Seven things that genuinely help me to become a better project manager

Providing top performance and solving all the problems today, tomorrow and every workday, requires so many things: experience, skills, knowledge, etc. So, I took a look at the last couple of years and collected the most impactful things that affected how I do project management today.

#7 Productivity hacks

I think the internet is full of advice on this topic, and I had a strong urge to start a productivity blog, but I realised that many tricks are simply not working. Your mind has its limitations, and you can make a limited number of decisions or digest small pockets of information. But! A few things that work for me are:

• Start with something easy to have some feeling of success before moving on to the difficult stuff, and then tackle the rest.

• Have a to-do list for each day of the week, and also for future things, either with or without dates, that can wait a bit.

• Have a weekly schedule and try to evaluate and optimise it at the end of every week.

• If you struggle with procrastination, try the Pomodoro method, which is to focus on something for just 25 minutes and, usually, it is enough to get into the flow.

What are your productivity tricks?

#6 Understanding how to motivate people

Dangling the Carrot is a usual concept of motivating other people. I was a supporter of this idea until I went to dog training with Jackie, my dog. Yes, rewards such as cheese or meat are needed each time he is doing things right, but what is most important is to build up an excellent dog-owner relationship and make your dog understand what you want him / her to do. I think what is true for these little beings is true for humans too. Having a relationship built on trust with your colleagues is the most important thing when you want to motivate them. Trust, Trust, Trust!

What's your opinion on this?

#5 Estimate in a proper way

Estimating time is far more complicated than calculating the length of something; there is good psychology behind this. But we need to estimate effectively, so how do we do this? The only way I found to improve this is to log everything, and by the time you have a massive collection of estimates, you can compare your current work to previous ones. So, it is pattern recognition and matching, and it takes time, and you will need the experience of prior tasks.

Or do you know any better way?

#4 Cultural triangle to ease the culture shock

Yes, culture shock is an actual thing. I do not doubt it. When I went to the UK, it took me 2-3 years to fully adapt to the culture. I also found myself in an environment where I had to work together with other nationalities. I also saw people entering from a new culture and trying to adapt, some with more success than others. So, I did some research, trying to find a way to understand why people behave in a certain way, and the cultural triangle helped me immensely. There are ‘innocence’, ‘honour’ and ‘pride’ cultures. Every culture and individual is placed somewhere between the points of this triangle, but of course, culture and individuals are changing too, so yes, it can be a bit complicated. However, I found the theory an excellent tool to analyse and understand people's motives and this helped me to adapt to new situations more easily.

Have you dealt with culture shock, and how did you overcome it?

#3 Finding the right project management tool

I think there are many good project management tools out there, but there is one I prefer. It might sound like a promotion for Monday.com, but I am not getting a single penny for it. However, I found this tool to be the most flexible in defining and managing unique / tailored processes. You can bring order into chaos with this tool without giving up the most important cornerstones of your operations. I am a big fan of outside-the-box thinking, and this tool supports the challenge.

What is your favorite project management tool?

#2 Learning to say NO in negotiation

Jim Camp's "Start with NO" book opened my eyes to negotiations. Understanding that everyone must have the right to Veto in negotiation, and that this is the key to success, was a really enlightening moment for me. The book also helps you to deal with your neediness and provides a perfect and organised system to do ethical negotiation, even in very stressful situations. I highly recommend reading this book.

Any good books you might recommend?

#1 Supportive habits

I already talked about productivity hacks but organising my life to support my work was essential. We need to eat healthy food, get enough and quality sleep, which requires a calm environment and a good bed, and exercise at least three times a week. Although it wasn't always the case, healthy foods are becoming part of my life at the moment. Having a hobby is also essential, to help you switch off and, of course, spending quality time with friends and family is also crucial.

What are your supportive habits?

There are many other things that have impacted how I do project management today, but these are some key ideas that might be useful for you, even if you are not in project management.