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Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: Things We Don’t Notice
Many years ago, I had a very predictable job as a health care provider. I left for work at the exact same time and had the same commute. Like clockwork, my colleague Maria would merge onto the freeway just ahead of me every single morning. She drove at a very relaxed pace. I did not.…
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Barb’s Blurbs: Manage Yourself
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde I’ve been interested with the concept of “self-management”, which is the idea that people are fully capable of managing their own behavior, time, tasks, and emotions in order to achieve goals without constant supervision. In theory, it sounds super efficient. Teams rely on peer relationships, shared…
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Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: How To Fish
This past week, someone I was working with said, “You are teaching me how to fish”. Now before you picture me in waders, standing in a river somewhere with a fly fishing rod and project plan, let me clarify that no actual fish were involved. We were tackling a complex problem, one that the organization…
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Barb’s Blurbs: Different Ways of Doing
Early in my project management career, I worked with a colleague who happened to share my name. Barbara. We were affectionately referred to by our coworkers as “The Barbs”. Barb had a way of gently challenging how I approached things. I remember once showing her a program tracker I had spent hours perfecting, feeling quite…
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Camps, Cottages and Relaxation
Do you know those places by the lake that people flock to in warm weather to relax? Around here in Ontario, Canada we call them camps or cottages, depending on which side of the province you grew up on. Head over to Quebec and they become chalets. Out on the East Coast, those folks take…
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What Energizes You
Do you know what truly energizes you? I mean really energizes you. Your first answer might be coffee. Fair enough. It deserves some recognition. But beyond caffeine, what gives you that boost that helps you focus, create, and get things done? I ask because I experience a 3:00 p.m. slump regularly. My day is far…
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Barb’s Blurbs: Thinking Out Loud
I get a lot of feedback from readers, and it usually falls into two camps. Some are die-hard project managers who want me to dive deeper into the weeds: WBS structures, RACI vs. RASCI, and all the beautifully complex, slightly geeky pieces of what PMs do. I get it. The geeky stuff matters. But that’s…
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Alone Time
How often do you truly spend time alone, without distractions competing for your attention? I enjoy being around people, but I’ll admit it can be exhausting. Time alone gives me space to think, reset and, if I am being honest, to have some surprisingly good conversations with myself. Occasionally, those moments also include singing out…
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I Forgot Water
It’s summer in North America, which for many people means camping. For me, it means remembering how much I dislike sleeping in a tent. After many restless nights sleeping in tents with rocks wedged under my shoulder, I finally decided to do something about it. Enter my latest project: a do-it-yourself camper van that is…
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Let’s Listen
“Listen like you may be wrong.“ Noah Eckstein, Harvard University Commencement, 2026 Most of us spend a lot of time talking, but struggle with actually listening. Last Sunday, on a rainy afternoon, I found myself revisiting a film I hadn’t watched since high school: Twelve Angry Men. What struck me all over again wasn’t just…
