I help project professionals get more done with less stress. Having been a project manager for over 20 years, I share tried-and-tested tips that work in the real world, every Tuesday. Join our community of over 15,000 project professionals (and accidental project managers too!).
Five concepts that changed how I manage multiple projects
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Hello Reader, You might know that I've been doing this job over 20 years - now my job title is Senior PM but I started out as a Business Change Analyst. Over the years I've tried a lot of different approaches to managing a heavy project workload, lists, systems, tools, frameworks other people swore by, and the truth is that most of them only solved part of the problem, because most of them were designed for a single project rather than the reality of having several running at the same time. What I kept coming back to was that managing multiple projects well isn't just about being organised. It's about five distinct things, and if any one of them is off, the whole thing gets harder than it needs to be. In my book Managing Multiple Projects, I built the whole thing around a framework with five concepts: Portfolio, Plan, People, Productivity, and Practices. Portfolio is about getting a clear view of everything you're responsible for (yes, everything, not just projects but the recurring work, ad hoc requests, and all that), and making deliberate decisions about what gets your attention. Plan is about more than having a schedule for each project. You need to understand the dependencies between projects and create a consolidated view so you can see the pinch points before they become crises. People (unsurprisingly) covers stakeholder management and team communication across multiple workstreams. Specifically, how to do this without spending your entire week in status meetings or writing update emails that nobody reads. Productivity is about the 'you' stuff: the habits, the decision-making, the way you manage your own attention. Practices is about setting up your environment for success, so the processes and standards that make it possible to maintain quality across everything, without having to reinvent the wheel every time a new project lands. The book walks through all five, with practical tools and approaches you can use straight away. If any part of your current workload feels harder than it should, it's probably one of these five things. Use the code KOGANPAGE25 for 25% off if you buy it from the Kogan Page website (they also have free UK and US shipping) or you can find it on Amazon or order it wherever you buy your books. Have a great week! Elizabeth P.S. A few other things that might be useful: The Managing Multiple Projects course covers the framework in a structured format with exercises, if you prefer that format to reading. If stakeholder management across multiple projects is the bit you find hardest, this article on managing stakeholders when you're stretched thin is a useful read. And if you'd like to talk through your specific situation, PM Rebels is the community where those conversations happen. |
Calling all Rebel Project Managers!
I help project professionals get more done with less stress. Having been a project manager for over 20 years, I share tried-and-tested tips that work in the real world, every Tuesday. Join our community of over 15,000 project professionals (and accidental project managers too!).
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