Two Quakers Kill a Passivist: The Joys and Pains of Project Management

Walkway at the Maymount Mansion

In an unprecedented move, I took two weeks off at the end of July and stepped away from work and my work email. Two weeks.  There are countries in the world were people take multiple-week summer holidays, but we in the U.S. don't have that mandate. Two weeks and it was wonderful!

Time away provides a perspective that you don't get when you're in the middle of a situation.  For example, clarity on a project can come when you're not thinking about it.  Sometimes the real ah-ha doesn't occur until the project is over.  "Ah...oh...now I understand!"

This summer I finished up documentation on a two-year project completed this past winter.  After the joys and pains of the project - and time away from it and its details - I wrote down what the next person who will manage that project (when it occurs again in five years) will need to know.  Those details included some thoughts on self-care.  Self-care is one of the most important aspects of working on a project.  The project will not get done or completed successfully if you are not in good shape physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  When you are working on a project, you need to ask yourself how you are you taking care of those four areas.  For me, it meant being intentional in some areas of my life and building new routines.  Notice the word "intentional."  Success doesn't come from being haphazard.

What intentional routines are helping you with your projects?

How are you building in self-care?

How are you giving yourself time away from your projects for reflection and self-renewal?

The title of this blog post comes from an interchange between myself and two of my T is for Training podcast colleagues.  Yes, two Quakers and a passivist.  The title came as we recognized that stress can manifest itself in a number of ways, including short tempers among friends.  That first part of the title is meant to be humorous. Go ahead and laugh!