Page 113 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

Again, find a way of “habitualising” success that works for you. Perhaps a bag of chocolates in your
drawer that acts as a reward … you fancy a chocolate, but first, you have to do “the thing” you
promised you’d do to prevent messing up … or a star chart … or a bottle of wine in the fridge that
you get to take home at the end of the week!
5 – Be Clear Why You Don’t Want To Repeat The Mistake

Have you ever been on a diet and a colleague brings in doughnuts? How easy is it to give in?

It only takes one moment of weakness to unravel all your good work. After weeks of exercise and
healthy eating and drinking, your other half opens a bottle of Prosecco and you think ‘one glass
won’t hurt’. Been there! But what if on the fridge there was a photo of you when you were slim?
What if you had a sticky note with the calories in a glass of prosecco on the door? It may make you
stop and think.

This happens in IT Projects too, so make it harder for you to repeat the mistake by compiling a list of
the reasons WHY you don’t want to! Catalogue the pain you went through last time, write it out and
read it daily.

One of my friend’s bad habits was that he’d pick up his phone in times of stress and scroll through
his Facebook and Twitter timeline and twenty minutes later, the thing that was stressing him out
was worse. He removed the social media apps from his phone and signed out on his PC, having to log
back in gave him just enough time to catch himself.

Another colleague has a laminated list of reasons not to mess up taped to the keyboard drawer in
her desk. Each day, she starts with a reminder that focusses her thinking and it’s there every time
she looks at her keyboard.

PMs can get quite bruised in the process of a project fail but, when we learn from it and change, we
become stronger and more effective.

So, regard your many bruises as Kintsugi lines of gold that actually show your history and add to your
value.