How to Create Study Plans That Work

If the IT cert you're working on for 2025 is starting to overwhelm you, take a step back and recalibrate. One of my cert instructors from back in the day made a point that helped me with that "overwhelmed" feeling. Plan the work. Work the plan. What's a cert study plan look like? First, recognize that a cert isn't one big thing you have to ingest all at once. You're not guzzling 2 liters of water. You're pouring a small glass of water and drinking it. When you're ready for more, you pour another glass. Your plan is an outline of what you're going to pour into the glass & drink today. The cert blueprint should be the foundation of that plan. Each point on the blueprint is a glass of water. On any given day, that's all you have to drink. For example... 1️⃣ Monday 13-Jan - read chapter 1 from the official exam guide. 2️⃣ Tuesday 14-Jan - answer all the chapter 1 review questions. Write a blog post that summarizes the key points. 3️⃣ Wednesday 15-Jan - lab day. Do three exercises recommended by the book (or your instructor, etc.). 4️⃣ Thursday 16-Jan - make a list of everything that was hard about chapter 1, where you still lack confidence. Research & review until you're comfortable. 5️⃣ Friday 17-Jan - take a day off. (Yes, you need to schedule those!) 6️⃣ You get the idea... You might or might not like the approach I took above. No worries--the specifics aren't the point here. The point is to come up with a weekly structure that works for you. Then iterate week by week until you've planned your entire study path. Plan the work. The plan becomes the task list that you know you must follow to get through your studies. Work the plan. As each day comes up, all you have to do is see what's on the plan for today, and do that. Nothing more. Also...nothing less, or else you never get through the work. You can't skip leg day every week and expect your back squat to increase. So, how does a study plan help with feeling overwhelmed? A plan means you're *in control*. Using a plan, you've defined exactly what you need to do, and a realistic timeframe in which you can do it. A plan is a visualization of exactly how you're going to get from where you are to where you want to be. A plan isn't vague. A plan isn't..."Oh, I guess I should hammer through some of the book on Saturday." A plan is methodical, specific, and targeted. A plan is intention. Control. You don't have to guzzle all the water at once. One glass at a time is enough. #certification #ccent #ccna

How I personalized my study plan for the PMP exam; passing AT/AT/AT with under 30 days of prep! 🤔 I received a lot of questions about how I studied for the PMP exam. 🤩 To simplify things I made a visual with some tips you can use to make your own study plan! Here are some more details and materials I used: 1️⃣ Limited studying & made it achievable. ➡ 2-4 hours per day ➡ 6 days a week ➡ 15-20 hours total each week. 2️⃣ Studied iteratively. ➡ Repeated and adjusted as needed. ➡ Used data and feedback to inform decisions. ➡ Repeated phases to develop the end result. 3️⃣ Tailored my learning. ➡ Holistic learning took place when I studied the PMBOK or took mock exams that cover all topics. ➡ Incremental learning took place when I focused on one area until mastery before moving onto a new topic. ➡ I was solid on Agile, so focused on Waterfall and the Process Groups. ➡ I made visual study guides. You can check them out here: https://lnkd.in/gCp7tvFA 4️⃣ Used feedback loops & data analysis. ➡ I reached out to others, talked with mentors, and analyzed my results. ➡ I adjusted my plan based on feedback, data analysis, or if life got busy. ➡ I experimented, tracked the metrics, and adjusted as needed. 5️⃣ Adjusted my materials based on needs. ➡ Julia Ode, PMP®, CSM® was an amazing mentor and support throughout. She has a fantastic PMP study guide and resources you can check out here: https://lnkd.in/ggDidkup ➡ David McLachlan YouTube videos. Week 1: listened to PMBOK and PGPG overviews. Week 2-4: listened to 20 practice Q&A daily (~30 min. at 1.75X). ➡ Used PMI membership to access Project Management Institute publication for free. Used them as a search tool to find particular topics. ➡ Attended 2-3 study groups per week. PMI Finland Chapter has one on Tuesday and Sunday. Gabor Stramb and Anna Lung'aho have groups on Thursdays. ➡ Used PMI Study Hall Essentials. Took 1 full exam week one to establish a baseline. Took practice questions on focus areas week 2-3. Then took the second mock exam mid-week 3. ➡ The day before my exam I relaxed and listened to Andrew Ramdayal's PMP mindset videos. 💪 I hope these tips help you make your own study plan to prepare for the PMP! ❓ Please let me know if you have questions, something to add, or feedback in the comments! Happy studying my friends! 🙌 _____ ♻ Like this post? Please react, comment, or repost! Hi, I'm Melissa- a Project Management Professional (#PMP), Certified Scrum Master (#CSM), and Certified Scrum Product Owner (#CSPO). I'm actively looking for a great team to join- feel free to reach out if you think I'd be a great fit or to collab on something! I post about #ProjectManagement, #Agile, #education, #motivation, tips for #transitioningteachers, and everything in between. Follow or connect with me for more! 🙌 #PMP #PMPprep #PMPexam #Study #Studyresources