It's time to put it down in writing. What are your goals for 2011? What do you need help with? What have you been putting off? Can I help you? Can we all help you
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Pat, Project Management is something that I think I do well, so please feel free to call on me for help or motivation when you need it.
As you say, a lot of these things are really no-brainers. The trick is in consistently applying them. It's just like weight loss. We all know what needs to be done to lose weight, we just don't do it because we lack motivation. You find your motivation, you find success.
So, here are my basic tips for managing projects, both personal and professional.
1. Write down your project plan. Even if it's going to change over time, you need a starting place.
2. Detail specific deadlines for the tasks and sub-tasks and keep track of when they are actually completed. If others are involved in the project, write down who is working on which tasks. Update your deadlines when necessary (e.g., when a deadline is missed or completed early). If money is involved, track its income and output.
3. Send reminders to yourself and to anyone else in the project about upcoming deadlines. Follow-up after deadlines to make sure everything was completed. Identify roadblocks are come up with a plan to work around them.
4. I find it essential to set aside time weekly (some do it daily) to review and evaluate my progress on pending projects. I have an hour marked off on my calendar every Friday for this purpose and during which I will accept no appointments. Be honest with yourself, and make changes to the plan if necessary.
5. Don't abandon a plan because you missed a few deadlines. Unless it becomes impossible because it's particularly time-sensitive, a good project is worth saving. A sound piece of advice I received from someone (which I think she stole from someone else) is, "Don't let the great interfere with the good." Seems counter-intuitive, but it basically means not to delay putting out something sound because you're holding out hope for perfection. That's a particularly insidious procrastination technique I often fall prey to.
Good luck, and don't hesitate to get in touch if you want to talk any of your projects over. I love this stuff... :-)
Wow. The karma is out there. Thanks Karen! It DOES scare me. I dont feel motivated in the least to employ time management or scheduling or deadlines or delegation to my projects. I find it bizarre. If it was a LARP, I'd be all over the deadlines and delegation. If it was a party, I'd be micro-managing it to death. Those are two things that I feel total motivation to project manage.
Why is work so different? Why why why? Perhaps I dont need to answer that question so much as I simply need to fake it til I make it... and maybe I will find myself motivated all of a sudden once the ball is rolling.
Yeah, I'd love to talk! What's my best method for chatting with you?
As you say, a lot of these things are really no-brainers. The trick is in consistently applying them. It's just like weight loss. We all know what needs to be done to lose weight, we just don't do it because we lack motivation. You find your motivation, you find success.
So, here are my basic tips for managing projects, both personal and professional.
1. Write down your project plan. Even if it's going to change over time, you need a starting place.
2. Detail specific deadlines for the tasks and sub-tasks and keep track of when they are actually completed. If others are involved in the project, write down who is working on which tasks. Update your deadlines when necessary (e.g., when a deadline is missed or completed early). If money is involved, track its income and output.
3. Send reminders to yourself and to anyone else in the project about upcoming deadlines. Follow-up after deadlines to make sure everything was completed. Identify roadblocks are come up with a plan to work around them.
4. I find it essential to set aside time weekly (some do it daily) to review and evaluate my progress on pending projects. I have an hour marked off on my calendar every Friday for this purpose and during which I will accept no appointments. Be honest with yourself, and make changes to the plan if necessary.
5. Don't abandon a plan because you missed a few deadlines. Unless it becomes impossible because it's particularly time-sensitive, a good project is worth saving. A sound piece of advice I received from someone (which I think she stole from someone else) is, "Don't let the great interfere with the good." Seems counter-intuitive, but it basically means not to delay putting out something sound because you're holding out hope for perfection. That's a particularly insidious procrastination technique I often fall prey to.
Good luck, and don't hesitate to get in touch if you want to talk any of your projects over. I love this stuff... :-)
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Why is work so different? Why why why? Perhaps I dont need to answer that question so much as I simply need to fake it til I make it... and maybe I will find myself motivated all of a sudden once the ball is rolling.
Yeah, I'd love to talk! What's my best method for chatting with you?
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