Categories: productivity
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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