Successfully managing both family and work commitments is nothing short of a remarkable balancing act. Planning is the most important aspect to maintaining this balance.  As a working mom or business consultant, I plan everything!

Here is a personal example of how that balance was recently thrown off for me. While at a conference, working from a Boston hotel room, I had found out that the nanny didn’t arrive at the right time for my husband to get to his early morning meeting. Was this my fault? Despite my need to be responsible for everything (a common working mom trait) I’m going to go out on a limb here and say no, this was not my mistake.  And in all seriousness my husband would completely agree. 

There is a direct correlation to the advice I give to my clients, to how I run my consulting projects and how I manage my own home life.

While I have been in a project management type role for the vast majority of my career, it’s really in my current career as a consultant that I recognized the value and skill that project planning really brings to everything in your life. 

So whether you are seeking to implement a MSP/VMS, a new strategy or just looking for that perfect summer nanny, using the fundamentals of a good project plan will help you get there. There are a vast amount of resources from books to certification and on-line resources to take you through the formal fundamentals of a project plan.  Here’s just a few of my basic favorites:

• Define the scope-What are you trying to accomplish?

• Estimate a timeline and then the corresponding details-When you start putting activities to a realistic timeline, it’s often very enlightening.  This exercise seems to make a big impression upon my clients and my spouse.  Putting a timeline to paper brings a big dose of reality to the undertaking at hand.

• Document Everything-Keep records and notes. Every time you change from your baseline, write down the change was and why it was necessary. Every time a new requirement is added to the project write down where the requirement came from and how the timeline or budget was adjusted because of it.

• Communication, communication, communication-Have a weekly status no matter what.  Sit down with your project team, husband, nanny or customer.  Even when you’re inclined to say there isn’t anything to talk about, the opportunity for both parties to communicate and expect the regular interaction and feedback is critical.