Do you have any IT Project Management rituals?
The things that, if you don’t do them, you don’t feel like you’ve really started the project…
Of course there are things that you have to do, like check your available human resources and, if you find a gap, call Stoneseed’s Project management as a Service experts … but doing that is a given. Right?
What I’m talking about is the quirky little human things that we do that signal to our brain that we have started the project, and that we mean business!!!
Any excuse to eat chocolate
My muse for this blog is Kay, a public sector IT Project leader based in London.
Kay is a level-headed, professional, and focussed project goddess! It was something of a surprise then, during a recent call about resourcing an upcoming project, when Kay finished a sentence about needing a Business Analyst and PMO Services with this off-the-cuff aside: “Oh and I’ll need to buy in the chocolate.”
Now, we all like a snack at work, but for Kay, filling the fridge with bars of 70%-solids dark chocolate is a ritual.
What’s more, each different project has its own variant of chocolate. With a portfolio like Kay’s, that can mean multiple brands of chocolate in the fridge at any one time, each assigned to an individual project – and chunks of each only to be eaten while working on that project.
If Green And Blacks is assigned to Project X, eating the Lindt assigned to Project Y would be like allocating an inappropriate resource to an inappropriate task!!!
I remember thinking, “That’s endearing!”
It turns out that Kay is far from alone.
It also turns out that IT project talent don’t just have rituals to start projects, some of us have them to start the day, a new Work Breakdown Structure component or work session too!
The science behind rituals
Kay’s ritual may seem cute, but rituals go beyond mere superstition or routine.
They are deeply rooted in psychological science.
Repeating a ritual regularly acts as a mental cue, telling your brain it’s time to transition into a new or different state – in our case delivering high-impact business change through IT Projects.
The value of rituals is linked to neuroplasticity, your brain’s ability to adapt by forming new neural pathways. Through repetition, your brain begins to associate the ritual with a specific mental or emotional state. Eventually, just starting the ritual can trigger a near-automatic shift in your mindset, focus, or emotional readiness.
There is lots of evidence of the effectiveness in sport, and especially among athletes.
I read once that footballer Cristiano Ronaldo uses a combination of visualisation and physical movements when warming up, mentally imagining scoring goals and winning the match, aligning his mental and physical preparation, and syncing his mind and body before kick-off.
In US basketball, LeBron James’ pre-game ritual is to throw a puff of chalk into the air. This cloud of chalk-dust acts as a mental cue for LeBron, signalling his transition from his off-court self to his on-court power forward self, ready to dominate the match.
In moments of intense pressure, when stress and anxiety are high, a well-practiced ritual can be a mental reset, that helps clear distractions and initiate a flow state where performance is optimised (and any inner doubts fade).
That’s the real power of rituals: they’re intentional tools for training the brain to access its highest potential on command.
I would love to hear your rituals! In the meantime, to add to Kay’s chocolate ritual, here are:
The startists! four more fabulous IT project talent rituals
New project coffee – Jessica from Sutton Coldfield
Coffee is the fuel that powers many a project! While most settle for the same brand of instant, all year round, for Jessica and her team near Birmingham – the world is their oyster.
“We start a new project with a new flavour of coffee beans,” Jessica told me, “It all began when our favourite coffee shop opened an in-house roastery! So, thanks, Coffee Wizards!!! The coffee is always local, there’s plenty around the West Midlands and surrounding areas, so I don’t see us running out of new flavours any time soon!”
Jessica tells me that having a signature coffee for each project gives it an emotional continuity, even team members working remotely have the same coffee. The sound of the office coffee grinder is like an audible mental switch-on each morning, the smell of a new coffee beans at the start of a project and the aroma of freshly ground beans and freshly brewed coffee each morning “are enough to make us even look forward to coming to work!”
Put a pot on Jessica – we are on our way!!!!
A walk – Sally from Retford
“I’m so lucky to be able to step out of my door into beautiful countryside and farm fields so, I do, before starting every day. Regardless of the weather.”
There’s heaps of evidence about the value of fresh air and even gentle exercise and their effect on mental health, work-performance, focus and happiness – this sounds like a great ritual.
For Sally it’s more than the health benefits: “Working from home, it’s important to have something that mentally switches me from ‘eating-breakfast-at-the-kitchen-table-Sally’ to ‘project-managing-wonder-woman-Sally’, especially as I often do both at the same kitchen tables! So, 8.50, without fail, Molly-dog and I have a walk round the village to clear our heads, the brook that runs through the village is so calming ahead of a busy day too!”
Scented candle – Sue from Gainsborough
“My working day is not considered started until I’ve lit and can smell the aromas of my citrus scented candle. It lives on my desk and so long as I can smell that, my head is in work-mode.”
Sue was among a handful who told me that their ritual involved the sense of smell. I suppose it’s a sense that you can use while deploying all the others on your project work – you need your ears for taking phone calls, your eyes for studying the Gantt chart and your fingers for typing up all that documentation.
Sue works on a hybrid basis and, imagining scented candles setting off fire-alarms and water-sprinklers, I asked what she does on days that she has to attend the office. “I’ve chosen a brand that does reed diffusers in the same scent. The team think I’m a legend bringing them in and freshening up the office, only I, and now you know the truth,” she replied.
Clapping – Adam from Werneth
Adam from Werneth, in Oldham, told me that he claps three times to signal the start of any period of work and that it’s something that he brought from the Sunday league football pitch – if it’s good enough for Ronaldo!!!!
“During a match, before a kick off, a set piece, or any new phase of play, I clap and shout something like “come on lads” or “turn and face”, I hadn’t realised I’d started doing it at work until a colleague asked me to “keep it down”. I still do it … but away from where I could disturb others”
I’ve found exploring rituals absorbing, get in touch with any of your own.
I love the “pyscho-science” behind these rituals, and I’d be fascinated to hear the benefits and impacts that your rituals have on your IT Projects!!
Remember to make checking out Stoneseed’s Project Management as a Service universe a ritual before you start IT Projects!
Right, I’d better get to back to my latest project, but first, I should indulge my pre-work ritual. Pop the kettle on and crack open the custard creams! I’m going in!!!!!
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