder and the Rita Mulcahy exam preparation book.  Instead, I’m using the PMBOK Guide as a reference.  The binder and PMBOK Guide are at my work office since I can browse through the binder outline format quickly in the short amount of time I have for studying at lunch.  When I need to look up something for clarification in the PMBOK Guide, it’s right there.  My goal is to finish reading all the sections in the binder this coming week, before going back to concentrate on the areas I need to understand better.

The Rita Mulcahy book is enjoyable to read but fairly intense.  Therefore, I need the longer periods of study time I have available on weekends to work my way through each chapter.   It’s going slower than I expected, so I won’t be able to finish reading the book by next weekend as I’d originally planned.

Based on my project management experience and study, many of the sample exam questions in the Key Consulting binder and Rita Mulcahy book I can answer correctly.   The questions I answer incorrectly have helped me identify my weakest areas of knowledge.   The three project management components I’ll need to spend the most time reviewing, learning and memorizing for the test in the time remaining will be 1) recognizing and understanding the PMBOK project management processes and steps along with their sequence, 2) terms and definitions that are new to me,  and 3) formulas.