On the Floor

 Being a project manager means that I have to be on top of everything. If something gets missed or slips through the cracks, it's no-one's fault but my own and I hate making mistakes. 

As in any job, trying to remember the things you need to do, when to do them, and what's involved can be taxing at the best of times. When that's ALL your job entails, you have to figure out little tricks to help you along.

 

Post-it Notes

 

There is one thing I can't live without – in work and in my personal life: Post-it Notes. I love them! I love the different sizes to accommodate the length of the note and the colours to code different things accordingly.

 

Some have lines, some don't, but they all do their job 100% effectively: they keep me in-the-know. Admittedly, I use too many of them, but when you need to write things down as often as I do, they ensure things don't get missed.

 

 

A Paper To-Do List

 

The next love of my life is my to-do list. It keeps me in the loop on where things are at and what I need to do. I like to reward myself for getting things done, my inner geek comes out and I put little checks beside each item so when I'm finished the task, I can have a moment of victory when I get to literally "CHECK!" another thing off my list.

 

I also categorize my list into two sides. One side is for updates from the team - things I'll need to know that I may have to update people on. The other side is Tara-specific: items I need to personally take care of.

 

I like reflecting on this list often. I find the more I look at it, the more things I can think of that I will need to do now or later on. It helps me be proactive, and the more I learn the industry and the services we provide, the lengthier my lists get.

 

Reflection is really a key part of good project management.

 

Online Task Reminders

 

An extension of my to-do list is my online task reminder in Highrise. This is email-specific. Every time I read an email that requires me to follow up on something or light a fire under a colleague or client's toes, whether it's today, this week, this month or 6 months from now, I track it in my online system and set a reminder to pop up.

 

I always set it a few days in advance if it is something that requires relying on someone else.  That helps avoid delays.  Keeping things on time helps build trust with clients and coworkers.

 

And finally, I bring a pen and paper EVERYWHERE! I have them in my car, in my purse, and numerous places in my home. My desk is covered in note pads and writing utensils.

 

You never know when you are going to need to write something down, and for me it's all the time.  It doesn't matter what I am doing, random things will pop in my head about things I'll need to do, and if I don't write it down right then, they're gone as quick as they arrived.