Project managers are the servants of the Goddess of Time. Things need to be delivered and tasks – to be accomplished by a certain deadline. Contracts need to be signed, the event – organised, the equipment – checked, the building permissions – secured, the meeting – attended, the plans – drawn, the email traffic – organised. And these are only a few of the daily project manager’s tasks. Experiencing a feeling of being overwhelmed is not unusual in projects. There are number of ways to deal with it or, even better, prevent it.

One tool I find helpful is this Self-Assessment tool for Identifying Low-Value Tasks https://hbr.org/web/2013/08/assessment/make-time-for-work-that-matters from “Make Time for the Work That Matters” by Julian Birkinshaw and Jordan Cohen from the September 2013 Issue of the Harvard Business Review.

The results of the self-assessment will give you a clear idea of what to drop, delegate, or redesign.

Next, look at the things you should be doing but are not. And commit to what you delegated and the tasks that matter to the company/organisation, the project and to you.

If you are not a fan of self-assessments, there is another simpler way to manage your tasks at hand: “The Not-To-Do List” by Sage Grayson.

Or design your own tool and find what works for you and your projects.