How to Pass PMP Exam in 8 Weeks? [Realistic Study Plan]

Confused how to create a study plan for PMP exam?

Got stuck in the first stage and not sure how to proceed?

Not to worry. By the end of this article, you should be able to create your own study plan for the PMP exam.

We will go through each and every step of creating a study plan.

I will give you an eight-weeks study plan to pass the PMP Exam. However, you can modify the plan to suit your style of exam preparation.

The best way to prepare for the PMP exam is to treat the whole thing as a project. For this, we need to get our planning right.

Study materials

Collect the right study materials. You need the following:

1. PMBOK Guide
2. At least one reference book (you may consider books like PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy or Head First PMP or PMP Exam Master Prep by Scott Payne)
3. Practice questions by knowledge area (you may consider Exam Simulator by PM Master Prep)
4. Full length mock exams (you may consider Exam Simulator by PM Master Prep)

Estimate the time needed

How many hours can you spend during a weekday?

How many hours can you spend during the weekends?

It is important to have a consistent daily schedule. Write down on a piece of paper and commit yourself how many hours you are willing to spend for the PMP exam.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. But, commit something that you are slightly uncomfortable with. For example, if you think you can spend only 45 minutes a day, then commit 1 hour per day. Push yourself.

I normally suggest 20 hours per week; 10 hours during weekdays (2 hours per day) and 10 hours during weekends (5 hours per day).

At this rate, about 6 to 8 weeks should be adequate.

We are looking at around 120 hours to 160 hours of dedicated attention to the PMP exam, after completing your 35 contact hours.

Ideal time to study

I prefer late nights to study, but early mornings are equally good or better. The distractions are much lesser during this period.

Fix a time slot that is convenient to you. It could be 9 PM-11 PM, 5 AM-7 AM or 10 PM-12 PM. Or, it could be a combination of one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening, like 6 AM-7 AM and 9 PM-10 PM.

Once you fix the time slot for study, try to stick to the same schedule on a daily basis. This approach would force your sub-conscious mind to raise an alarm when it is study time.

How to stay focused?

Do you get distracted easily by social media? Or, text messages? Or, phone calls?

I suggest you to look at the Pomodoro Technique, the technique that changed the way I study or work. It helped me to improve my focus.

I suggest two hours of study every day. You can split this into 4 time slots. Each time slot will have 25 minutes of study time and 5 minutes of break.

During the 25 minutes of study time, you will not do anything other than studying. Any distraction can wait for the 5 minutes break.

Don’t try to multi-task. If you are studying, just focus on your study.

Study plan to pass the PMP exam in 8 weeks

The following is the split of the total hours of exam preparation.

I have planned for 8 weeks that includes study, practice and revision. You should commit at least 20 hours every week.

• Studying PMBOK Guide and the reference book – 98 hours
• Practice questions, chapter wise – 9 hours (approximately 45 minutes per chapter)
• Review of the answers of practice questions – 3 hours (approximately 15 minutes per chapter)
• Mock exams – 16 hours (about 4 full-length mock exams at 4 hours each)
• Review of mock exam answers – 4 hours (approximately 1 hour per exam)
• Final revision – 30 hours

The above is a suggested breakdown. You can adjust it according to your comfort level.

Lock the PMP Exam Date

Do you feel that it is better to fix the exam date after getting enough confidence? You may never feel 100% confident.

Within the first one or two weeks of preparation, plan your exam date.

Set a deadline and then work out the study plan to meet the deadline. Otherwise, you are most likely to procrastinate. (Recall student syndrome and Parkinson’s law).

The more you delay, the more you feel uncomfortable. I see several candidates return back to the training programme for refresher courses.

Use of white boards to monitor your progress

Monitoring and Controlling is an important aspect of any project. Ensure that you monitor your progress and performance against your study plan. Don’t fall behind by too much. If you are falling behind, take corrective measures to stay on course.

I find white boards or sticky notes to be very effective in monitoring your progress.

Try to have some physical reminders in your room to seek your attention.

You can use the Kanban board shown below for monitoring your study progress.

Study groups

Get in touch with a study partner, if possible. Together, you can achieve more. The partner also can help you stay motivated when you feel under pressure.

You can become a member of WhatsApp groups (if you are interested in joining my WhatsApp group, send me a mail at pmdrill.com@gmail.com with your name and contact number).

You can also become a member of good, active groups on social media like LinkedIn or Facebook. I suggest “I want to be a PMP” group on LinkedIn.

A word of caution though: don’t let these groups distract your attention. Just participate enough to clear your doubts. Don’t try to actively participate in too many groups.

Study tips

Take study notes along your preparation. This might help during your final revision.

Don’t try to memorize the ITTOs. Try to picturize the process flow and understand how the various ITTOs and processes interact. You may want to refer to my how to remember ITTOs series of articles.

Make it a point to review the answers of all practice questions/ mock exams. Don’t just rely on the scores obtained in the exam. Review each and every question and the corresponding answer. If you find any knowledge gap, go back to that particular topic and read it again. Or, you can post a query in your study group and get the concept clarified by the experts.

Conclusion

Have you prepared your study plan?

More than planning, it is important to stick to the schedule. Ensure that you monitor your progress against your plan.

Do you still need my help? Did I fail to address any particular area of concern?

You can drop a comment below or you can send me a mail (pmdrill.com@gmail.com) with your queries.

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Manickavel Arumugam

Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)®
Certified Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®
An enthusiastic project management practitioner and trainer.

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