Live Blogging Managing Multiple Projects, Objectives, and Deadlines

I’m at a SkillPath seminar today. Here’s what we’re doing so far:

Time Management

• Time is more valuable than money. It is your most valuable resource.
• No matter what you’re doing, ask yourself if it is the most important thing to be doing right now.
• Handle each thing once – decide to:
  • Do it.
  • Delegate it.
  • Defer it – only defer for one month.
  • Dump it.
• Immediately take some action, because it is easier to cancel a reservation at the last minute than to make a reservation at the last minute.
• Make the most of your unscheduled time at work.
• Let go of perfectionism; strive for excellence.

Work Environment

• What impression does your desk give people?
• Keep only daily things on your desk.

Time Wasters

• Surfing the Internet
• Daydreaming
• Personal calls
• Personal event planning

Resources

• Practical Project Management – Michael Dobson
• Microsoft Office Project 2003 Bible
• LifeScripts – Stephan Pollan and Mark Levine
• Power Phrases – Meryl Runion
• Managing Your E-Mail: Thinking Outside the Inbox – Christine Kavanaugh

To clear out a pile of things, use the WIFO concept: Worst In, First Out. Get it over with and out of the way. Another good method for certain temperaments is EIFO: Easiest In, First Out. Promise yourself a reward for getting done some increments.

Rewarded behavior gets repeated.

Don’t wait your whole life waiting for others to reward you. If you reward yourself, you are guaranteed to be rewarded and it boosts your self-esteem and productivity.

When defining a project, come up with a one sentence goal for your deliverable.

This allows you to wrap your mind around your project. It should include the budget, quality, and time frame. Ask the following questions of your assigner at the time of assignment:

1. What is the driving contraint? What is the #1 priority?
2. What is the middle constraint? What comes in just behind the driving constraint?
3. What is the weakest constraint? What has the lowest priority? It is the part that has the most flexiblity.