Whether you're managing a software development project, or coordinating your children's soccer and dance lessons, schedules are helpful tools for orchestrating a sequence of events. Most schedules involve a start and end-date, and include tasks, task duration, and dependencies between tasks. But no matter how well you plan for a series of events, unexpected events will compete for time and threaten deadlines. People you hadn't anticipated will step into your plans, and begin to influence, control, and often complicate things. When we do not handle unexpected events and the interpersonal elements well, our schedules fall apart. Good scheduling is very difficult, a combination of art and science. In this article, I will discuss realistic scheduling, which seeks to cover all the above types of events--the planned, the possible, and the unimagined. There are some techniques that can help you keep your sanity, which go beyond the notes, checklists, milestones dates, and appointment books.
Laura Rose has been in the software and testing industry for over 20 years. She's worked with such companies as IBM, Ericsson, Staples, Fidelity Investments and Sogeti in various client advocacy and project management roles. The techniques she uses in her business coaching and client advocacy work saved these companies both time and money, which resulted in on-time, quality product delivery with higher client satisfaction. Laura now uses her client focus, project, quality and people management skills in her personal life coaching career. As a certified coach, she helps people integrate their goals and dreams into their everyday lives. Laura uses creative and practical tools to help her clients realize what really matters to them. They then follow-through with project and time management techniques to create the reality they really want.
Laura authors many articles and workshops on time management and strategic scheduling. She is also the founder of the electronic magazine the Rose Garden: the Art of Becoming. Laura offers one-on-one career and life coaching, small group coaching, seminars and workshops. You can learn more about her at www.rosecoaching.info and contact her at [email protected].
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