Day by day, I record the important events that occurred on the project I am currently leading.
I’ll be describing these events each day. What’s the best part about it?
I share tons of great tips and tricks for project management.
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Monday: A Day In The Life of a Project Manager
Today is Monday.
This is why I get up in the morning to do my morning routine.
Morning Routine for Project Managers (30 minutes)
This routine has been my daily routine for many years. It helps me get the day started as efficiently as possible.
First, I go through all emails sent to me the previous day.
Here is a 2-minute rule I use:
If I am able to answer the question, I will answer the email within two minutes.
If I have to answer an email in a longer time frame, I will plan the answer for that day or next day.
If it takes a lot of work, I place it in the calendar in one the “deep-work” slots.
Next, I will review our task tracker.
It’s currently Microsoft Azure DevOps.
First, I review the burndown chart.
(If it seems normal, I may ignore the rest and move on to other tasks.
Next, I review the tasks currently in progress. I want everyone to work towards the top priority deliverables.
Next, I will review any new defects or tasks that might be related to the current assignments of team members.
If I have questions, I don’t interrupt the work of the team. I gather all questions that come in for the daily meeting within an hour.
Quick Check-Up with Team Leaders (10 minutes).
After I’m done with my morning routine, I continue to collect urgent matters from my team leaders.
They communicate often with other departments during the day and may encounter problems.
This allows me to be aware of what’s going on on their side and what’s on their plate.
We are co-located within one room so it’s just a shout out to my team leaders:
“Is there anything important I should know?”
On Monday, for example, I was informed about a problem in the DevOps team. They didn’t communicate clearly that there was a problem in our system. This meant that other members of the team didn’t know about the problem.
So I start my day with the morning routine. Then, I collect urgent problems first thing in the morning and prepare for the daily sync up meeting with the team.
This Monday was not very active at the beginning. So, I spent the rest of my time answering emails that I had planned to, before the daily sync up meeting.
Daily Sync-Up Meeting (30 Minutes)
Next is the daily sync up meeting with the team.
It is only one time per day that I am able to do it efficiently during the 30 minute meeting.
It is a Scrum meeting every day.
Each member of the team reports on what he did yesterday, what he will do today, and what main problems and challenges they are facing.
It’s my main opportunity to align the team’s efforts towards the major deliverables we should be focusing on.
However, I also delegate tasks based upon the information I have gathered during my morning routine and gathering all the pressing matters.
Here’s a crucial point:
These meetings are where we often highlight the problems. These issues are not discussed in these meetings.
The two-minute rule is back in play:
If we are unable to resolve the problem within two minutes of the meeting, we move it onto the time after the meeting. These two minutes are spent identifying the best next steps.
Here’s something nice:
One member of the team suggested that it would be nice to have a drink somewhere during the week during this meeting.
Why not? It’s a great idea!
So we agreed to do it, right in the office on Thursday after work.
Time Slot for the Most Pressing Metter
After the sync-up meeting, there is a 30-minute time slot of unrestricted space.
Here we discuss
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