10 Things you should stop doing on projects (right now)
From the The Money Files Blog
by Elizabeth Harrin
A blog that looks at all aspects of project and program finances from budgets, estimating and accounting to getting a pay rise and managing contracts.
Written by Elizabeth Harrin from RebelsGuideToPM.com.
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Date
No one has time for avoidable chaos. If you’re anything like me, you’re preparing the draft steering deck for the next meeting as soon as this month’s meeting is over, to make life easier for Future You. When projects are busy (and your personal life is probably pretty full as well), you need to really focus on what is making a difference. So you can drop what is not.
Some habits seem small but they drain time, energy, and your morale. So I’m giving you a permission slip to drop them, right now. If I were you, this is what I’d be giving up as soon as I could.
Scheduling meetings without an agenda
Even if your standing agenda is ‘action review, plan review, risk review, AOB.’ You still need something to work through to make it a meaningful interaction.
Copying half the company on every email
You don’t do this, do you? Please stop!
Updating the RAID log if you never use it
I get it – hardly anyone reads the RAID log except me and I’ve made peace with that. But if you only add things to it and don’t ever cross anything off or update it, then it’s not working for you. Use it or don’t, but don’t write things in it and then ignore them.
Treating every task like it’s urgent
Not everything is urgent. In my book, Managing Multiple Projects, I talk about having a ‘drop everything’ list of people you will respond to urgently (like your director or your child’s caregiver). Everyone and everything else gets a place in your To Do list based on your assessment of it’s priority.
Over-polishing PowerPoint decks
If you’ve read other advice on time-saving, you’d have heard something like: “
Nobody notices your fonts.” That is absolutely incorrect. People absolutely do notice when your brand fonts aren’t used, or where you’ve picked a colour that is not in the brand palette.
But you can over-polish. Know when you’ve got something that’s good enough – and when your branding and grammar won’t distract from your message.
Running retros where no one speaks
If no one talks during retros or lessons learned, then they aren’t working for you. Ditch them and try something else, or switch up the format so they are actually useful.
Trying to solve every problem yourself
You’re a facilitator, not a firefighter! The age of the hero PM is over (if indeed it ever existed). Call in the experts, that is what they are paid for.
Ignoring feedback until the end
This is so important I wrote a book on it! You can check out
Customer-Centric Project Management for more on this idea, but basically the idea that you only get lessons learned and customer feedback at the end of the project is ridiculous. Get feedback as early as you can so you can make things better as you go along.
Micromanaging
One of my mentees complained recently about a micromanaging manager, but how many of those micromanagers are actually us? Project managers get so in the detail that sometimes we are the problem. You can step back.
Saying “yes” to every new request
Scope creep is real. That’s what boundaries are for, people. And the change management process, which is there to back you up 100% when you have to say no.
Getting rid of some mental load or unhelpful habits means you’ll have more space to show up to be the leader you want to be. If your New Year’s resolutions kind of fell by the wayside, remember that you don’t have to rely on January to set yourself a new direction for the coming months. Start with one new (or dropped) habit today and stick with it. You’ll soon see the difference.
Posted on: March 03, 2026 12:00 AM |
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Comments (10)
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Paul Rivet
Manager of Fleet National Programs| Canada Post Corporation
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Another fantastic article! All great points, and I'd like to add something I learned long ago about scope creep: Like the old saying goes, "if you can't say No, then you have no priorities." Scope creep is best managed early and fast.
Those tips are great for anyone really, not just project managers. :-)
Marlene Messam
Principal Project Manager| Collier County Board of County Commissioners
Naples, Fl, United States
Thank you for this article. I resemble most of those remarks, and I pledge to stop it!
Reena Nayyar
Project Management| None
Vancouver, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada
Amazing article, you exactly mention the vital points which every project manager needs to consider.
Sujit Supekar
Project Manager | PMP | Agile | Payment | Product Development| WorldLine
Mh, India
Thanks for sharing this checklist for personal discipline. In my opinion, it is suitable for a PM who is feeling overwhelmed by their busy work.
I would like to add a few more points from my perspective.
1. PMs often focus on "On Time/On Budget" (Output) and forget to track if the project actually delivers the expected value (Outcome).
2. PMs must stop prioritizing "process" over "people safety." Without a safe environment, no amount of agenda-setting will fix the project.
3. Not all stakeholders require the same level of engagement. PMs should stop the "one-size-fits-all" communication approach and use a Power/Interest matrix.
Colleen Moses
IT Project Manager| CJCC
Washington, Dc, United States
Great article. Thank you for the reminders. I am definitely quilty of over polishing my powerpoints and saying 'yes'
Dave Young
MD| David Young (Pvt) Ltd
Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe
Like this very much. Useful not just for me but for others I work with. One thought which which I can add to this article as a consequence of working with a business leader for whom absolutely everything is 'urgent'. More time, energy and especially more thought, on planning should help to minimise the new urgent tasks that suddenly appear from nowhere. Not a silver bullet in itself but a partial solution
"If you can't say No, then you have no priorities." Love that Paul. Thanks for all the comments on this article, I'm so glad it resonated and gave you things to think about. And thanks for the extra things to consider Sujit - I'm not sure if you mean psychological safety or physical safety (e.g. on a building site) but we definitely need both to enable people to do their best work.
I think this article has really important aspects that everyone have to avoid and transform of you're strategy.
In a lot of enviorements we suffer because dynamics like this.
The point of view of the autor, I think is really clever and strategical.
Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong
Community Champion
Financial Management Specialist | US Peace Corps
Yaounde, Centre, Cameroon
Thanks for this...
"Treating every task like it’s urgent" is a symptom of poor and or improper planning
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