by Margaret Hudson

Created on: April 17, 2008

Even the term project management can instill fear in the hearts of the bravest person. If you are a project manager in a job related task, and that task fails or falls short of the goals, your very employment may be at stake. But the true test of project management skills is in the home. Most mothers, and to be fair some fathers, are project managers without ever realizing that they are!

For a great illustration of this fact, follow a morning in the life of a normal mother of three:

The alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. Beginning of Project 1 - getting the household up and off to their appointed places. Our mother gets up, starts the coffee, and jumps in the shower for her alloted 3 minutes of alone time for the day. While in the shower, the bathroom door is unceremoniously opened by a her beloved 8 year old daughter, who can't find her favorite jeans to wear to school today. So much for alone time, our brave mother sticks her soapy head around the corner of the shower curtain and completes mini project one - telling her child that the required jeans are hanging in the closet in her room, where the mother put them yesterday.

Shower complete, Mom heads for the kids rooms first, checking to make sure that beds are empty and everyone is up and starting their day. Last stop, her own room where her husband lies sleeping, having worked his normal 3-11 shift the night before. She quietly leaves him resting, and heads off to the kitchen to referee the morning fights. Petulant cries of "I wanted that bowl for my cereal" "You used all the juice" "I need lunch money" and many more greet her ears. Without a sign of stress, she patiently answers all questions and concerns while she has one eye on the clock - the school bus is due in 15 minutes and she knows that in order to complete her first project of the day her three offspring must be on it. With a flurry of backpacks and admonitions to "Quit picking on your sister" and of course "Have a great day! I love you!", they are off, and none too soon. The bus stops at the end of the drive and honks mere seconds after the screen door slams behind the children's exit. Project 1 - managed and completed.

Now for Project 2 - Daily Cleaning. She bravely starts collecting clothing from the various places her loving family has left them, which for some unknown reason is everywhere but the strategically placed laundry hampers which are in each bedroom, both bathrooms, as well as one in the laundry room for good measure. From past experience,

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>