I know you don’t have the time. You don’t even have time to read this post. There is so much to do! There is no time to learn. [iStock/designer491]I know, I thought the same. Let me show you how to make more time and improve your knowledge of project management without too much overhead. Project managers are often overwhelmed. There’s always something we need to do. There is always more to do, more emails to answer, more conversations to have.
A junior manager was there when I began to give lectures about project management. He wanted to know how I could find more time to read, learn and attend professional events.
I wasn’t ready at that moment to answer his question. It seemed like an obvious answer. All you need to do is allocate some time. Every spare moment is a time to make the most of it.
After that, I’ve been thinking a lot about the question. Learning seems like an integral part of my daily life. It wasn’t always that easy when I first started. I struggled to find more time.
I’m ready to answer your question. I hope this will be helpful to you, junior project manager.
1. Be intentional
I can still remember the moment I decided to improve my life. It was 2 a.m. and my team and I were still working on a project in the office. We were going to give the product to the customer. We had already worked long hours for several weeks. Quite a familiar situation, right?
Every day, I had to keep asking people to push me a little more. I had to find new ways of motivating them to complete the project. I knew that this was a terrible experience for the team and that they would never want to repeat it. It was me who brought the project and team to this point.
The project was completed the next day. I purchased my first book on project management.
There were times when I tried to improve the situation. They stayed there for a while. My intentions were firm this time. I am certain that there is a difference between the quality of our intentions.
I don’t know how to make people be intentional about pursuing a goal. But I do know a simple method that works. It’s called “5 Whys”.
It’s worth it. Ask yourself why you want better project management skills. If you feel that the answers resonate, you are more likely to stick with your goal.
Today, I know that the half of what you need to be a better project manager is determination. It will be easier to find time if you are determined to improve yourself.
2. Save Information
One thing that I regret is that I sometimes forget to save interesting articles or the name of a book. Information that is useful tends to be found at the worst times. Either you don’t have the time or aren’t tuned to learn, or you don’t have the patience to read, listen, or even take notes.
Facebook is the worst place to post professional material. You are usually in a relaxed mode when you scroll through your newsfeed. You are looking for funny videos, cute cats, and catchy images.
I often need to make a serious effort to save an article I find on Facebook when I stumble across it. To be honest, I rarely return to the items I have saved.
After reading Getting Things Done by David Allen, everything changed. I also started using Evernote. I highly recommend the book. It is a remarkable productivity system. You can use any application that suits your needs. It will save your articles, links, documents, thoughts, and other information in an easy-to-use way.
Keep it safe whenever you find something valuable. Why? Why?
3. It can be put into a calendar
This is a simple suggestion. Put a time limit on your calendar if you want to read or view something useful.
What are you most likely to do when you have an important meeting? Most likely, you will place an event on a calendar.