It was my own manager who first suggested to me to write a blog. Company cutbacks had added project management duties to my position. By following this advice, I soon discovered why daily blogging is such a good idea.
Having a blog has helped me in project management immensely. Blogging helped me keep track of all aspects of the project, allowing me to take on more projects. It was not unheard of to have a dozen or more projects on my desk at the same time. I wrote a blog entry for every one of them every workday, and answered the associated comments.
1. Linear documentation
When problems arise, a quick scan of the blog can tell you where and when the trouble actually started. This can be treated as “chalk it up to experience” or the basis of a detailed report to upper management.
2. Detailed record
If blogging is done at the end of each day, details are still fresh in your mind. Those details may be important a week or so later, when your memory is not as clear. As any project manager is well aware, the details make all the difference.
3. Highlights patterns
Blogging allows for documentation of issues. If the same issues arise repeatedly with the same person or company, it can be brought to the attention of someone who has the authority to do something about it.
Logistics companies that repeatedly deliver late and suppliers who are constantly out of stock are only a couple of examples of waste of time and money. Cross-referencing with other job blogs highlights the pattern.
4. Point of reference
If you are working a similar job to one completed months ago, you can go back and refer to the blog for the older job.
You may find ways to hasten completion of the current project. Refer to what issues occurred and deter them on the current project, if possible.
5. Time saver
Most of what you need to include in project reports has already been written in your blog. Use a simple copy/paste to complete mandatory reports in a fraction of the time.
6. Review resource
If your project management title includes the responsibility of managing people, the blog is an excellent resource for writing annual performance reviews. Being able to cite specific examples in a review meeting gives you more credibility.
It will either give the employee insight on how to improve, or praise for a job well done.
7. Interruption reduction
By posting a blog, anyone who is associated with the project can be updated without having to call you. It is difficult to concentrate and stay on task when you are constantly being interrupted by phone calls.
Non-urgent questions can be posted on the blog comment section, to be answered by you later in the day. This feature also deters the same question being asked by multiple people.
8. Project acceleration
Those associated with the project can review your blog and anticipate at what point they will be required to do their part. This is especially true, in my experience, with engineers.
Engineers who make site visits can verify the job is at the point they need it to be before scheduling. Crew chiefs can do the same thing, especially in limited space environments.
9. Transparency
By blogging, the job becomes more transparent. Everyone associated with it knows what is going on and why.
Due to this transparency, it is very important to blog honestly with as little emotion as possible. “Spoke to Todd about being an hour late” works better than “Yelled at Todd because I was angry at him being late again. Doesn’t he realize he is holding up the whole job?”
10. Stress relief
Blogging at the end of the day allows you to leave your work at work. Once you have written what happened that day, and possibly where things will start tomorrow, you provide yourself with a sense of closure of the workday.
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Even though it sounds like a lot of time consuming writing, it really only takes a few minutes to blog the day for each project. You are not writing a book, but rather a log of events related to the job itself.
I have kept my project blogs for a year after completion for reference. This expedited similar jobs due primarily to the lessons learned from the experience.
How about you? Do you write a blog?
Photo by plinghoo.
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Hey Maria, this is a great post. I often think I would like to starting a blog but I think I don’t have time with work and stuff. How do you fit the time in?
P.S. Your link in your bio isn’t working????
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for notifying. It’s working now. 🙂
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Pooja
Melissa seriously you need to start a blog. I understand with the time. I myself have just changed my employer and everything is up in the air at the minute. Problem was my blog I used to have was a company blog and the have recently unpublished it so make sure you get one at blogger or wordpress.com that is yours.
What Industry do you work in Melissa?
This is an interesting concept, Maria.
Where do you usually host this blog? Is it open for all to see?
Hey Aron
As I have just said to Melissa above I made the mistake of using a blog provided by employers, which has now been unpublished.
In the next coming months I will be writing on a brand new blog over at http://futureofprojectmanagement.blogspot.co.uk, please check it out where you can.
Can I just say Aaron, I love your blog design. Did you do that yourself or is that a theme?
I did want to comment on your blog but I don’t post on facebook comments. Have you thought of using http://disqus.com if you don’t like wordpress commenting system?
I’m a project manager, but don’t quite get the value here. Aren’t project updates good enough and serve the same purpose while being more direct about actions that need to be taken?
Also where are these posts being published? Publicly, on an internal company blog?
I’m sorry you feel that way about this topic. I am of the belief that the main reason for failure of a project is lack of communication then I believe that a blog can help to overcome this.
At my old employers. We had one public blog that would only display certain posts to employee accounts and actually it worked really well.
Great story Maria, I write a blog but I do not have all those other duties. I write because it is fun and entertaining. Thanks for your I will look at your blog.
Thank you Michael. Just about to check out your blog too 🙂
I must admit it ranks up there among one of the most unique blog ideas I have ever seen.
Wow thank you scrapebox 😉
I find it worth while to write a blog post about certain issues I have found resolutions to because chances are if I had a tough time with something, someone else did too.
I also like to write about quotes that have impacted me as well as apps that increase my productivity.
Hey Craig
I totally agree. Although I must say I find it hard talking about things that have directly effected projects I’ve worked on because of client confidentiality. Instead I tend to write hypothetically and have to generalise the situation much to the dislike of my readers.
What’s your favourite quote Craig. Mine at the moment would have to be:
“Observe the masses and do the opposite”
maria very good post, very well summarizes the strengths of a bog for a company
Awesome techniques, and awesome information, greetings.
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Blogging can be equated to writing a daily diary with the only difference that the former brings in more transparency and can also enable the blogger to get insights/solutions to his challenges and may create new opportunities. Moreover, blogging ensures the line of communication is open, even during contingencies especially in an organizational set-up. It would be handy not only for project managers, but for all professionals, especially if they are able to rope in audiences from the similar domain.