Professional (and Personal!) Project Management: At-a-Glance

Project management and its implementation looks different across all industries. A car dealership needs to know when new models are arriving, a construction company is required to vet city permits, and a national pageant must ensure that all cameras are ready to roll at 8/7c. These are VASTLY different endeavors, but anyone in charge of their execution knows three things: they must keep things moving, they must keep things organized, and they must keep things realistic.

1. Keep things moving

2. One of the most important things a project manager is responsible for is follow up. It may seem like you are being bothersome, but if you need to remind someone a few times about an impending task deadline, do it! I’ve often experienced that colleagues are actually quite thankful for multiple reminders; everyone is busy, but we need to make sure everyone is on task. 

3. Make sure you’re doing your research and vetting any potential outside collaborators for efficiency and work veracity. Ask them how they best receive and process information and adjust accordingly. 

4. Schedule recurring meetings and calendar notices. Gauge how regular a meeting needs to occur: is this an indefinite collaboration or partnership? Is there a clear end date? Is it just a one-time event? Rule of thumb: it’s better to over-schedule than under-schedule; canceling a meeting someone has set aside time for is far less frustrating than trying to find time in everyone’s worn-out agendas due to poor planning. 

5. Keep things organized

6. Consider utilizing a project management tool*. There are many different platforms available, such as Asana, Monday, Wrike, and Trello. Forbes shared a very informative article detailing these and many more; read it here.

7. *...but also consider your audience and workload; there is no need to reinvent the wheel for an app’s sake. For example, Asana is a great platform for collaboration, which is why it’s a TBC staple; however, Wrike would not be as efficient for us because we do not utilize AI integrations as much with our work. Additionally, almost everyone in the workforce has a Google account; a shared Drive with access to Docs and Sheets can also be more than enough! Make sure you work with what’s best for your team and its needs.

8. Keep things realistic

9. I’ve always said that everything works great until you add people into it. That is not meant to be derogatory; it simply means that humans are not perfect and some events cannot be predicted, try as we might to prevent them. Understand that (unfortunately) any myriad assortment of life events can take place, which will hinder a project’s pace. However, keeping things moving and organized ahead of time will curtail any major fallout. 

10. Know your team. If you are aware that someone is going on vacation in a month but you schedule a deadline in the middle of their trip, be realistic and adjust. Also be aware of the scope of work you’re asking someone to do; if it sounds like it’s going to take a long time, then discuss a reasonable and actionable plan of completion. If it gets completed early, great! It’s better to have it early and know there was plenty of time to have it completed well than having someone rush to get it done in an unreasonable timeline; it helps minimize your margin of error and improves morale. 

These are a few simple ways I’ve modified and tailored my project management approach during my career. Have any other suggestions or tips? Drop them below!