Your company title might not include “project manager”, but chances are at some point in your role, you might have to oversee a project from beginning to finish. Although it might sound straightforward, depending on the number of moving pieces your project requires (and the number of co-workers helping you out), you’ll find that project managing can get very overwhelming very quickly.
That said, we’ve compiled five tips so you can go forth and project manage!
1. Begin with a Plan
So you have a project that needs doing… Before you and your co-workers get wrapped up in the details of how to complete it, it’s best to begin with a plan of attack. Make sure the project is subdivided into digestible tasks, and that your co-workers know and understand what they’re supposed to do. Deadlines should also be made clear in case one person’s beginning depends on another person’s ending. While it’s tempting to want to assume that everyone “gets” what to do, it’s better to have the expectations clearly communicated.
2. Choose a Project Management Tool
Large, time-consuming projects like a website redesign require several tasks; to help you stay organized, project management tools are essential. At OBO, we’re raving fans of Asana, but any similar system will work. Ideally, you’ll want this tool to track:
- The task type and details
- The person owning the task
- The expected deadline
- Any internal communication regarding the task
If you take any notes outside of the system regarding either a specific task or the project as a whole, make sure to manually add it to the system as soon as possible so everyone stays on the same page about the project’s details.
3. Take Constant Notes
Since you’re the project manager, everyone will be coming to you with questions about the project. As a result, it’s important to take constant, thorough notes–of every question and answer, every meeting, every little detail that is relevant to the end result.
The details that need to be communicated with your team should be added in the project management tool, but otherwise, note taking is mostly for your own reference for two important reasons:
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- To ensure that you don’t need to remember absolutely everything (after all, we’re all human and have limited brain space!)
- To keep a paper trail of every communication just in case someone pushes back on a task or asks what was decided during a meeting
4. Be Proactive about Following Up
Making sure that a project gets done on time is all about communication. Of course, there’s a fine line between checking in and nagging, and you want to make sure you stay on the side of empowering your co-workers versus breathing down their necks. Always respect your co-worker’s abilities–but if a deadline is fast-approaching and you haven’t gotten a proper update, it’s time to send them a quick message to see what their progress is. That way, they are being held accountable for their portion of the work; a team can only thrive if they work together.
5. Manage Your Time Wisely
With so many moving pieces to keep track of (whether it’s one project or more), it’s enough to make your head spin! Rather than doing hourly deep breathing exercises at your desk (although, if it helps, you do you), we recommend following a few basic time management principles:
- Learn to prioritize. You may have 15 different tasks calling your name, but learn how to tell which one is the most urgent and work your way down the list. For example, we suggest creating two lists–A list, which needs to get done today, and B list, which needs to get done, just not right now.
- Set time limits for tasks. Especially if you have a lot to get done, setting time limits can encourage you to focus. If something takes a little longer, that’s fine, but this method is all about cutting down on procrastination.
- Don’t worry about unimportant details. If something, a task, a meeting, and so on, won’t contribute to the success of the project, don’t waste time stressing about it.
- Lock yourself in. If you told yourself you would get something done, get it done, even if it means saying no to other tasks or meetings (as long as they are non-essential).
For more information on the best practices for project and time management, reach out to us today!
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