One week ago I asked the readers of tacticalprojectmanager.com: What do you want to become better at with regards to managing projects? As it turned out, many of you weren’t so happy with their level of self-organization.
Some of the comments I received:
- “I struggle with organizing all the tasks”
- “I sometimes fall behind on work”
- “I want to be more organized with my work space”
- “I’m looking for a way to make it easy to remember every detail so that my project succeeds”
Here’s a 5 minute self-assessement
Go through the following list. Check which of these points you have already implemented. (You don’t have to send me your feedback although I always enjoy hearing from you.) Which of these statements applies to you?- I have a contact list for my project team (name, email, phone no.). No more than 2 clicks away or in printed form.
- I have a list of all action items (tasks, deliverables) incl. deadline and responsible.
- I know which of these action items are critical for the success of my project.
- I have a printout of the project plan next to my desk (download my project plan template here)
- I know exactly what each of my team members are doing this week.
- Project documents are stored in a shared drive, using a clear folder structure (and I’m not the only one using that folder).
- If I’m looking for a specific e-mail, I’m able to find it in less than 5 minutes.
- I have a 3-5 page PowerPoint explaining what my project is about, incl. project goal, timeline and project organization (helpful for onboarding new team members).
- I write the meeting minutes for every meeting (or have somebody write them). And the minutes are actually useful to read.
- I am using pre-defined templates for things like meeting minutes or product/project requirements. And everyone in my team uses these templates.
- You know exactly how much project budget is left.
- I know when my team members are on holiday so that I can plan properly.
