Think like an Astronaut to become a better Project Manager

Project management is a complex topic for many, because as priorities and project plans being change, deadlines being delayed, scope increase, stakeholders getting nervous - captain needs to keep it all together consistently.

Recently I came across with Jake Daghe's article on Medium, how reading a copy of "Endurance: My Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery" helped him to be a better project manager.

Thinking how any book about Astronomy could help anyone to become a better Project Manager, I started reading his article and investigating the book.

The book was about the memoir of veteran astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year in the International Space Station. In his book, Kelly was explaining readers how he survived dangerous, complicated spacewalks following some extremely complex and creative guidelines that were necessary for his safety.

The more I read, the better I realized how thinking like an astronaut would help anyone becoming better at a project management by following 3 set of rules:

Tethering, Tasks and Timelines

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1. Tether

When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety tethers to stay close to their spacecraft as a primary rule. The safety tethers keep astronauts from floating away into space. “From moment to moment, I have to be aware of my tethers and whether they are properly attached”, Kelly writes. “There is nothing more important to my continued survival.”

While managing projects, it’s crucial to stay connected to your mission and continue asking yourself whether project is moving in the right direction and of you are staying sticky to your end goal. If it’s not the case, you’re at a high risk of floating away from your mission.

2. Tasks

Once an astronaut knows he is tethered correctly, then he can start focusing on the tasks. Jake says, "Whatever astronauts are doing, they are focused on one task at a time and one task only. To prevent himself from getting distracted, Kelly would look at reminders written on a checklist on his wrist."

We people are mono-taskers, period.

Thinking of yourself as a multitasking person is one of the greatest myths of project management.

Consider this point from a Cleveland Clinic blog post on multitasking: “We are wired to be mono-taskers. One study found that just 2.5 percent of people are able to multitask effectively.”

We learn from astronauts, to be a mono-tasker as we project-manage. This may feel odd to you at first, especially when you’re used to shifting back and forth between 10 different things. You may manage more projects, however, you need to be mindful on your capacity: focus on one thing at a time. You may think you’ll get less done, but really, the opposite is true.

3. Timeline

Every astronaut on a space walk knows that how vital it is to keep an eye on the timeline of the mission.

Kelly described it like this: “I learned to follow the checklists precisely, even when I felt I already knew them, because I needed to be so careful — if I got behind the timeline, because if certain things weren’t in the right configuration by a given point in the countdown, the launch wouldn’t proceed.”

Being a project leader also means that while you can never be sure what circumstances may arise, but you still need to make sure the job is done, everything is settled at right time.

Instead of worrying about what you can’t control, focus on what you can. As Kelly writes: “Small steps add to giant leaps.”

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As you project-manage, always ensure you're tethered right, tasks are done and timeline is on its right course. But you should not forget that, even if you manage all those 3 steps perfectly, there will still be a possibility for your project to fail: perhaps someone in the team will make a mistake or project results will be less satisfying compared to what you originally expected. In unexpected and uncomfortable situations like this, think what you could learn from this specific case and leverage your learnings in the next project.