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Project Management Institute - Northeast Florida
September 2008
Volume 14 Issue 5
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
9/22 Chapter Dinner Meeting - 5:30 PM
11/17 Chapter Dinner Meeting - 5:30 PM
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Break Your PMP® Studies Into Small Pieces
By Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
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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PMP Exam Prep - Don't Miss this Great Opportunity - Register Now!!!
Almost ready to take the PMP exam?
Need a refresher on the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK)?
Want to which what areas of the PM disciplines you don't know or could stand to improve?
Want to take the exam based on the current 3rd edition PMBOK since the exam is changing next year?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should consider enrolling in our PMP Exam Prep course.
While this course will be helpful to anyone preparing for the PMP exam, it will be most valuable to the person in the final stages of test preparation. Recommended prerequisites are that participants have a current edition of the PMBOK and familiarity with the content. For best results, participants should have the application for the exam completed, with the last step after this course being the scheduling of the exam. This is not an introductory level Project Management class.
PMP Prep is a 2-day intensive study of the ten knowledge areas tested on the Project Management Institute's PMP examination. It is a fast-paced course that is built on and closely follows the PMBOK. Participants cover critical foundation of terms, the ten knowledge areas, and a walk-through of the PMBOK. The course includes a 200-question practice test with answers.
Click here for additional information and registration.
When:
October 3rd and 4th
8:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Where:
DeVry University
8131 Baymeadows Circle W, Suite 101
Jacksonville, FL 32256
Cost:
PMI-NEFL Members $450
PMI National Members $500
Non-Members $625
*Note this course counts as 16 of the 35 hours of project management education required to sit for the PMP exam.
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Getting with the Program
Stephen Martin, PMP, VP Programs/Internet
Help Us, Help You - Through PMI Chapter Sponsorships
NEFL PMI would like to thank you for your participation in our events. Dinner Meetings, Lunch and Learns, special seminars, and our annual conference have had good participation, even through these tough economic times.
NEFL PMI is extending invitations to corporations for participation and sponsorship of our chapter. How can you help? We are calling on member 'partners' to help us identify and contact decision makers in your company who may be interested in sponsoring/partnering NEFL PMI.
Corporate sponsoring/partnering of events ensures we are able to continue to provide quality events. Helping you by ensuring NEFL PMI continues to provide high value events and by promoting your company within our events.
We have a number of sponsorship opportunities including Dinner Meetings, Web, Newsletters, Corporate Sponsor, and various Conference sponsorships available. For more information regarding 2008 and 2009 sponsorship opportunities please send an e-mail to Programs@pmi-nefl.org or President@pmi-nefl.org.
The Excitement of 2008 NEFL PMI Programs (Events) Continue!
2008 has brought a number of exciting, and entertaining, events to our NEFL PMI Members. Speakers have included: Lee Lambert with "PM Tools: Gotta Have 'em But Where's the Information", Thornton May with "Project Success 4.0: Thriving in an Age of BIG Information", Rick Brenner with "Saying No to Power" & "Organizational Politics for People Who Hate Politics", Bruce Armistead with "Getting To Purple", Gary Heerkens with "How To Make High Quality Decisions Every Time!" & "The Project Management MBA (One Day Crash Course!)", Alfonso Bucero with "Knowledge Management in Projects" & "Building the project manager's credibility", and Steve Hegele with "Burn your Canoe". But we are not done yet!
September 22nd dinner meeting will feature Rick Morris. Rick is a recently published author with two books, President and owner of Highmark Technology Company and is currently the President of the Birmingham Chapter. He is a frequent speaker at PMI chapters across the country and is a presenter at the PMI Global Congress. His topic for the September dinner meeting will be "Making Emotional Conversations, Un-emotional".
Don't forget about October! October 3rd and 4th NEFL PMI will host a PMP prep class featuring Don Czech at Devry University. This is a "don't miss" for anyone studying for their PMP Certification!
October 27th and 28th is our annual Conference at TPC Sawgrass. We have partnered with the Lambert Consulting Group to bring you this exciting lineup. Be sure not to miss it!
November 17th Dinner meeting will feature Kent Crawford, who is a PMI fellow and past president of PMI Global. Kent is President and CEO of PM Solutions and will host a conversation on "The State of the PMO: Priorities for Advancing PMO Maturity".
Be sure to visit our chapter website www.pmi-nefl.org for more information on all of these events.
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Membership Corner
Donna Casey, PMP, VP Membership
Project Management Institute's Data Exchange Program (DEP) indicates that our chapter has 557 members. The DEP is a comprehensive set of products and services provided by PMI to the Component Leadership for the purpose of tracking membership, financials, as well as prospects on an ongoing basis. The DEP is released to board members the 12th of each month for the previous month's data. (The above number is based upon August's DEP)
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 Contact Us!
Our chapter provides
numerous opportunities to inform our members on what's happening in our chapter
and PMI Headquarters via our website and newsletters. If you have anything
to say, we welcome your input! Contact our
Vice President of Communication & Publicity.
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