As I start this journey of writing, I am conscious that the way I reflect on my experiences may change in the future. Though I believe the underlying principles, for any human, in any part of their life, may be relevant. And if nothing else, this leaves a legacy footprint - reflection of change.
The skill of project management in its most basic form is:
1. Start –The Plan with a Purpose (supported by the right tools).
2. Middle – The Journey – in a time bound and / or a flexible path.
3. End –Reflection and Celebration on completion.
In this article I will focus only on Start – The Plan with a Purpose and as I continue this writing, will cover the remainder, as well as enrich the topics with more examples and stories. Do enjoy the reading.
We will look at the following using an everyday life simple example:
Purpose
Right tools
Plan which can be time bound or flexible.
1. Purpose
The morning routine – an every day example
Let us start with an amazingly simple morning routine most enjoy and / or are privileged to do so – a beverage on waking up.
I remember as a kid growing up in India, it was my most treasured part of my morning. Watching my father boil the water on the stove and make us his special tea. I can smell and taste it as I write this today.
If we are to think about the start of the habit – of having a beverage on waking up, (or any other favourite of yours) it starts with a purpose.
For this morning routine, it is amazingly simple – to enjoy an aromatic coffee during my reflection time.
The aroma filling the fresh air of the kitchen when I grind my coffee, a sensory load I welcome. To then sit with my coffee in my favourite mug and reflect, write, or simply enjoy the silence but for the birds singing and whistling outside waking up the neighbourhood.
Play along as you read:
Identify your purpose for your favourite thing you do on waking each day.
Alternatively, try something as you continue to read. Is there a project you have in mind in your personal life and are unsure where to start. See if you can identify the purpose. The purpose simply put, is the reason for starting a project and seeing it on a journey, to the end.
2. The Right Tools
Once there is a purpose, it needs the support of the right tools to help the plan be successful.
The right tools need to be available before starting this purpose led plan. A kettle, water, coffee, power or some way of boiling water, and a favourite mug, to name a few.
My brother and I reflected on this shared trait – we both fill the kettle the night before, so on waking we simply flick the switch and in the 3 minutes it might take to boil, our cup, plunger and coffee grind is ready. What my brother may not know (till he reads this perhaps), is that when I know the day is going to demand my attention, I have the coffee ground the night before (the taste not being compromised, in my experience) and the aroma intact when I open the airtight container in which it is stored overnight.
Every project starts with a plan that has a purpose, and to be successful, is supported by the right tools.
Continue to play along as you read:
For the project you identified in the earlier part, see if you can identify the right tools to be successful.
3. The Plan
Time Bound or Flexible Plan?
In my personal life, I indulge in both time bound and flexible plans. And in my time bound plans, I flex them unless they are going to affect someone else participating in those plans. I'll explain this as you continue reading.
In my corporate experience, most plans are time bound. Even if the time needs extending with good reason (the flexibility to change paths), there is always a well-defined end point.
Time bound plan:
This is when there is a finite amount of time to get the project at hand completed.
To demonstrate the art of crafting a time bound plan let me return to the simple morning routine example. On any given weekday, it is most often time bound. On holidays or a weekend, there is more flexibility unless changing the plan is going to impact someone else.
For this demonstration, it is a time bound plan.
As this is happening, the coffee is ground and the plunger is ready.
A little meditation smelling the aroma of fresh ground coffee
The alarm can have as much cushion as you need. In this example, I am giving it a 15 minute cushion.
The 15 minute cushion allows for the unexpected – perhaps there was a power outage – and I might need to use the back-up plan for making this beverage.
The time bound plan now crafted looks something like this:
- Alarm goes off
- Fill the kettle
- Boil the kettle
- Grind the coffee
- Get plunger & coffee mug ready
- Some stretching exercises
- Sit with coffee and reflection time.
- Celebrate a nice cup of coffee with gratitude
- Move to start the next thing for the day
This hopefully demonstrates the simplicity in crafting a time bound plan.
It is simple when there is a clear purpose, and there is foresight into having a cushion of time for any external influences that can change this plan (like say a power outage in this example).
Continuing to play along as you read:
For the project you identified in the earlier part, see if you can craft a time bound plan, with a cushion for the unexpected that might occur along the way.
4. From Morning routine to Corporate Projects
So how does the kettle time bound plan, with a 15minute cushion translates to corporate projects?
Great question – let me lead you there now, showing you how the underlying principles remain the same.
In my corporate experience, a good project starts with
a well-defined purpose (why are we embarking on this project as a team?)
identifying and making available the right tools to support the project be successful.
a plan time bound or flexible with a cushion for the unexpected.
There most definitely can be a longer list of success factors. In my experience, these are the three key things that are the foundation for a successful Start Middle and End of a project.
Corporate Project – three-month example:
Think of a corporate project example – keeping it simple here – 3 months from Start to End.
1. Defined purpose
2. Identify the right tools.
3. Craft a time bound plan.
4.1. Purpose:
Define whatever purpose of the project you may think of in corporate life.
4.2 The Right Tools:
To identify the tools and craft a time bound plan, in its simplest form:
Who do we need to complete this in the next three months?
The most under-estimated set up of a project in my corporate experience – the humans. Not just their names, but also and not limited to:
- the availability of the humans
- expertise
- active participation
- ability to on-engage the wider teams (colleagues peers and leadership)
- ability to stay focussed and resilient.
- ability to put their best foot forward daily not just on good days, but on the most intense and hard days.
Often selections are made based on knowledge and subject matter expertise. Is that alone the right approach? It is a question worth asking when considering this under-estimated part of project success.
4.3 The Plan:
Defined time bound plan: this is an example of how this can work and by no means limited to what is crafted.
It is to sow the seeds of thought, based on how I have used my insight and experience to craft a time bound plan.
- Humans organised
- Purpose understood
- Tasks listed
- Cushion identified and included in the time
- The unexpected and alternate path defined.
- Relevant tools organised
- The Middle (a later article)
- The End (a later article)
As I continue to write, I will continue to provide simple examples to sow seeds of thought, on all the below:
1. Start –The Plan with a Purpose.
2. Middle – The Journey – in a time bound and / or a flexible path.
3. End –Reflection and Celebration on completion.
5. Reflection and what next?
Whether it is a morning coffee or a corporate project, the Start begins with a purpose, supported by the right tools, and a time bound plan (with a cushion for the unexpected) or a flexible plan.
It is worth recognising how often the skills we use in everyday life are the same skills a project manager uses in corporate life. And perhaps a project you have been putting off in your personal life might not be as difficult to start as you once thought.
Hope you continue to enjoy the reading.
Started: Some weeks ago,
Finished: 17. Oct.2026
Published: First time here
Linda G Thorpe
P.S
If you have any feedback / questions, do use the contact page and I will do my best to answer them as best as I can.
