I decided to create a blog when I came up with a question that I was going to post on Twitter, but the topic was just too long for that format. If you are curious, I wanted to discuss note taking during meetings. I know -it's something that keeps everyone awake at night... For now, I will save that topic for another post now that I have piqued your interest.
I would like to start by pointing out that I am not going to write in a formal manner. I am sarcastic and "try" to be whitty as I believe letting your true personality shine is the best and most honest way to present yourself. Hmm -maybe another topic for another day... To be yourself, to be hyper-professional or to find a middle ground?
I know everyone is just dying to know how I can associate Project Management with being a Mom. Let me begin with one word: ORGANIZATION. This is key. In the IT world a PM must be organized (I assume this applies to PMs in other industries as well). I have yet to meet a successful PM who is not a strictly organized individual. There are always a lot of things going on and as a PM you need to be on top of everything. If you are not organized you will miss something, whether it is following up on a development item or forgetting to confirm a business detail with a client. As a Mom, I must be organized at home as well. Maybe this is more important to me because I'm a working Mom or maybe it's just my personality, but it's what works for me. I need to know what is going on and have a plan in place -even if it is just our normally weekly things. If I mess up and forget something my daughter may not have a sandwich in her lunchbox or clean socks in her drawer. If you have children or know any four year olds you can relate to how a seemingly small misstep like this can escalate into a major problem.
Let's take a step back here and discuss the term "Project". A project is defined as an endeavor performed to create a unique product, service or result. You ask "how can you apply this term to your daily life as a Mom"? Well, every little thing is a project to me. Each week brings new challenges and responsibilities in my personal life. I may repeat certain things over and over again (such as doing laundry or going grocery shopping), but I need to come up with a plan to determine how we will approach each week. I may need to travel, my husband may have a softball game, one of us may want to take a long run one day -this takes some planning and coordination to ensure everything falls into place appropriately. I can see how some may disagree with me that approaching life can be considered a project and I would welcome a discussion on this topic.
Another way in which I approach both a project and my daily life is having a plan and/or schedule in place. Again, this is another pretty main piece that ties into organization. If you don't know where you are going how are you going to get there? I may be a little more flexible with my personal schedule than I am with a work related project schedule, but a schedule is necessary none the less. I would like to point out at this time that I am NOT saying that my way of organizing and scheduling my family is the only and best way -this is the way it works best for ME. I have many friends who do not approach raising their children and their personal lives in this way and they are all successful and great Moms (and Dads). A project schedule keeps my work projects on track; I know when things are suppose to occur and by whom. If this schedule gets out of whack I need to stop and reevaluate the project. This is the same as in my personal life. I am also an advocate of planning for down-time or other risks. If you are too strict with a schedule you are setting yourself up for failure right away. Scheduling can be a really big help when things are busy (as they always seem to be when you have a four year old) and assist with your overall organization.
I could probably go on and on about how different project terms and skills relate to my personal life, but maybe I'll save those for future posts as well. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences as I take myself on this new endeavor of being a "blogger" and writing about Project Management.
I would like to start by pointing out that I am not going to write in a formal manner. I am sarcastic and "try" to be whitty as I believe letting your true personality shine is the best and most honest way to present yourself. Hmm -maybe another topic for another day... To be yourself, to be hyper-professional or to find a middle ground?
I know everyone is just dying to know how I can associate Project Management with being a Mom. Let me begin with one word: ORGANIZATION. This is key. In the IT world a PM must be organized (I assume this applies to PMs in other industries as well). I have yet to meet a successful PM who is not a strictly organized individual. There are always a lot of things going on and as a PM you need to be on top of everything. If you are not organized you will miss something, whether it is following up on a development item or forgetting to confirm a business detail with a client. As a Mom, I must be organized at home as well. Maybe this is more important to me because I'm a working Mom or maybe it's just my personality, but it's what works for me. I need to know what is going on and have a plan in place -even if it is just our normally weekly things. If I mess up and forget something my daughter may not have a sandwich in her lunchbox or clean socks in her drawer. If you have children or know any four year olds you can relate to how a seemingly small misstep like this can escalate into a major problem.
Let's take a step back here and discuss the term "Project". A project is defined as an endeavor performed to create a unique product, service or result. You ask "how can you apply this term to your daily life as a Mom"? Well, every little thing is a project to me. Each week brings new challenges and responsibilities in my personal life. I may repeat certain things over and over again (such as doing laundry or going grocery shopping), but I need to come up with a plan to determine how we will approach each week. I may need to travel, my husband may have a softball game, one of us may want to take a long run one day -this takes some planning and coordination to ensure everything falls into place appropriately. I can see how some may disagree with me that approaching life can be considered a project and I would welcome a discussion on this topic.
Another way in which I approach both a project and my daily life is having a plan and/or schedule in place. Again, this is another pretty main piece that ties into organization. If you don't know where you are going how are you going to get there? I may be a little more flexible with my personal schedule than I am with a work related project schedule, but a schedule is necessary none the less. I would like to point out at this time that I am NOT saying that my way of organizing and scheduling my family is the only and best way -this is the way it works best for ME. I have many friends who do not approach raising their children and their personal lives in this way and they are all successful and great Moms (and Dads). A project schedule keeps my work projects on track; I know when things are suppose to occur and by whom. If this schedule gets out of whack I need to stop and reevaluate the project. This is the same as in my personal life. I am also an advocate of planning for down-time or other risks. If you are too strict with a schedule you are setting yourself up for failure right away. Scheduling can be a really big help when things are busy (as they always seem to be when you have a four year old) and assist with your overall organization.
I could probably go on and on about how different project terms and skills relate to my personal life, but maybe I'll save those for future posts as well. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences as I take myself on this new endeavor of being a "blogger" and writing about Project Management.