Project Management

We’re all familiar with the importance of budgeting our money - tracking what we spend, saving for big occasions, and avoiding that expensive overdraft. Our energy deserves the same careful consideration. Just like financial overspending, regularly exceeding our energy capacity leads to serious consequences: burnout, anxiety, and poor decision-making. This is crucial for neurodivergent people and those managing chronic health conditions. Activities that seem straightforward to others can leave us exhausted. It’s hard both to recognise our own limits and to communicate them clearly to others - especially when we’re already tired. ...

One of my most memorable moments in academia was when two PhD researchers lost all their work just before submission. In one case, it was a house fire; in the other, a laptop stolen with the backup drive attached. This was devastating. In both cases, they’d created backups. Unfortunately, though, those backups were in the same physical location as the original files. Devising a proper backup strategy is something we’re always planning to do next month, when it’s a bit quieter. We’re far too busy right now. But it’s precisely when we’re frantically busy that we’re most likely to hit the wrong button, and also when a data loss would be most inconvenient. ...

When I run project management workshops, there’s always one problem that everyone struggles with: how on earth do you estimate the time needed for each task? Most of us either overlook the complexities of an apparently straightforward activity, or simply forget that it always takes much longer than we imagine. As researchers, we vow to devise a better data-driven solution, but that’ll be for the next project. Time Tracking One of the best solutions I’ve discovered is time tracking. Working on freelance projects, I sometimes need to track billable hours for clients. With time tracking tools like Toggl, you record the start and end time for activities so you can generate reports on exactly how long you spent on that project. Within the project, you use tags or labels to track specific activities, such as emails, meetings, or researching. I use Toggl1 because it’s easy record everything with the desktop timer, which also supports the Pomodoro Technique. Alternatives include Clockify and RescueTime. ...

The Risk Assessment Matrix is a fundamental (but scary) tool for evaluating and prioritising project risks based on two dimensions: Vertical Axis - Probability: How likely is this event to occur? Horizontal Axis - Impact: If this event does occur, how severe would the consequences be? Or, how much disruption would it cause? The Risk Assessment Matrix As project manager, part of your job is to consider the potential risks and in which quadrant they belong. It’s helpful to already have a breakdown of your project deliverables and tasks before you start. ...

Back in the 1990s, you’d be hard pushed to find an office corkboard without an Eisenhower Matrix pinned to it. Although this time management approach has become slightly unfashionable, it remains a valuable tool for dealing with overwhelm. The Eisenhower Matrix Each of your tasks belongs in one of four quadrants: Quadrant 1 — Urgent and important. Here’s where you place those tasks with a screaming deadline, or unexpected emergencies, such as illnesses or exploding boilers. You have no choice but to deal with this task. ...

Devised by Dr Peter Nixon, the Human Function Curve shows the relationship between pressure and performance. If there’s minimal pressure, we don’t perform; we’re just bored and understimulated.With a little more pressure, we enter our Comfort Zone. Although, as the name suggests, this feels nice, researchers won’t find new ideas by staying here too long. As the pressure mounts, we enter the Stretch Zone. This is where we want to be most of the time: it’s the sweet spot between pressure and performance. ...