So you think you don’t do projects…

I talk a lot about projects given that it is my business – but does everyone I talk to understand what I am on about – I think not.

Of course we are not all in the business of building bridges or sending rockets to the stars but most of us do deliver work which is outside our normal day to day business,

  • A new website
  • A team reshuffle
  • An office move
  • A training event
  • A new set of policies
  • A new marketing strategy
  • A new piece of equipment
  • A new IT system

Any work which results in a change can be viewed as a project.

Is there anyone out there who is not under pressure to deliver more with fewer resources – whether that is money or people?

I am guessing not…

So how can we possibly do this?

We could take a small and simple leaf out of the book of project management – nothing too scary or technical just a few choice tools which will help us to:

  1. Think before we act
  2. Capture our thoughts in a suitable format
  3. Storyboard our vision of the work to be done
  4. Involve others to get great ideas and maybe some expert advice
  5. Think about the worse case and prepare for it
  6. Know where we are at any time
  7. Know whether we are way off track
  8. Get back on track without too much stress

If you do not want to think about something which sounds as overwhelming as project management, then maybe we should call it task management.
Take a look at David Allen’s ideas on Getting Things Done – nothing scary; just good sound practical oldcommon sense!