Life, Time, and Models of Project Management

In the discipline of Project Management, there is a long-used triangular graph illustrating the tradeoff between time spent working on a project, project scope and the resources applied to the project. Max Wideman extends this argument creating a tetrahedral graph indicating that the quality of the completed work is the fourth key axis. Joe Marasco postulates a fifth axis: project altitude, or risk, changing the tetrahedron into a square-based pyramid. One thing that can be distilled from this ever-evolving set of diagrams – that getting things done is a complex and tricky business.

This problem becomes more difficult when subjected to the pressure of time. The one thing I find most interesting about these representations of the variables of project management (which are extensible to any life activity – sex, writing an article, quiet conversations) is that the primacy of time is not represented visually in any of these graphs. With trepidation of setting off eye-rolling reactions in those averse to cliches, time is the limiting factor in our brief lives. Yet all these graphs treat time visually as if it was merely one more element in the equation of completing a project.

Despite the PM’s graphical undervaluing of time, in accountancy, as I have been told by a friendly CFO, every aspect of every project or manufacturing process should be traceable back to the employee hours needed to complete the task, and its value weighed against the cost of those hours. In this environment, the temptation to succumb to speed and multitasking in an attempt to squeeze as much work, life experience, and pleasure into the unknown yet determinate number of minutes is a siren’s call. Volunteering to help that important organization, curating that show, writing that paper, agreeing to take on one more must-complete project, playing with the kids, each opportunity attempts to wangle a few precious minutes for it’s own. The challenge, for me, is that I want to do all these things. Life is incredibly rich, and I want to layer experience upon experience and dwell in the richness of that time.

Unable to divide my attention and simultaneously read a book, write a blog posting, and carry on a conversation, I feel like an ancient time-sharing server dividing a set of given tasks into packets that can be completed in one to five minutes. Each packet iteratively interrupts work on the previous item, creating a certain level inattention to everything. While this method of working allows more to be completed, the quality suffers. Certainly it is difficult to have sustained complex thinking on one matter over the course of days.

To return to our Project Management models, perhaps the most significant bargain for me, is that of time and quality. Some activities and experiences require extended disengagement from the culture of multitasking. Some of these activities are concentrated, task-oriented experiences that yield poor results without the effort of sustained attention. Some other activities are the equivalent of graphic white space – a place to rest and breathe before the next surge of content. Yet despite my best efforts to kindly say “no” to new requests for commitment, tiny time-robbing ducklings emerge to nibble away minutes and hours from my day. These ducklings are the killers of quality. Quality of time, quality of work, quality of experience are degraded by serial distraction.

To yield a final thesis, and a promise to myself: I will finally obey that exhortation given by the Franklin-Covey seminar lady, fill my life with my high-priority, long-term goals first, prioritize lower-priority or smaller projects next, and say “no” to low-value, low return requests.