Work-Life Balance with Multiple Projects, Volunteering and a Family
My Spring 2013 Resume
Work - Monday to Friday
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Managed Project 1@ Location 1
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Managed Project 2 @ Location 2
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Managed Project 3 @ Location 3
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2 Presentations
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Interviewed several PM candidates
Volunteering - Monday to Saturday
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Manager and Head Coach - U6 Boys Soccer (son's team)
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Manager and Head Coach - T-Ball (son's team)
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Assistant Coach - U8 Girls Softball (daughter's team)
Home - Monday to Sunday
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Husband
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Father of two
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Owner of 2 Labrador Retrievers
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Watched over the birth of 8 Labrador Retriever puppies and and cared for 7 and their mother for 2 weeks. (Note: None were mine.)
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Traveled to U8 Girls Soccer practices and games (daughter's team, wife coached)
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Traveled to Piano Practice (daughter)
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Worked Out 3 times/week
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Played Basketball once a week and occasionally Racquetball
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Church on Saturday or Sunday
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Other fun stuff
As you can see, this past Spring was a lot to navigate, and since many are usually shocked at the possibility of staying this busy while expecting success at both work and home, I thought I might respond to their surprise.
Here are a few suggestions that help me balance work and home life with such a busy schedule:
1-Work for a great a company.
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Many organizations want its employees to have work-life balance, and Summa knows what it takes to make it possible. In summary, I am surrounded by great people, and working with the best makes my job efficient.
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Projects I manage are built around around bright, intuitive and motivated people, so I am able to focus on important items like preventing issues, lessons learned and improving tools and processes (which feeds into 4 below), rather than frivolous issues.
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It helps to work for a company that believes in tools that promote efficiency. For example, Summa promotes Agile/Scrum for managing projects, which largely aims to obtain an efficient flow and remove process waste.
2-Be a Project Manager.
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Naturally, you get to practice managing the dynamics that affect... well... everything.
3-Prioritize.
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Create a To Do list, or ask for explicit priorities if these are determined by someone other than yourself. Whether written or mental, a list will help you navigate the madness.
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A list may also be used as a communication mechanism when needing assistance in navigating your priorities and/or bringing to light that you just may have too much to do.
4-Streamline.
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If you have the opportunity to use a framework such as Agile/Scrum, which strives for efficiency, take advantage. The framework calls for process improvement, so provide feedback in Retrospectives/Lessons Learned that optimizes flow and removes waste (and wasted time).
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Limit formality and formatting when appropriate - In the spirit of being Agile, favor results over documentation. I've used verbal conversations and meeting notes in place of presentations and formal documents. Then, if formality is needed, add it. In general, I’ve found the content to be more important than the presentation. DISCLAIMER: Perception is important though, so be mindful that there is a careful balance when determining whether or not to use a formal presentation.
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Use templates - For example, I created (and leveraged existing) tools for planning/tracking budget and burn, processes and diagrams, etc. that I can use for all projects. When managing/coaching sports, I used a template email for sending practice and game reminders to all parents each week.
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Use efficient technology - When managing/coaching sports, I required smart phones and email (vs phone calls) for communicating everything.
5-Set expectations.
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Communicate volatility of your availability/schedule - Make sure everyone (customers, team members, parents when coaching/managing, etc.) are aware of the fact that your schedule will change frequently.
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Understand and explain what your role is and is not - For example, when managing multiple Scrum projects at multiple locations I could not possibly run or attend all stand-up meetings. I assigned other team members to this role. When managing/coaching sports, I explained that I could not be available to run all practices and required parents to assist.
6-Communicate.
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Provide a schedule showing your availability - While your schedule may be volatile, this provides structure to the volatility.
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Share information as far in advance as possible - Give as much time as possible for others to prepare and respond, and for yourself to circle back.
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Create a Communication Plan - Most issues are communication issues. I've found it to be true at work and otherwise. Even for coaching/managing sports, I created a small, written, communication plan for how all information would be communicated.
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If you are overwhelmed, escalate and look for support. Use the priority list mentioned in #3 if needed.
Stay busy my friend!
