Welcome to Project Manage Your Life, the system that helps you treat your goals like projects and actually finish what you start.
In my coaching practice (and in my own life), I’ve seen firsthand how powerful it is to apply project management strategies to personal goals. That’s why I created Project Manage Your Life, a complete system designed to help you set the right goals, build a plan that works, and make real progress.
📘 The Book: Teaches my proven 6-step framework for achieving any goal.
📝 The Workbook: Gives you real tools to apply the system in your own life.
🎯 The Coaching: Adds structure, accountability, and personalized support.
This blog is where we keep the PMYL journey alive, sharing insights, success strategies, and personal stories to help you take control of your goals and your life.
Let’s go crush something.
Ready for a dad joke?
Consider this a lighthearted amuse-bouche for your brain before we get serious. Sure, it might be groan-worthy—but hey, at least you’re getting your money’s worth, right? 😆
A farmer friend of mine recently replaced his rooster with a duck. Now he wakes up at the quack of dawn!
PMYL Pro Tip: The Write Way to Build Goal-Crushing Momentum
PMYL Pro Tips are quick, actionable strategies to help you apply the Project Manage Your Life system in everyday life. These aren’t summaries of the book; they’re bonus tips and real-world tactics I use with coaching clients to help build momentum, stay accountable, and keep goals on track.
Think of them as your behind-the-scenes coaching boost … straight from the trenches of real goal-setting.
Wait…What Was I Doing?
What was that idea I had yesterday in the shower?
Did I already send that email, or did I just think about sending it?
Wait… what did we decide in that meeting?
What did I eat for lunch a couple of hours ago? 🤷
If you’ve ever felt like your brain is running on low battery with 30 tabs open… you’re not alone.
This post shares one of the most essential techniques project managers use to boost their memory.
This tool will help you close some mental tabs and recharge your personal battery.
Memory: The Shakiest Project Management Tool
Project managers are bombarded with a ton of information.
One of their most challenging project management responsibilities is to keep all this information straight and ensure nothing is forgotten. There is nothing more embarrassing for a project team than reaching the finish line only to realize that they have forgotten an important project task or deliverable.
Some project managers make the mistake of trying to keep all this information organized inside their brains… this doesn’t work.
- It is just too much information to trust to memory. You are going to forget something or get something out of order.
- Keeping this information in the project manager’s head makes them a bottleneck and a single point of failure for the project. Since nobody else knows the information, all roads go through the project manager. What happens when she gets hit by a winning lottery ticket? I prefer this to the common “hit by a bus” saying.
- Most impactful of all is mental saturation. Unnecessarily keeping all this information in your brain limits your ability to focus on and process new things. You consume too much of your capacity trying to be a notebook.
But there is an almost magical solution to project management memory drain.
Successful project managers write everything down.
Project managers memorialize everything in writing using a variety of tools.
- They use a good calendar so no appointments, commitments or other time-bound items fall through the cracks.
- They produce and distribute documented meeting recaps so everybody remembers what was decided.
- They keep logs of issues, risks, changes and decisions.
- They take diligent notes using shared notetaking tools.
Every time a project manager captures information using these tools, it is one less thing they have to track in their minds.
Writing shit down is an investment in project success and a project manager’s mental health.
Are Your Personal Goal Projects on the Write Path?
When you convert your dreams into committed goals, your path to success becomes a project. And you become the project manager of your own life.
This means you are at equal (or greater!) risk of falling into the project manager memory trap?
Good news: you can avoid this trap with an easy fix!
As you are pursuing your most important life goals and your personal projects, write down everything you can.
The most important first step is writing down your goal. Bonus: Simply taking this step and writing your goals makes you over forty percent more likely to succeed with them.
Talk about an easy win!
Where Do I Write My Stuff?
One of the most common questions I hear from people when they project manage their lives is, “Where do I write all my stuff?”
Let’s talk about the how behind this strategy with 3 essential tools:
- 📒 Notebook or Notes App
- 📊 Spreadsheet Tracking
- 📓 Personal Journal
Notebook / Notetaking App
The lowest hanging fruit in your “Write It Down” strategy is a notebook (physical or electronic).
Keeping track of your tasks, notes, ideas, plans, questions, and all the other stuff in a notebook gets these items out of your brain and makes you far less likely to forget them. Just make sure that whatever system you are using for capturing this stuff is one that you trust; otherwise, you will try to keep it in both places.
This Calls for a Spreadsheet!
You can certainly use your notebook for tracking your data and progress; it works great. But you can do better!
I find that notebooks aren’t the ideal solution for tracking numeric data (exercise, nutrition, weight, finances, etc.) over time. This is where spreadsheets join the chat. By creating a spreadsheet to track your numbers, you can see trends, use formulas and even build graphs. 🤓
Regardless of your spreadsheet tool (Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets), start by setting up a basic structure and begin tracking. You can continue to evolve over time.
As a personal example, I have maintained a fitness journal spreadsheet since 2017. I track each week’s key fitness and nutrition numbers, strength training workouts, runs, races, body measurements and more. Over time, this spreadsheet has evolved as I have added and removed things. It started small and evolved from there.
Your Journal
Finally, the masterclass level writing is journaling.
By spending a few minutes each day writing in a journal, you drain your brain of the “noise.” This lets you focus on critical thinking. The practice of journaling also helps you process and make sense of the events in your life and maybe even connect some dots you would have otherwise missed.
I have maintained an electronic personal journal since 2016. I use it as my tool for a daily “standup” meeting to review my goals, recap the prior day’s progress, and as a general catch-all for data and details (my stuff) that don’t have another home.
🔥 Your Turn
I have explained the memory trap, why it doesn’t work and tangible tools to avoid this trap. So let me ask you:
💭 What things are you trying to hold in your brain right now that you could put on paper to free your mind for more important activities?
💡 Where can you start writing these things down today?
I want to hear from you… Drop me a note and tell me what you’re committing to getting out of your head.
I’ve Got A Proven System for YOU!
Warning: Once you start clearing the stuff from your brain, you will free mental capacity to get serious about your goals.
You are on the path to becoming unstoppable… I can help you turn it into real momentum. I’m sharing the same system I have used to help multiple clients achieve their biggest goals.
📘 Project Manage Your Life – Learn the 6-step system that’s helped me and my coaching clients transform our lives.
📝 The PMYL Workbook – Packed with planning tools, tracking pages, and guided coaching prompts to keep you on track.
👉 Grab both at OperationMelt.com/PMYL
💡 Pro Tip: Join the email list and get the PMYL eBook completely free.
Want a Coach in Your Corner?
Sometimes, a strategy is only part of the equation. You also need support, structure, and someone to call you on your excuses (with love, of course).
That’s where I come in.
As a certified Master Life Coach, I help high-achievers like you get clear on your goals, create a personalized plan, and follow through without burning out.
Let’s write down some wins together.
✨ I believe in you; let me help YOU believe in you. ✨
Meet Coach Tony
Tony Weaver is a master life coach, technologist, consultant, writer, and founder of Operation Melt.
He helps project managers and other left-brained high-achievers pursue their biggest goals.
Through free resources, personalized coaching, and his proven Project Manage Your Life system, Tony empowers clients to move their dreams from “someday” to success — one step at a time.
Learn more about Project Manage Your Life, the system my clients and I use to crush our goals, at OperationMelt.com/PMYL/
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Meet Coach Tony