What is an acceptable excuse to take a break from the daily grind of work? It seems like smokers are the ones that have a craving that is strong enough to demand structured breaks every hour or so. I don't think the unhealthy habit should be a precedent! I've found the next thing: Fitbit! The latest update tells you to get up and move with a goal of 250 steps every hour. It forces you to get up and away from your desk, stretch, and relax your eyes and brain.
Breaks at work are really healthy for you (and mandatory by law in cases), whether it is looking at facebook, surfing e-bay, or taking a few steps around the office. A mental and/or physical stretch will help you focus on your work better. Here are a few things that taking a break can do for you.

  1. Focus
    •  Do you multitask? It's likely that what you sat down to do at 8 am isn't done because you got distracted by other items, people, or emails. If you take a break, it means you put down all of the tasks. And when you come back refreshed, you are ready to start tackling only one thing and one thing alone again.
  2. Retain information
    • Slow down! When you take the time to think things over, you can consider possibilities or perspectives that you might not have realized on first glance. You can mull it over in the shower, hand-write it down, or even forget about it to look at it with fresh eyes. It can help you remember things better.
  3. Maintain emotional intelligence
    • Everyone can have their patience tested and risk hitting their limit. To keep a level head, you have to step back and relax. Different people recharge in different ways. Whether you prefer to vent to a friend, scream at a pillow, or meditate, it is important to step back and reflect on yourself to gain back your mental energy.
How many breaks and how often? There are many theories on that, like the 4-Day Work Week and the 50-10 rule.






Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2, my advice for scope management goes beyond defining the scope of the project. It must cover what happens if scope creep happens after the initial planning steps. If you want a project to stay on the track of success that was started, you have to have a plan. You must be able to answer these three questions... before they occur!
  • What happens if something new comes up or something comes up that can't be ignored?
    • Does it immediately affect the project and put everything else on hold until this new problem or idea is resolved? Hopefully not. You want to be able to maintain the original plan until proven otherwise so make sure that everyone knows their task and keeps to it.
  • How will change be handled?
    • Okay, so something new has comes up. Is it important enough to implement and change course or not? We don't know, but the PM might know if it can fit into the plan. :-) Make sure you've defined the person or log that keeps track of these items as they come up.
  • What is the process to determine the time and cost that new scope will pose? 
    • Once it's on the list, due diligence can be done just like the original successful scope evaluation. Then they can be discussed by stakeholders at appropriate meetings to make the right decisions. Without a strong process, the power that people have over project success will continue and you can complete milestones on time and on budget!
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
By: Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.
  1. If you care about something, you'll make it happen to every detail
    • Throughout her whole life (until age 104) Huguette love dolls and doll houses. Not as playthings, but as ornate beautiful pieces of art. She commissioned so many detailed projects and would politely reject things if they weren't right like the width of a door. It doesn't matter what it is that you're passionate about, but it shows when you fawn over every bit of it.
  2. Honestly, it's not the wild west anymore
    • It's sad but true, the world just isn't like the goold ole' days of striking gold in a mine, or banking as an entrepreneur. In the book, Huguette's father first got rich by buying eggs and carrying them across country to winter Montana. The land isn't free, information moves fast, and the economy is global. To become a millionaire, it take a similar brain but a different application. It's tough!
  3. Always be polite
    • One of the things that didn't surprise me in the book is in her old age, Huguette threw money at problems to solve them, even a friend's health. But what was a bit surprising to me in the book was everyone said she was so generous. Not just with gifts of large sums, but even when saying no and sending something back that "wasn't good enough", she was always warm and friendly. I'd like to be remembered that way too.
Today's advice is about writing it down. There is lots of writing to do during a project, but I think the most happens at the planning stage. When you are evaluating scope early on in the project, you are starting fresh. At this point, your job is not to reel them in. You need to simply write down everything that comes up. Even the dumb ideas, the un-doable ideas, and the small ideas. On this recent project of mine, I ran into three situations that I was glad I had written down what I heard, thought, and noted so that I could reference it later.

  • In one case, it was a lower level employee had an idea to simplify her job. It sparked an organizational need that I wrote down to explore further. They had 10 different documents that were all lumped into one. Why? It made it cumbersome to sort through everything when we could create separation; a great idea but did it fit in the scope? It was a small change to management but made a big difference down the line and it quickly took a back-burner to other items that needed more attention. It didn't resurface until the final list was reviewed, it was still there even though it was far down the list. But because it was well documented it was easy to readdress the need and the idea was raised in priority enough to make it into the phased project. This need may have come up again later in the project when it wouldn't be as easy to add, so because I had notes to bring it up again before it was completely off the table, a valuable scope item was defined.
  • In another case, we were at the final stage of the planning phase where certain scope ideas were being tabled to future releases. The important items were the accepted items and the high risk scope. Sometimes you don't want to rehash the items far down the list due to time constraints. However, we reviewed all items, and the nods in the room were good for two reasons. One, they were easy decisions, "yes, this item doesn't meet the scope requirements" for everyone to agree on. Having unanimous agreement is encouraging for everyone. And second, I got a smile from the submitter in that she appreciated the recognition. Her idea wasn't forgotten. It wasn't pointless. It just wasn't in this project. By her facial experession, it was obvious that it meant something to her for her idea to not be lost and that I remembered even that issue. That is key because now, she has confidence in me that I won't lose other things throughout the project.
  • The last case we ran into was the dangerous assumption. Maybe I assume we don't need it, or they assume we can do something with little to no risk. It is never as easy as simply the level of importance on issues. It can be frequency of the need, risk, price (time or money or both), or any number of things. There is a whole methodology in project management to assess value of each scope item. So the final review isn't, "oh can we just add this little thing". Don't assume what it takes to complete something; write down what's promised so assumptions don't fall through the cracks.
Okay, I'm from a microbrew hub in Boulder and Denver Colorado area so when I travel and am seeking out a beer, I want something other than a Coors that I can get, well, anywhere.When in Iowa I enjoyed the beer below, and in Ohio I tried the holiday seasonal beers of Great Lakes and Southern Tier. It's a treat to try the new flavors, hang with friends, and enjoy a nice cold brew while on the road.

  • Chemically relax
    • Beer (and other alcoholic beverages) have alcohol that impair your senses by relaxing your nerves and slowing you down. When you're on the road traveling you have a lot of stress so looking to alcohol as an induced way to reduce stress isn't always a bad thing. Travel takes its toll on you so I think you can take all the help you can get to feel refreshed the next day. Of course, do use moderation, in travel and beer. :-) 
  • Socialize
    • If you are out on the town getting tipsy in a unknown area, make sure to bring a friend. Especially women, don't drink alone! For many reasons, but showing others your non-business side can sometimes ease the tension at work when you return. Makes you seem more human and you can connect on something other than the project you're working on.
  • Support local
    • As you might have read in my coffee post, I'm a big fan of small businesses. Drinking the microbrew at a pub near you instead of the conglomerate at a restaurant chain is supporting two startups at once. You get learn about the place you're visiting on a whole new level and that's not something you can get at home.
If you drink, make sure to be safe and don't drink and drive! There's a hotel bar, walking, or a fridge in your room. Be safe!

    About Me



    So if you want to be happy at work like I am, then thanks for being a reader! I am a consultant that travels constantly and is always working with new people. I love what I do! I'm formally trained with an MBA and BS Engineering. At home and in my free time, I like to drink beer, travel, garden, read, hike with my dog, and play board games.

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