Time Line

The Chart

The dear friend of all project managers is the Gantt Chart.  The main purpose of the Gantt Chart is schedule management.  The charts show the timeline, activities, associated tasks, resources, and dependencies required for the project.  From experience, I can tell you not every single task is identified, and there are contingencies for most changes, but there are still unexpected events.  Things happen on projects that do not go 100% to plan.   It is not about if you have issues as you will, it is all about how you deal with them and recover to keep the project going.

At one point, I ran my life like a project.  Project - Rod’s Life was very structured and well documented.  I was a well oiled and regimented machine.  I knew everything (so I thought at the time) I needed to do, the time it would take, and dependencies identified.  There was no gray and all sorts of black and white.  The unexpected events did crop up, but I did not have contingencies for them so my plan was sidetracked and Project - Rod’s Life was halted for a while.  I took the time to review the plan, the tasks, dependencies, and resources and came up with a new plan.  The Gantt Chart for Project – Rod’s Life looks something like this now.

Project Name: Rod’s Life           Project Start: 6/25/59        Project Finish: Unknown

·       Task Name: Live Life as Best I Can, and Make a Difference in the World

·       Task Type: Recurring Daily

·       Task Start: Today at Midnight

·       Task Finish: Tonight at 11:59 PM

·       Resources: Me, The Good Lord, and Everyone in My Life

·       Duration: 24 hours

·       Dependencies: None

·       Predecessors: None

What does your Life Project look like?  Is it so structured there is no margin for error, or do you beat yourself up if something unknown and beyond your control pops up?  Stop the Madness!  In actuality, life is all about the unknown.  We have no way of knowing with 100% certainty what will happen 5 seconds or 5 years from now.  No amount of structure or planning can change that fact.  It gets back to that B word I use a lot: Balance.  

Rodney - Plan! I Don't Need No Stinking Plan :)