Being a Project Manager is a constant juggling act. Most of us are managing multiple projects, multiple teams & multiple competing priorities. Our diaries are back to back, our inboxes keep filling up & our days are spent in meetings leaving little time for actual work. Somewhere in all that, the actual job (thinking ahead, spotting issues early, making good decisions, seeing the bigger picture) can end up getting overwritten.
I’d like you to answer this honestly: when did you last spend a full hour thinking about your project? Not updating it, reporting on it, or clearing emails related to it…but actually thinking about it? Sitting down with an empty piece of paper and a pen, stepping away from the noise, tuning into the purpose of the project & perhaps thinking of the difficult questions a project is facing (before it faces them!)
The cost of speed
Microsoft's Human Factors research found that back to back meetings cause stress to accumulate in the brain, while short breaks between them let it reset. We know this instinctively. Rushed decisions create rework, rework creates pressure & pressure creates more rushed decisions. It becomes a vicious circle, that if we’re not careful can be difficult to escape from. And it’s a dangerous place to be because it is stressful, feels endless & can be all consuming.
Protecting thinking time is an important part of any great PM’s role. When the team are head down in the detail we need to step back & look up. Remember you are the conductor of the orchestra – you do not need to know how to play the oboe, Saxophone & violin…but you do need to know how all those parts work together to achieve the bigger picture.
Protecting Thinking Time
Protecting thinking time doesn’t have to mean huge changes. In fact, small amounts of thinking time, little & often can be hugely beneficial. Here are a few opportunities that you can easily plan into your diary.
- Before key decisions
- At the start of the week
- After milestones, good or bad
- Before difficult conversations
- At the end of the week
We all know we should do this. The trick is how we make sure that time doesn’t get overwritten. Because when there is an issue on a project, or a last minute Client request, it is this thinking time that is often the first thing to disappear. Here’s a few ideas on how to protect it
- Book it like a site inspection. You would rarely skip a site visit because you were too busy. Thinking time is the same activity applied to the whole project. Put it in the diary as project work, because it is.
- Give it a proper name. A slot called ‘thinking time’ or unnamed is easily overwritten by others. Instead, call it something like ‘strategic review of XX’ so that others don’t override your diary.
- Start with 30 minutes a week. Strategic thinking doesn’t have to take a huge amount of time. Start small with 1 short protected slot, phone face down, notifications off, emails closed & see whether it works.
- Leave your desk. Some of the best project decisions happen away from your desk…when you are walking, exercising & out of your day to day environment. You can’t always expect your brain to switch modes from operation to strategy, so change your environment to encourage the switch
So this week, find 30 minutes, block it in your diary, give it a respectable name & defend your time. Because Strategic Thinking is an essential part of being a great Project Manager. And being a great Project Managers relies on your being able to think strategically.