A good project manager is cool, calm, and collected. This is easier said than done! If you’re starting to suffer from burnout, or simply feeling the pressure, it’s time to take a step back and consider your role and what it entails. You want to have control over every project you work on, feel confident in your ability to reach your goals, and keep you can-do, positive mental attitude. It can be hard going in the long run though. Here are our three tips on how to keep calm and invigorate yourself for every new project you approach.

Meditation

When your entire workday revolves around reacting to situations as they crop up, it’s incredibly easy to get stuck in ‘reaction’ mode. Especially true of the goal-orientated IT sector, many project managers find themselves stuck in the simple linear step-step-step-end goal mindset. Take a few moments out of your day, throughout your day, and focus on rekindling independent thinking, problem-solving and inner calm. It’ll do you wonders, as well as your team.

Forward Thinking

The key to being a successful project manager is focusing on what you and your team will achieve in the future. Whether that’s a successful wrap-up for your current project or where you’d like to be in 5 years’ time. Try not to fall into the common pit of overthinking past failures and mistakes. Forget the ‘what ifs’ and focus on how you will do better in the future. Turning negative commentary on your past into positive thinking about your future is the first step to being in control of your future.

Visualization

This one can be done with your whole team. At the beginning of each work session, take a few minutes out to map out each stage of the project and what each goal along the way is. Try and go into as much detail as possible to really invigorate the team and get them excited about the work ahead of them. The main reason behind starting each new project with this is to help your co-workers embrace the idea of a completely fresh start on each new project going ahead. If the last project was particularly difficult and problem, after problem cropped up, using this break as a chance to focus on this project, is a completely new experience.