Take Care of Yourself

In today’s economy, we are all pushed to do more. Downsizing and the reluctance of firms to hire with current economic uncertainties mean that all of us must take on more responsibilities without the support that we had just a few months prior. While this may have made us more productive, this will inevitably take its toll in our personal health, happiness, well-being, and our families.

Many times, when a job at hand is all consuming, you may run yourself down and actually end up doing subpar work. For example, you may have to work through the night to complete a submittal on deadline, spend the weekend rewriting a report from a sub that was poorly written, or run out of time and have to hand over a poorly written status update to a client. All the time, you miss family events and essential sleep because of work commitments.

Here are four things you can implement today to take care of yourself:

1. Set boundaries. In spite of work pressures, don’t take work home every night and don’t work all weekend every weekend. You need to refill the reservoir to remain productive, so take time to do it.

2. Enjoy your life. Most of us have a life outside of work; we have families, friends, church and social groups.
So, enjoy that group, participate and contribute. Studies indicate the most productive workers are the ones who have an interest outside of work.

3. Never think that your work is more important than your family. You have one family and one shot at parenting—do it well.

4. Protect your health. Eat well, exercise, get rest, brush your teeth and do all that stuff they taught you in kindergarten. This little stuff is important; a sick project manager is useless.


Find out more about how to create a work/life balance with PSMJ's A/E/C Project Management Bootcamp. PSMJ’s Bootcamp is a revolutionary training like no other--through interactive case-studies, real-world examples, and proven solutions, you will foster innovation, elevate communications, increase productivity, and improve your firm's bottom line. PSMJ's A/E/C Project Management Bootcamp can instantly and dramatically improve your ability to manage projects for quality, speed, and profitability.

Click here to register or contact PSMJ Education Department at education@psmj.com or (800) 537-7765.