Good New Year’s resolutions in project management

This is what you should plan for the coming year

Resolution 1: Select the right projects

The turn of the year is a good occasion to take a critical look at the project list. Are all the projects on the list still necessary? Are they feasible? Are they really important for the company’s value creation or do they have a special, strategic relevance?

Concentrate on the projects that are valuable for your company. You can find help in selecting the right projects in the report “What you should do before next year”.

Resolution 2: Communicate better

Project work is always team work. Therefore, effective and efficient communication is of central importance. Especially in times of virtual teams and remote working, this is not always easy. Even small things can help to ensure that your team members are informed but not flooded with information. Make consistent use of existing project management tools to reduce the time and effort spent on meetings, phone calls and e-mails and at the same time motivate your employees.

Some tips on communication when working remotely can be found here.

Resolution 3: Learn from past projects

Projects don’t always go exactly as planned. So why don’t make a New Year’s resolution to learn lessons from such projects. Unfortunately, there is seldom time for retrospection in the daily work routine, as the next projects are already waiting. Nevertheless, it is worth investing a few minutes as you can avoid repeating mistakes in new projects and you can optimise future project work. This way you can plan better and set realistic goals. Ask yourself where difficulties occurred in past projects and when plans could not be implemented as desired. Where were the problems and how can you do better in the future?

Resolution 4: Try out new methods

Be open to new things and try out new methods in project management. Maybe agile project management can give you more flexibility in some situations. Or try a hybrid approach. There are always new approaches and methods in project management. So stay curious and test whether new approaches give you the decisive advantage you need in project work.

Resolution 5: Celebrate successes

Reaching milestones and completing a project well are the key points in project management. However, people often forget to celebrate the achievement of these goals. Instead, the next milestone or a new project is tackled immediately. Celebrating successes, however, shows what you have already achieved and the project team gets recognition for its performance. In this way, the team spirit and motivation in your team are strengthened.

Would you like to implement one or more of these resolutions? To be successful at this and not fail in the first weeks of the New Year, you can treat New Year’s resolutions like a classic project:

• Set goals:

  A good resolution is not yet a clear goal. So you should define exactly what you want to achieve and by when. It is important that the goals are challenging, but not unrealistically high. Feel free to put these goals in writing as this will improve the chances of you achieving them.

• Planning:
  Having a concrete action plan and setting milestones will make it easier for you to pursue your goals.
• Seek allies:
  Even with good resolutions, they are easier to achieve as part of a team. So look for allies to work on them with you.
• Persevere:

  Some resolutions need a lot of practice, perseverance and persistence. So keep at it until the resolutions become a habit.

• Celebrate successes:

  Have you reached the first milestones or have you been particularly successful in implementing a resolution? Then reward yourself for your successes.