A day in the Smokies!!

National parks are usually one of the best getaways to rejuvenate and  soak in nature.

So on one of my weekends , I decided to visit the smoky mountains.

Firstly, every traveler must grab a map of the park being explored before the start of travel in to the park.

So here is the map of Smoky mountain.

Its geographically located between two states of United States : North Carolina and Tennesse.

I explored the mountain from North Carolina side. My drive was through Cherokee to Oconaluftee visitor center.

There are fields near by which are habitats of wild life of the smokies. These fields can be explored by walk.

 After a brief walk on one of the fields, we drove towards Clingman’s dome and Newfound Gap.

Enroute I could get a glimpse of many campers going back towards stone age era.

 Its amazing how human mind always goes in search of something nonexistential

 On top, we get a very nice view of the smokies.

We finally winded up an exhausting day at Sugarlands.

Next day,  we explored Cataract falls, Laurel falls, Sugarlands visitor center and a wheat mill.

After a rejuvenating time in the smokies, we finally bid good bye to the mountains and headed back home.

How to earn PDUs to maintain PMP certification??

After a mammoth task of clearing the PMP exam, the next task is to earn the PDUs to maintain the certification.

Let me share my experience of earning the PDUs.

We need to get 60 PDUs over a period of 3 years to renew PMP certification.

The 60 PDUs are classified as follows:

In Educational category , One needs to get 35 PDUs.

In Giving back category, One needs to get 25 PDUs.

Also Educational category is further divided into 3 subcategories:

1. Technical

2. Leadership

3. Strategy and Business

Giving Back category is divided into 2 subcategories:

1. Work as a Practitioner

2.Giving Back

I do lot of online reading , listen to webinars to get PDUs in Educational category and its also free.

For example: http://www.projectmanagement.com/ has lot of online materials which are free and we can claim PDUs.

Below pic shows my reading content :

The next category is Giving back:

We can claim PDUs by practicing project management methodologies in our profession.

In my work , I follow Agile methodologies via JIRa tool, Daily team meetings etc.

Also I create content through my blogs and claim PDUs.

Once the knowledge is gained or created , it can be reported via 

All the necessary details wrt content need to be filled in and submitted. If its approved, PDUs will be accumulated in the CCRS dashboard.

This is one of the simple and inexpensive way to gain PDU.

Hope it was helpful.

Do share your comments.