I am a believer in the power of project management.
As a professional project manager for nearly twenty years, I have witnessed project success drive business results. I have also proven that project management can change lives and help achieve personal transformation. Now I am sharing some practical tips and techniques that you can use to help achieve your own personal goals, live your best life and become a PM Believer.
Science vs. Art
As I mentioned in my Executive Status Briefing (see You Are Here), project management is both a science and an art. Beyond the formal tools and processes, there are other habits and techniques that project managers use to achieve success. Today’s post explores one of these aspects of the art of project management.
Attitude of Gratitude
Do you want to know a secret about project managers? We do nothing.
Ok, that’s not really fair, we do a lot in a project. But the work of the work, the actual delivery of the project, is usually not done by the project manager. The software is written, the building is built and the event is conducted by other people.
The job of the project manager is to assemble those people, get a plan in place and ensure the plan is executed successfully clearing barriers as needed. But, this means that, despite the long hours of effort we put into projects, the project manager doesn’t actually do the work of the project.
Without our project teams, we project managers wouldn’t have jobs. Without talented project teams, our projects would fall behind.
This is why I am so grateful for my project team members and I tell them whenever I can through words and actions (cookies, coffee and other surprises go a long way).
Gratitude is very important in our personal projects too. It is the ultimate mind hack to help you to achieve your goals.
Based on tons of psychological research (a good topic for some Googling), the act of focusing on gratitude is strongly correlated with increased happiness. This is helpful because your happiness is often the ultimate objective of any personal goal project.
How do you embrace an attitude of gratitude? Here are two strategies that have worked for me.
Wake up and be grateful. The first strategy for living a life of gratitude starts first thing each morning. It is time to incorporate a gratitude practice as part of your morning routine. When you get up each morning, spend a few minutes identifying two or three things that you are grateful for in your life. If you already have a journaling practice, this is a good upgrade to that habit.
Don’t miss an opportunity. The second strategy is to be grateful in the moment. When somebody does something to help you or just generally does a good job, tell them about it. Let the person know that you noticed their hard work and that you appreciate it. This doesn’t have to be over-the-top or awkward, but just make sure that the person knows that you appreciated their efforts.
By focusing on gratitude, you and the people around you will be able to live a life that is just a little bit happier. Since happier people are more productive and achieve more, this is a great hack to improve your projects.
Are you ready to be a PM Believer?
Project managers do nothing by themselves, they have to rely on other people to get the job done. Without the efforts of others, we all fail and cannot achieve our goals. That is why an attitude of gratitude is so important in project management.
How have you applied project management for your personal success? Tell me about it at OperationMelt.com and make sure to join my email list to have updates delivered to your inbox weekly.
Make sure to help your friends achieve their goals by sharing this post on your social network and by following me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
Want to know more about how I changed my life with project management? Pick up your copy of my book Operation Melt: How I Used Life-Changing Project Management to Lose Over 100 Pounds In Under a Year.
About Operation Melt
Operation Melt started as a blog to share my personal transformation and weight loss story. After achieving success with that goal, Operation Melt has evolved into a platform to help inspire, motivate and equip people to achieve their own personal and professional goals so they can live their best lives. My vision is to build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.
