ISSUE #35

​Read online and access previous editions 👇🏼

Ever had one of those weeks where you’re just feeling constantly on edge, as more issues keep appearing?

The client is asking for "just one more thing" (again), your team is unusually quiet in meetings, and your to-do has been unmanageable, so much you’re not even looking at it!

When a project feels chaotic, our instinct is move faster.

We start earlier, stay later, and try to outwork the mess. But as I’ve learned the hard way, you can’t outrun a project that's lost its structure.

If you’re currently in the everything is a priority phase, here is how to reclaim your headspace and your schedule:

1. Stop being a Mechanic and start Driving

In my HPPM program, we talk about the Driver-Car-Mechanic model.

• Mechanics spend all day fixing problems and chasing overdue items.
• Drivers focus on proactive tasks, stakeholder engagement and risk planning.

If you’re feeling chaotic, you’re likely stuck in Mechanic mode. Stop fixing for 30 minutes and ask:

"What would my future self thank me for today?"

That simple question should help trigger where you need to focus, so what matters, what has value and some fixes to how you’re planning and approaching your day.

2. Radical Prioritisation: The "3 Things" Rule

Chaos often comes from over-tracking. Ever feel like you seem to be constantly updating your plan, but the problems on your project keep appearing?

We bury ourselves in a sea of low-level tasks and lose sight of the milestones.

• Identify the Top 3: What three outcomes actually move the needle this week?
• Ignore the Noise: If a task doesn't support those three, it’s a "Quick Win" (at best) or a distraction.

When your project feels chaotic, it’s easy to be busy, but the problem is often being busy means working on tasks that don’t help the situation, so those smaller problems start to stack, and have a compounding impact on your time and your projects time.

3. Re-draw the Lines (Managing the "Justs")

Chaos is frequently caused by "Just" requests "Can you just add this dashboard?" These small requests have a compounding effect that burns your budget and your team's sanity.

• Name it: Use the language. Say, "That feels like scope creep. Let's scope it properly."
• Talk in Trade-offs: Don't say no; say, "We can do that, but what should we remove to make space?"
• Just rush: When you’re busy, the easy thing to do is to say yes, don’t. Always take a moment to take the request away in case you get rejected outright in the moment. Often, these “Just” requests are not actually needed.

4. Audit Your Calendar (The 90-Minute Rule)

You can’t fix a project if you’re in back-to-back meetings.

• Block Deep Work: Protect one 90-minute window every day.
• Decline Agenda-less Meetings: If there’s no agenda, don't go. This alone can reclaim hours of your week.

This isn’t as easy as me just saying do it, but if you’re not proactive with protecting your time, then don’t expect to have much as someone else will quickly take it from you.

5. Review with the Team

Don't carry the chaos alone. Run a quick 15-minute "reset" review.

• Ask the Brave Question: "What's the one thing causing us the most problems right now?"
• Listen: If the team is quiet, call them in by name. You need their eyes on the risks you might be missing.

Once you have that one thing, ask for ideas on what we could do immediately to improve it. Don’t just take away that one thing for you to solve, as often it’s too big, that’s why you need to break it down, and start chipping away at it. You do this as it’s a far more realistic way to work.

Regaining control isn't about fixing everything at once. It’s about picking one small problem, fixing it, and stacking that win.

Have a great week. 💪🏼

Ben