You must know how to keep things running in the project. As a project manager, you know you will need to figure out how to fit everyone’s tasks into your timeline and budget, manage and adapt to change and keep things running smoothly. It is normal to feel overwhelmed but it is not normal to feel that you are drowning in a sea of tasks and not getting anywhere unless you come up with a system that works for you. Following is a system that I have found very effective. I invite you to follow this system and see how it works for you. As on a PRINCE2 Training belfast.
Because you are not sure how to start or even know what project management is, let me give you a jump-start to get you started. Project management is about making things run smoothly. That includes your people, resources and your time. You cannot have that without you, right? That means you must come up with a plan that works for you. What works for me may not be the same for you so you have to be open to any suggestions.
Here is my system. This works for me, but you will have to see which one works best for you:
1. Prioritize. You have to determine from the start what your clients and customers are most important to you. That means I do not want to have an overabundance of projects with low paying clients. The same thing is true of revenue producing tasks. Prioritize those first. 3-6.
2. Map it out. Just like a map, you need to know what your goals are. The easiest way to do that is to visualize your dream on the surface. Visualize your 5 year to 10 year goal in one three year image. Map it out on paper (I use nothing more than my big whiteboard pen). Write your 5 year to 10 year goal down on the paper and list out the steps that must happen for your goal to come true. Making a list makes it real and helps remind you why you are doing all this.
3. Create a list of your top three priorities for the next 90 days. Take that list and redo it based on the first two steps. I want to repeat, it is OK to sort your list once you have only the most important tasks that you have to do each day. Yes, you may get behind but if you leave the blue pieces in the list to significance, at least you have a starting point.
4. Repeat step 3 for each new priority. Keep doing this until you have completed your 90 day priority list.
5. You are finished now. Discuss your list with your client and get a sense of where you are heading. Then take a proactive approach to change toward your 90 day goals. You may well feel a bit silly at first, but the goals really do not hurt if you are not ready to give them what you really want. At worst you will find that the process helps you re-energize yourself and which will leave you better prepared to tackle your daily projects.
Again, I cannot stress enough the power of this system. I have used it to have lots of fun with clients how I guide them through their goals and become a major part of their process. This may be a time that you will feel strongly heed to re-energize yourself. You may be passionate about this step. You may get frustrated and daring when you expose the true underlying business measures which you (and all of your many customers) need to understand. But remember, if you really want to fulfill your mission, you have to keep the momentum going, to make sure you are on top of yourself. You cannot, and should not let yourself get distracted by tasks. Defify yourself of the lure of the internet and the temptations that come with Facebook, or any other distraction. If your whiteboard works better than your dry erase board for the time being, put on your creativity hat and hit your paint. Put away the stress of your stress batteries and deal directly with the plethora of challenging but secondary items within your world. See the balance. They will come soon enough. Just keep continually aware of where you are going and keep repeating the steps of this process everyday as you achieve new goals.
