Project Management for Everyday Life John L. Howard

Rating: 3 out of 5

I finished a pretty short book that has 56 pages for month of March cause I'm busy watching drama, dancing and trying to rest early.

I thought I'll find something to read to brush up in organising my life but this book feels like a waste of my time cause a lot of words are wasted in reiterating similar points. 

But as someone who does project management, I think it does motivate me to do better with the refresh of methods which I have come across in.

It's might get messy from here onwards but below are just some key takeaway from the book.

Their main idea of project management is to break it up into small steps by asking the 

Who, what ,where, when. 

Very similar to the 5W1H method which is a framework which people use for critical thinking and problem-solving. (Except they don't specifically mention about the how and why since you should already know why you need to get a certain project done.)

But I use 5W1H very often cause there are problem solving involved in project management.

I used to have a post-note on my desk to remind myself to question 5W1H whenever I face a problem.

If you don't know, 5W1H refers to ; Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

Although I know this but I still forget to make clear of these 5W1H before I proceed sometimes which will come back and bite me cause these are things that I should know and should be able to answer if people ask.

Anyway, next that they mentioned in the book is to 

use the SMART method for setting achievements

(Specify, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound / Tracking.)

If you've been to my space since the start of me setting personal goals in 2019,  you would have find this SMART method familiar.

I mean even my goals now are set using this method.
(My goal of reading 1 self improvement book in a month) Topics that interest me: eg (Fitness, Investments, AI, Automations but not limited to those topics)

Specific: Self improvement book in topics that interest me.

Measurable: 1 book

Achievable: Totally.

Relevant: It is to align with my 2026 Resolution to not be stagnant in knowledge.

Time bound: 1 Month.

PS: I apparently made it feels very vague by saying my goal is to read 1 book in a month in my previous post. But I did mentioned in my 2026 resolution that it is for studies and topics that interest me. (in my own words self improvement books.) Anyway even if it was vague, reading 1 book is also specific )

In the book, they mentioned to reflect at the end. 
1. what went well?

2. what did not go as planned?

3. what can we do differently next time.

I think this is beautiful cause I do this except I don't hardwire it in my brain and/or you just simply don't encounter the same thing in different projects to make your reflection useful.

But it's really good if you got time to reflect and hardwire it into your brain. Especially if you are using it for everyday life

Next, the MoSCoW Method.

I have come across this method  before but haven't been actively using it.
(Must have, Should have, Could have, Wont have)

As a chronic procrastinator, I guess I usually subconsciously drop the could have and wont have without listing out cause I'm too lazy to go the extra mile. 

But I usually don't list it out. 

Lastly, the book also mention a bunch of tools people could use for project management.

(Eg. Kanban boards "Trello", Gantt chart, collaboration platform)

Kanban boards is really good. But I stopped using them many many years ago cause it's hard for me to follow through. not my style to use for project management. 

Quick book to read if you have limited knowledge on project management as it offers basics to project management. Not really worth the read if you are in project management.