PMP Study Plan: How to Create One in Excel (Template Provided)

Hello everyone, and in this video we are going to look at how you can create your own PMP exam study plan. So across the top here you can have all of your task names, then you can have your percentage complete of all of these tasks, the duration, so how long you plan to study for before you take your exam, the start date and finish date. So you can customize this spreadsheet however you want and you can create your own spreadsheet as well. So It's beneficial to write all of your tasks in Microsoft Project because it will automatically calculate the duration and the percentage complete for you, so it's just easier to use. As well, you can have a predecessor column, so that means that which task would follow which task. A predecessor is a task that must be completed before the following task— the tasks that follow it can start. So you can So it will automatically help you plan out the start and finish date. So let's say that, you know, this task has to start after the first task here. And if I just write my predecessor over here, then what Microsoft Project would know is that the start date of this task will have to be after the finish date of this task. So it has all of those built-in logic, in it, so I would recommend using Microsoft Project. But if you don't have access to Project, you can also create your own study plan in Excel as well. So in this video, I'm just gonna walk you through all of the different tasks that I have in this. By no means is all of the tasks that you have to do. You can customize this to fit your needs. You can, you know, add in some additional tasks or subtract other tasks and so forth. So let's just go through this now in terms of preparation. First, you want to make sure that you do qualify to take the PMP exam. So if you have a college degree, then you need 3 or more years of project management experience. If you do not, then you need 5 or more years of project management experience. Before you start, you want to review your PMP handbook and then register yourself as a PMI member. The benefit of being a PMI member before you go is that overall you will be saving $20 on your overall exam fees. So at the time when this video is being recorded, if you were a PMI member and you wanted to take the PMP exam, you would pay $534. If you were not a PMI member, then you pay $555. And on top of that, as a PMI member, you will also get a free copy of the PMBOK Guide. So if you want to write your PMP exam, it's definitely very beneficial to become a PMI member, at least in your first year. And once you have done that, make sure you register for one of our free PMP classes at www.exampm.com/free. So in this class, we'll talk about how to memorize the process table, how to understand ITTOs, how to fill in your applications. We'll give you a lot of different exam tips, and it's definitely a session that you don't want to miss. And you want to download your PMBOK Guide from PMI. So once you have done all the prep work, it's now time to do your study. So, you know, this is divided by the chapters of the PMBOK Guide. So you want to study each chapter and then take a post-chapter test. In the PMBOK, there isn't a post-test, so you would have to go and purchase an exam simulator that's divided by the different sections and test yourself that way. And we do have an exam simulator here at Exams PM. So for each of the chapters, you study that chapter and you can study in a variety of different ways. This will really depend upon your learning style. So if you are a visual learner, maybe you want to read a couple of books. If you are an audio learner, then perhaps you want to purchase some courses where you can either study online or in person and then test yourself after every single chapter. And then across here, just make sure you put in your dates and So forth. So once you do that, do not forget about professional responsibilities. Once you finish all the chapters and all of the post-tests, ensure that you reread all the chapters where you didn't score above 80% on your post-tests. Reread or rewatch, I should say, and then retake the test again to make sure that you get over 80%. And that concludes your core studies, and then now you're ready for your application. The reason you want to do your application after or in parallel—you could also do it in parallel while you're studying—is because a section of your your application asks for your 35 contact hour certificate, and you can only get your certificate after you've completed a PMP certification course. So you have to apply after you've completed this course. You just simply go on to PMI.org to. Start your application. And if you want some tips on how to write your application descriptions, be sure to sign up for a free course at examspm.com/free. And we'll also include a link on the bottom with a couple of description samples that can help you get started. Okay, and then after you finish your application, it's time to take the full-length exams. So each full-length exam is 200 questions and you have 4 hours to complete it. So you want to do a as many of these as you can before your actual exam. And we talk about why that is in our free courses as well at examspm.com/free. And you can also get 200 free questions through our website. So we'll also include that link at the bottom. So make sure you download our 200 free practice questions. But the point here is that no matter which exam simulator you go with, you wanna do as many of these full-length exams as possible because you wanna make sure that you can complete 200 questions in under 4 hours. And then after each exam, study your weak areas, you know, re-memorize your formulas again, re-memorize your process groups, knowledge areas, and processes. And finally, you take your exam. So that concludes the sample study plan that we have, and you can customize this to include more tasks, less tasks, etc. I hope you found this video helpful, and be sure to sign up for a free class at examspm.com/freeclass. Thank you. Hope you guys enjoyed this video, and we'll see you in the next one.