Since earning my project management certification, I have met many people who were relieved when they completed their CAPM®/PMP® training course, not because their work was over, but because it meant that they could stop worrying about training requirements and finally start to study for the actual exam. With the certification requirements and the training course certificate under their belt, they were free to study on their own time and under their own terms. Even in my own quest for a certification, I felt relieved when I completed the requirements necessary to earn my training certificate because it symbolized a transition from the instructor-led training schedule and training curriculum to one of my own design: a training plan that would address my unmet study needs and that would re-emphasize studying for the pure joy of learning rather than studying for an exam – the first tenant of my training plan, if you may recall.

However, once removed from the structured study methods of the trainer, many will start to waiver in their commitment to the study process. Other priorities (e.g. work, family) begin to creep in and the certification timeline starts to creep out. Tasks that we had put off at work or at home in the name of completing the training course become hard to ignore now that we no longer can use the excuse of having to complete the course material before the Learning Management System (LMS) subscription expires. Soon enough, the other demands on our attention distract us from our goal of completing our certification. We quickly lose the edge we had built up during the certification course, lose the familiarity with the terminology of project management and, most serious, begin to lose the study discipline that helped us to complete the training course in the first place.

When we finally find a free moment to study, there is a fear that we don’t know enough material or that we don’t understand the material well enough to take a certification exam. The thought of wasting the exam registration fee by not being prepared is bad enough, but it is the thought of having to review the content from all 13 chapters of the PMBOK® Guide in preparation for the exam that humbles even the most confident test-taker. Without specific guidance for this phase of the study process, we are not sure what to do. We fail to maintain our steady stream of progress and our goal of earning a professional certification starts to drift away from us.

So, what do you do? How do you regain your edge, or avoid losing your edge in the first place?

As with most things in project management, it all starts with developing a plan. In the next edition of this blog, I will explore the benefits of having a study plan for the final phase of your exam preparation.