BASIC MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS: PROJECTS VS OPERATIONS
Projects are defined by a beginning, a closure and by the accomplishment of a specific goal.
Examples of personal projects: graduating from university, buying a house or changing your job.
Operations are ongoing recurring activities.
Example of personal operations: Staying in shape, eating healthy or walking your dog.
So staying healthy is not a project you can just stop at some point. Nor having a good relationship with your spouse.
SOME ANALOGIES: BODY AND BUSINESS
Usually operations ensure the good functioning of a business, organism, etc. Imagine your body. Every heart beat is just a normal and regular operation. But in case of you running after a bus, your body has a project on its hands. In the latter case, a good coordination is needed from several organs and systems.
When operations constantly fail in a business, say a drastic decline in sales, than a project is needed. The whole company becomes part of project of realignment or restructuring.
Very often when operations fail they have a bigger impact on the system. And only fixing the failed operation will not necessarily stop the crisis. Sales impact revenue, employee morale, client retention, creditor relationships, etc.
OPTIMIZE PERSONAL OPERATIONS
Never neglect for too long your personal operations to the expense of projects. To ensure that things run smoothly look over your personal operations (recurrent activities) and optimize them one by one.
For instance: sleeping patterns, eating habits, transport, communication, entertainment needs, etc. Most things we do are just ongoing recurring activities: sleep, eat, train, play, learn, etc.
PICK AND PLAN YOUR PROJECTS WISELY
Sudden excitements of getting things done will make us take several projects at once. Considering that you only have a couple of hours a day for your personal projects make sure to choose them wisely.
Once you decide on a project, set yourself a deadline, a budget or resource need and a list of activities to carry out. Keep your planning as realistic as possible.
CELEBRATE LIFE
I see kids who are never encouraged by their parents when they do something good. ‘It is normal to do good stuff, why would we celebrate it?‘. Your body is not all conscious. Letting it know when things go well it’s a great way to ensure learning. In addition, you want to save in your memory as many little victories as possible. That’s why photos and other external memory saving tools are changing social consciousness.
And at the end of it all, would you rather have your existence filled with small moments of happiness or deception?
TO TAKE HOME
Stick to the plan. You hear this thousands of times and still.
The only advice I can give you is to:
- optimize and ritualize your recurrent activities
- chose and plan your personal projects wisely and realistically
- only give up when you know you gave your best shot
- celebrate stuff
Some good recent articles Success Is Made Of Little Victories by Chris Brogan and Boycott Unnecessary Complexity by Todd Henry.
