Baselines

In my first article, I had big plans to read the first three chapters of the PMP Exam Prep book, 10th edition. Then Life lifed like Life lifes.

Immediately learned my first lesson: my exam materials are covered in the 11th edition, not the 10th edition materials my coworker generously donated to me. Since I've confirmed on numerous occasions that this exam is as serious as hearing my full, government name when someone wants to talk, I decided not to take shortcuts and rely solely on those materials. I went ahead and had Amazon deliver the 11th edition Friday morning.

Armed with the newest edition and after summoning sympathy from all my close people, I started reading. It's been two decades since I earned my last degree. In those 20 years, my attention span has dwindled. Significantly. After reading two paragraphs then giving my eyes unplanned five-minute rests, repeatedly, I decided that 2003 tactics are not optimized for 2024. Enter second life lesson: I need to change to an Agile study plan to align with how I learn now.

I logged into PMI's site to find the drop dead date and plan from then. First, I gave myself a month for variance. The PMP Exam Prep book has 18 chapters. I have plenty of time to devote one week to each chapter. In this Initiating phase, I mapped out those 18 weeks and related topics from the Guide to the PMBOK Guide. That takes me through June 30th. While Executing the plan, I'll add more items as they come up, like the review class the job will graciously cover. As I Monitor and Control the plan, if I need to adjust the timelines, I have at least four additional months to add more training or extend the harder chapters. But for now, the baseline end date is June 30. Right in time for my birthday and vacation!

Delving into the plan, there's the physical part of studying that older me has to incorporate. I can't sit for hours at a time anymore. What I could accomplish in two-straight hours at 22 just won't happen now. I need to take movement breaks to stay limber. I need water. And then there are the many restroom breaks as a result of all that water. Every hour I studied in 2003 is two hours in 2024. But... I'm better at making sure I understand what I study now, so there's a silver lining in lesson three: I'm older and a little slower, yet wiser.

I'm feeling good about this plan and ready to start the journey. Over the next few weeks, I expect to refine my timelines and techniques. Week 1 begins today. My Confluence pages are ready.