You don’t need to be an athlete to pass the PMP test.

But you do need to be “physically ready” to pass the PMP test.

This is just some of the practical advice I give my PMP Test Prep clients on passing the PMP.

Passing the PMP is an Athletic Event

If you’re not an athlete, keep reading.

If you were an athlete or are an athlete, this blog post will make sense.

Your Physical Checklist for Passing the PMP

Yes, I have a physical checklist for passing the PMP.  I used six of the following methods to physically prepare to pass the PMP test.

Have you even considered this type of preparation prior to your PMP test?

1. Minimize Risk – Your Best Choice – Schedule an Official ProMetric Test Drive ($30)
2. Schedule Your PMP Test Date
3. Change Your Eating Habits to Prepare for PMP Test Day
4. Take two 4 hour practice tests at your scheduled test time.
5. Watch a ProMetric Video for Test Day
6. Drive to ProMetric BEFORE test day.
7. Visit the ProMetric test site.
8. Cancel the Test if You are Sick

1 – Minimize Risk – Your Best Choice – Schedule an Official ProMetric Test Drive ($30 U.S.)

I know, you don’t want to spend any more money on the PMP test.  But investing $30 in an official ProMetric Test Drive may be your best choice.  You pay your money, you schedule a visit, you take a 30 minute test (it doesn’t count), AND you can ask questions of the staff.

(I do not receive any money for encouraging you to take a Prometric Test Drive.)

YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO READ THIS NEXT ITEM !!!

After I wrote this blog post, a reader named Keith Motz, PMP, made a comment on the blog post.  You can read his entire comment at the end of this blog post but here is part of it.  Read it!

I would add one suggestion to your list. I passed the exam in August 2015, first try. In addition to checking traffic conditions to the test site on the day and time that you will be taking the exam, quiz the staff about the “test taker traffic” at the test center. Our center had about 40 seats and one bathroom! You do the math, as they say. A bathroom break in a full test center will be potentially much longer than one in a not so full test center. A bathroom break requires check in/check out.

So before you schedule your PMP test, make a knowledgeable decision about how busy your test center will be on your preferred test day.

In the U.S., if you have accidentally scheduled your PMP test on a popular MCAT test date (Medical College Admission Test), you may be very unhappy.  ProMetric test centers are NOT just for the PMP.  They accomodate all kinds of tests and the crowds at the ProMetric test centers will vary.

Make an informed decision on your test date.  Perhaps taking an Official ProMetric Test Drive is your best decision.

(And thanks to Keith Motz, PMP, for this great piece of advice.  Again, read his entire comment at the end of this blog post.)

2 – Schedule your PMP Test Date

Considering all these factors, then schedule your PMP test date and time.

1. Test Center Activity – You have researched the busy days at your ProMetric test center.  You are avoiding days that are crowded with other test takers.
2. PMP Test Project Plan – You are scheduling the test when you are ready or expect to be ready to take the PMP test.  Your test date “fits within” the project plan you built for yourself to pass the PMP.
3. Travel Time – You have considered how long it will take to travel from your home to the test center.
4. Morning, afternoon, or evening – You are scheduling the test for your best test time.  If you’re a bad morning person, schedule the test for the afternoon or evening.

3 – Change Your Eating Habits to Prepare for PMP Test Day

I am not a dietitian, but I do know that you need to eat properly before a big event, like a test.

Didn’t your mother encourage you to eat a good breakfast before you went to school?

Since I knew that my PMP test report time was 12:30 PM, about 1-2 weeks before the PMP test, I started having a light lunch around 11 AM every morning.  It was a healthy lunch/breakfast with protein, carbohydrates, a dash of fruit.

Taking the PMP test on an empty stomach or on a bloated stomach is NOT a good idea.

4 – Take two 4 hour practice tests at your scheduled PMP test time

Okay, you have trained your body to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner at the right time of day prior to the PMP test.

Now you need to train your body to sit for 4 hours working hard on a practice PMP test at 9 AM, 1 PM, or 6 PM.  Even though you might report to ProMetric at 8:30 AM, the test won’t begin until approximately 9 AM.

If you don’t plan on using the bathroom for four hours, that’s how you should take your 4 hour practice test at 9 AM, 1 PM, or 6 PM.

Yes, that’s exactly how I practiced two weeks out from my PMP test.  I was able to complete all 200 questions on two 4 hour practice tests without using the bathroom.  If you think you will need to take a bathroom break in the middle of the test, allocate 15 minutes of LOST TEST TIME.

5 – Watch the ProMetric YouTube Test Day Video

(If you took my advice in step #1 and took an Official ProMetric Test Drive, this step isn’t necessary.)

Watch What to Expect on ProMetric Test Day from ProMetric.  You will find it educational.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find a YouTube video on the 15 minute ProMetric pre-test which shows you how to take a ProMetric test using their computers.

6 – Drive to ProMetric Before Your PMP Test Day

(If you took my advice in step #1 and took an Official ProMetric Test Drive, this step isn’t necessary.)

If you have an 8:30 AM start time at your test center for a weekday, you need to drive to that location to make sure you can find it in a timely fashion, find parking, and enter the test building five minutes before 8:30 AM.

Have you ever driven or travelled to a business appointment and become lost?  I know, you have GPS.  But GPS may not tell you that parking is difficult at that time of day.

Or if you use public transportation as I did to travel to my downtown Chicago test site, I allocated enough time in case the train had a problem.  (Chicago public transit is about 90 per cent on time.)

7 – Visit the ProMetric Test Site

(If you took my advice in step #1 and took an Official ProMetric Test Drive, this step isn’t necessary.)

Yes, you did a test drive to the ProMetric test site.

Since you’re there, you might as well go to the 2nd or 3rd floor, introduce yourself, and they will politely thank you for coming and ask you to leave if you don’t have an Official ProMetric Test Drive.

At least you are absolutely sure of both the location and the actual part of the building for the ProMetric test location.

8 – Cancel the PMP Test if You are Sick

It’s foolishness to take the PMP test if you are sick the day before the test.

You won’t do well on the test and you might make other people sick.

Why would you take a test if you are sick?  Cancel the test immediately the day before the class.

“Richard, I don’t Need This Preparation to Pass the PMP”

Yes, you do.

Please Leave a Comment

Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

And if you liked the concrete, practical advice in this blog post, just imagine how well you will be prepared if you become a PMP Test Prep client of mine.

Thanks for reading this blog post on Physical Preparations to Pass the PMP test.