In the Line of Fire -- Ramblings of the incoherent mind

Study time: 2 months  [Studies happened over 2 and half months. Out of those, 3 weeks were on a zero study break]

Books: 

• Rita Mulcahy (Twice)
• PMBok (Once ) 
• Head fast [Didn't read beyond the first 2 chapters since it was very basic. If you have experience in Project Management this isn't required to be read.]

References: PMP Books and references in PMI Knowledge center [Dry info but helpful to understand the tough topics]

Mock exams: 

• Rita chapter end questions
• Free PMP Practice Exam - Head First
• Oliver F. Lehmann
•  75 & 175 questions.
• Rita fast track sample questions
• Online exams

Study groups:

• Discussion with other PMP aspirants -  It helped me in discussing my understanding of concepts with others
• Linkedin groups - I want to be a PMP® and other PMP groups - help us to see the exam questions and get a go at it before the exam.

I started off with a crazy frenzy to study in the 2nd week of May and give the exam by June end. I used to study for close to 4 hours after work on weekdays [Thanks to the US work culture for making that possible] and close to 10 hours on weekends. I had to take a break of 3 weeks due to some reasons. So almost after 3 weeks of break time I jumped back into studies in the last week of June. I had a week long vacation planned for the 4th Jul long weekend and made sure I had stuff to take with me to read while travelling in the train or in flight.

Yes my long weekend trip of 4th July was spent partly enjoying in NY and in reading study material be it in flight or while travelling to my friends place from airport in train. 
I wonder how they let me study while at their home :) 

During my long weekend vacation I got to know one of my friend who had exam on 4th did not clear the exam. This was a shock to me as I was expecting him to clear the exam. That kind of lit the fire that was required for me to give in my 200%. After that day the moment I got back home from my vacation I started studying like crazy. 

My schedule changed

•  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM  - work
• 5:00 PM - 12:00 AM - stay back at work and study [My office drawers were full of stuff I could eat :) I was practically living in my office and surviving on fast food, wraps, s/w. 
• 12:00 AM - go back home and sleep [I stay 10 mins drive from work]
• Repeat the cycle again. 

Listing down some tips for the exam day

1. Get enough sleep the night before !! we already go through an intensive study routine for month, take the required rest so that our mind is ready to tackle those 4 crazy hours!!
2. Calculate the number of questions you would be required to solve by 30 mins or 1 hour. This not only helps you keep a track of where you stand with respect to the exam hour but also helps keep you in charge of your speed.
3. Make sure you reach the center at least 30 mins before your exam, it is always good to be at the place beforehand to avoid any last minute surprises and get into the exam in a composed state of mind.
4. If you get stuck on a question for more than 4 -5 minutes better not waste more time on that, you could miss out on answering more questions if you continue on this one.
5. DO NOT, I REPEAT - DO NOT assume you will get a lot of time to review the marked questions and solve them. Try to solve the question in one go only than waste time in reading n understanding it again at the end.
6. Read the question at least twice! I had changed answers to at least 3 questions after reading the question the second time.
7. Do not care about the exam result and get worried up. Just worry about answering the question in front of you. Take it one step at a time.
8. If you do get time to review , don't rush through the review questions to complete all of them, instead concentrate on getting them right even if it means you tackle them slowly.
9. Keep a lookout on questions that can provide answers to previous questions ! I had selected a wrong answer [made up PM term] to one of the questions. I had my doubts on it and had marked it when I moved a few questions ahead I cam across another question which had the correct PMism which helped me go back and correct the answer.
10. Math is a great thing to know, EVM calculations can be done faster with usage of Math shortcuts and tricks and tips.
11. None of the questions scream out which process group the answer is expected from - So if you get stuck , think of which process groups the problem is part of and it would be helpful to look at the scenario from that perspective while answering the question.
12. I can't emphasize this enough!! create a brain dump. It helps to have the formulas and important points in front of one while giving the exam.
13. Try to have a candy or something before you step in, Chocolate is a mood booster and it helps :)
14. The Prometric center I had been to had temperature set very low in July hence it was pretty cold, thank god I had a pullover with me. So make sure you take a pullover or wear layers of clothes so that you can take them off if required during the exam. [This may seem like a senseless tip but believe me it was difficult to concentrate with it being so cold.]
15. Be hydrated before the exam, but not as you approach the exam time. Nobody wants to keep visiting the restroom n wasting the checking up time [usually 5 mins ]while getting back into the room.
16. Take a break in between, if you don't wish to step out to avoid the time wastage in checking. Sit at your place  and do deep breathing :))

Zombies & PMP !!!  What is the correlation one may think 

Well after watching Zombie movies, I always wondered what would go on in a Zombie's mind if they were real. I mean all they did was run after a single goal by letting go of everything else around them the goal being killing the living for food [?] 

Well , I kind of found out, let me clarify I did not live a zombie's life :P. For the past 2 months I was metaphorically a zombie!!
After work, my life involved Reading 1873 pages out of 2 books, endless burning of the midnight oil, giving various online mock exams, having wraps & sandwiches for food & Starbucks coffees to keep me awake in the night for 60 days while running after just one single goal of clearing the exam in 1st attempt. I guess that should justify me saying it is an understatement to compare mylife with that of a Zombie - at least they got their food daily !

But yeah I guess when one finally sees the magic words "Congratulations you passed" on the screen those efforts are worth it !