“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” - Mark Twain

This morning I decided I was going to change my work venue to somewhere other than my office.  I originally decide to go to the local McDonald's because they have free wi-fi.  But since there was road construction I had to divert to Starbucks instead.  Good thing too, because the smell of fast food would have made me hungry.

While setting up my laptop I was a little unsure if I would be productive in this environment.  With the noises surrounding me (baristas blending drinks, new hire being trained, and the guy in the corner talking loudly on his cell phone to his mother about his laundry) I didn't know if I could concentrate.

I had my short list of tasks and I was ready to delve in.  Once I started I found it quite easy to concentrate and move through my list quickly.  I would take time to stop and observe the hustle and bustle, then get back to work.  Within 1 hour I had my task list completed and was ready to move on.


Here are 3 easy steps to being a Rock Star outside of the office-

1) Come prepared.
Have your tasks listed and broken into groups of three.  Once you finish with the first three, move on to the next group.

2) Relax and embrace your location. 
Don't let the initial annoyances stop you from starting your task list.  Once you get going the minutia fades away.

3) Only work on your task list.
Do not Facebook, Twitter, Ping, FourSquare or do any other time wasters while you are working on your tasks.  If you need a break, take a moment and listen to the guy in the corner discussing laundry tips.

Next time you head off to your local coffee house to get some work done, just follow the three basics steps above.  I have not doubt that you will have Rock Star results.

"Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons." - Seth Godin, The Dip

Living your life, whether personal or professional, with strict unchanging rules can have an adverse effect on your success.  Every person and situation is a little different so bending and sometimes breaking the rules is necessary.  Being successful can only be done by giving others what they want.  If you consistently fail at this task maybe you should consider quitting.  Take some time to reevaluate your approach and come up with a different game plan.  It has been proven that the people and businesses with the most flexible strategies understand that quitting at a failing task is actually winning in the long run. 

Below is a TED talk by Lewis Pugh which explains this perfectly.  Enjoy!!!

“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” - Paul Hawken

I love Legos.  My boys have accumulated quite a few sets over the past couple of birthdays.  I have never been disappointed with the layout of how to put the sets together.  They are very precise and so well thought out that it got me thinking about Project Management. 

The Lego design is the epitome of the Project Management 101.  When you look at the packaging of the sets you see the final product.  When you open up the package you see all the little pieces it takes to make up the final product.  Enclosed is an instruction book that gives the exact quantity and location of each Lego piece.  Once you open up each of the smaller bags and verify the quantity of each piece you are ready to start building.  Lego walks you through each page telling you how and when to put the pieces together.  Even the most difficult Lego sets are easy when you break them down into their respective categories.

This also rings true for Project Management.  As a Project Manager you need to become the Lego Company.  You need to be the guiding path for putting the pieces together.  You need to first see the scope of what is expected from the final project.  Once that is established, you need to reverse engineer the Project into its pieces.  Once you know what your quantity of pieces are and where they go, you are ready to build. 

All projects have their issues, whether it is scope creep or missing pieces, this is even true for Lego.  We had one set that was missing two pieces.  So we called Lego and they sent us the pieces free of charge, which made me love Lego even more.  They were willing to take care of us to complete our set and our Lego experience. 

I realize this is an oversimplification of Project Management but it is a great way to understand the basics of breaking down any project into it's key components and focusing on the final product that will be turned over to the client.  I think every Project Manager new hire should be tested by giving them a set of Legos to test the Basics of Project Management, it will quickly be evident whether they will succeed.