We’re now in December and it’s likely the busiest month of the year because many projects have deadlines at the end of the year. Your to-do-list may be overflowing your project team could be tired and discouraged, and they may be thinking that the project goals are not attainable and unrealistic. Your project sponsor could be going on vacation soon.
As the project manager it’s your responsibility to be the last person to give up on your project and you may think that the way to do this is by working late into the night and on weekends. I want to share with you a study published by the British Medical Journal where they followed 4 million surgeries and discovered that your chances of surviving a surgery increases by 44% if you have it on a Monday as compared to a Friday. Why is that so?
Well, the lesson learned here is that we do our best work when we are well rested and we also make the fewest mistakes. So your project is your patient and the health of your project is bound up with your health. But how do you do this? How do you find time to rest when your to do list is overflowing?
Here’s the solution. Start a not to-do list. put down all the items you’ll never get to because they’re just so low on your priority and also items that can be deferred to January. When you finish watching this video, write down one item on your not-to-do list. And start moving other items from your to-do list to your not-to-do list. For more tips like this connect with me and hit like. Until next time remember to rest well in order to work well.
Notes:
- Aylin, P et al. “Day of week procedure and 30 day mortality for elective surgery: retrospective analysis of hospital episode statistics.” British Medical Journal 28 May 2013; 346. Web: https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2424
- The Project Doctor Masterclass includes a month long e-course to help you establish habits to work wiser and rest well.
- You may also be interested in Burnout from Work.