The Dieter’s Guide to Project Management

In many ways, successful dieters and successful project managers have a lot in common. The steps that both must follow are straightforward and very similar in some basic ways. Both require a plan. Both require discipline. And neither is fun.

This, however, should not discourage you. If you do decide to put in the hard work, you will be rewarded with the kind of project success that will help both you and your organization. The following suggestions can help you attain your project goals and reduce the number of pitfalls that can emerge along the way.

Tame the Methodology

People like to have precise instructions for success. We see this in diet as well as project management fads, where there are clear rules with a guarantee of success.

Fads don’t work. They are appealing by their nature because they promise a ‘silver bullet’ which will circumvent the need for hard work. Remember that a good project methodology provides guidelines, not magical rules or formulas that ask you to switch off your brain.

Create Interim Goals

Thinking of losing 50 pounds is daunting and discouraging, but losing one pound a week over a year accomplishes the same goal but is much more manageable. When planning your project, don’t become overwhelmed by the size and scope. While keeping an eye on the final result, focus on accomplishing each discrete phase and task individually.

Eat the Right Food

Sometimes, when you body needs protein, you may end up eating sugar because of past patterns or habits. This may satisfy your physiological needs, but move you in the wrong direction.

Unnecessary or unimportant tasks are essentially junk food. Besides delaying the project, they make you feel “full” and make you believe that you are making progress when you are not. Review each phase and task closely and with a critical eye to make sure that it makes a concrete contribution to the final deliverable.

Learn to Multitask

Dieting successfully doesn’t mean you have to avoid doing anything else, but you have to stay on constant alert even while you’re busy with other things.

As a project manager, it may feel that a large portion of your day is spent in meetings and tasks not directly related to the project. You cannot allow this to prevent you from carefully managing the progress of your project. As soon as one of these other activities is completed, quickly refocus your attention on the project.

Take an Eating Pause

While eating, good dieters take one or more pauses and “listen” to their stomachs to see if they have eaten enough. Developing the habit of paying close attention to such feedback is a critical component of every successful dieter’s tool bag. Successful project managers also have developed the habit of pausing at various stages during the project, whether at important milestones or more informal reckoning points. Every project requires continuous corrections, whether in the schedule, scope, or resource allocation.

Check your progress frequently. If you find yourself off track, focus on getting back on track.

Manage Obstacles

How do you keep your diet when you travel or over Thanksgiving? There will always be expected or unexpected obstacles to throw you off track. When managing a project, you are guaranteed to run into delays caused by vacations, people quitting, unavailable users, and a countless number of other issues.

Expect stops and starts. They’re a normal part of the journey. Bottom line when you slip up: Forget about it. Tomorrow is a new day.

Make it Matter

When you get discouraged, you sometimes wonder if you really care about the end result. However, ambivalence is one of the biggest enemies of success. To boost your motivation, make the outcome matter. If you feel that your project is not important to you or to your organization, the small compromises you will make along the way will add up to a failed project.

Find a way to convince yourself that the success of your project is crucial. You might think about the users it will help, or about the experience you are gaining.

Conquer the Fear

Managing and delivering tasks in a methodical and consistent manner is as hard (and as appealing) as cutting back portions. But remember that any worthwhile goal requires effort. You’ve done a lot of hard things in your life, and those are usually the things that brought the greatest rewards.

Both as a dieter and as a project manager, with hard work, you can successfully reach your goal. And in both cases, you’ll be happy with what you see in the mirror.