After a day like today, I question why I do what I do and
why I am the way I am. As a project
manager, I am responsible for making sure stuff gets done on time and within
budget and if it doesn’t get done, it’s my job to figure out why, get it fixed,
back on schedule and done. Now on a day like today, with deadlines
looming (like two days away), changing requirements, missing resources, a ton
of stress and unhappy team members, I put my head in my hands and asked WHY in
the world did I decide to do this for a living?
It is sometimes a thankless job. Then
I had to do some self-reflection. I
realized today that I am a planner. I
LOVE what I do. Sounds
crazy…right???? Well…I have to admit
that I have a plan for EVERYTHING. I put
everything on my calendar whether it is work or personal related. I typically even have a checklist, so I don’t
miss anything. I plan my route when I’m
out running errands so that the trip goes smoothly. I plan what stores I’m going to go to when I
go to the mall. I plan to the point
where it drives my family nuts most of the time. The only time I don’t plan is when I go on
vacation. Which is when I should have a
plan…lol. So….one might ask “how did
Sherry get that way”?
Well…it started with my grandmother who used to tell me, a
woman should always have a plan. I had
no idea what she was talking about. My
grandmother always seemed to have it together, or at least that is what I
thought. I remember she would take me to roller-skating. She would ask me if I
had an extra pair of socks…. check. Kneepads…check. Did you go to the
bathroom…opps…OK…check. Do you have your
jacket….check. Did you get your roller
skates…check. Once she verified that I
had everything, and then she ran through the list of all the stops before we
actually made it to the skating rink. We
would stop at the bank for some change (money so we can get into the rink and get
my hot dog and Icee), the gas station for gas, the store for snacks (candy because she refused to pay for candy at
the rink) and then the skating rink. When
we got done at the rink, she would take me out for a bite to eat at the
McDonald's on Swope Parkway (for those that remember when it was open). That was our process EVERY TIME she took me
skating. In my little mind, I thought
that is how it was supposed to be done.
You have a checklist and a plan.
So now, many years later, I have to blame my lovely
grandmother for the way I am today. I
suppose being a planner isn’t such a bad thing (at least in my mind). My typical day has me sitting in front of my
work and personal laptop. I’m also a
multitasker. I respond to work and
personal emails on both laptops. I’m
looking up stuff, researching, conducting conference calls, taking notes, responding
to text messages, updating calendars, scheduling meetings, Instant message
coworkers and somehow still manage to function.
Believe it or not, I plan and accomplish everything I set out to do in
both worlds. I like structure and
organization and the opposite of that drives me NUTS…LOL. Surely there has to be a happy medium where
we are all sane with my planning tendencies. I just wish I knew what that was. If I don’t plan, at least in my personal
life, things don’t get done. In my
professional life, I definitely have to plan schedules; tasks and resources or
nothing will get done. Do I want to pull
my hair out sometimes? Yep…. especially
after being on a conference call and the plan changes. Do I drive my project team crazy with my
planning…absolutely!! Now…let me ask
those same questions from a personal perspective. Personally, I try very hard to plan and there
are times when the plan doesn’t go as planned.
Do I have to adjust the plan to make sure things get done??? YEP.
Do I drive my project team..OOPS, I meant my family crazy planning???? YEP.
What’s crazy, is that now, I have a granddaughter and she
watches everything that I do. I wonder,
if she will grow up to be a planner/multi-tasker. I wonder will she look back on the times that
we will have together and be writing a similar story when she grows up. I hope that she learns although it is good to
have a plan, that it is OK to just go with the flow sometimes and ride the
wave. I hope she will learn that even
with the best plan, nothing goes as plans. I hope that even with all the insanity of
being organized that she enjoys her life as much as I am enjoying my crazy
life.
