“It’s the perfect time to get strategic with your CPD planning”

And, as we start to navigate the middle ground of the 2025–2027 CPD cycle, I, like many others, am at risk of hitting the ‘sophomore slump’ when it comes to meeting the General Optical Council’s (GOC) requirements.

For me, the first year of the cycle feels like a new notebook – crisp pages, neat handwriting, best intentions – and then before I know it, the third year hits like a sledgehammer and I discover it wedged down the back of the sofa with coffee rings, dog-eared corners, and unintelligible scribbles: ‘update PDP,’ ‘complete peer review.’

At AOP HQ, we certainly see waves in appetite for CPD consumption as our members journey through the cycle. While year one brings enthusiasm, and for some, year three brings sheer panic, year two has a cunning knack for lulling even the most diligent practitioner into a false sense of ‘I’ve got ages yet.’

Spoiler alert: you don’t.

By taking a pre-emptive strike now, you can slide into summer with enviable smugness, and more importantly, an elegantly crafted PDP that keeps you on track ahead of the final year

The luxury of year two is that it provides an opportunity that the tail end of year three absolutely does not: the chance to correct course without the adrenaline of a looming deadline. At the midpoint, your professional development plan (PDP) is still in a malleable state and there’s plenty of time to target those trickier to hit domains (Leadership and accountability, and Professionalism spring to mind).

Let’s face it, nothing fun ever happens in January, so in many ways it’s the perfect time to get strategic with your CPD planning. By taking a pre-emptive strike now, you can slide into summer with enviable smugness, and more importantly, an elegantly crafted PDP that keeps you on track ahead of the final year. Because, as we all know, it’ll soon be Christmas.