Feeling like your head is exploding with all kinds of small project tasks, issues that you need to solve, team members that need to be motivated and some firefighting to keep your project on track? Keep scrolling and check out the 3 Important tasks every project manager should schedule in her calendar.

I hear you; it can be overwhelming and tiring to ‘run’ all day, handling lots of different tasks but not feeling fulfilled when close your laptop at the end of the day.

Smooth running processes

Do you wish you would feel confident and in control when managing your projects? I know I love that feeling and thrive on smooth running systems and processes.

Just like you I need to have some systems in place, to comfortably manage new product development projects.

To move fluently through my working days and feel fulfilled at the end of the day, I have 3 important tasks that I’ve scheduled in my calendar. I believe these 3 Important Tasks Every Project Manager should Schedule in her Calendar.

3 Important Tasks Every Project Manager should Schedule in her Calendar:

Task 1: Schedule your weekly project team meetings well in advance.

Schedule these meetings as recurring meetings and choose a fixed day and time very week. Do plan until the end of the project. So, for example, when you estimate you’ll be working on this new project for one year, schedule this recurring meeting for a whole year in your team members agenda.

I learned that when these meetings are not scheduled well in advance, it will be a challenge to get your complete team in your meetings every week.

The same counts for regular meetings with third parties and suppliers. Just plan them ahead and reschedule when necessary. It will make them aware that they need to have their stuff in order well before they meet with you. It’s beneficial to have your evaluation moments and status updates planned and clear for all stakeholders.

If you like to learn more on why regular core project team meetings are important when developing new products, check out my blog article on the topic.

Task 2: Schedule your own actions and deliverables every day to make sure you stay on schedule.

There are multiple handy and practical tools to use as a scheduler for your own deliverables and actions. Check out Asana or Trello. This SW allows to create a complete planning, add responsible persons and deadline, and attach documents for review. Depending on the subscription you choose, you have extra functionality such as timeline overview and resource allocation.

For more information in Asana, click here: https://asana.com

For more information on Trello, click here: https://trello.com

Of course, a paper calendar will do just fine, choose whatever feels appropriate to you!

Task 3: Schedule time blocks every day to get work done.

Otherwise, you’ll be buried in questions, meetings, and firefighting of project issues. When you block time every day to do your email, prepare for project team meetings and catch up with team members on their tasks, you’ll be more in control.

Instead of feeling stressed and overwhelmed, you’ll feel confident and will experience more fruitful days.

I wrote an elaborate blog article on having efficient morning routine and how you can apply this in managing your calendar, click here if you like know more.

Here you have it!

3 important tasks you should schedule in your calendar to feel confident and in control.

Love to hear your tips on feeling confident and fulfilled at the end of the day. Leave them in the comments if you like!