"What am I supposed to do?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
If only I could get an easy, straightforward answer to this question, my life would be glorious. I'm positive I am not the only person who longs for the days of childhood, where my parents had the answers to all of my questions. I know this because I've been asked this question over the years by people from all walks of life - technical staff, students, fellow project managers, you name it. I think most of those who ask this question, in the back of their minds, know that there is no single, easy answer.
I remember asking my grad school mentor this question. At the time I was about midway through finishing my degree in Biotechnology, while also working part-time in a chemical engineering laboratory. I had already determined what my specific aims were going to be, with a good idea what experiments I needed to finish my thesis. The problem I needed an answer to was that my part-time job had offered me a full-time position with a nice bump in pay, but taking the job meant quitting grad school.
You know what his answer was?
This professor with decades of experience. A man who is nationally recognized in his field of research. A man who has a happy marriage with successful kids. A man who I assumed had all of the answers.
His answer was, "What do you think you should do?"
What do you think you should do?
He went on to say that he could only help me determine what my options were and what potential outcomes I could expect. But there was no way he could give me an answee, because I was the only person that could answer the question of what to do.
And thus the crux of this blog.
One of the most important steps of finishing your project is determining if your project is worth finishing. I hope that this blog becomes a dialogue for describing common problems encountered during a project, along with methods and examples for planning the best path for finishing your project. With that said, welcome to Finish Your Project! Please comment with and issues or questions you're dealing with, or if you have any topics you would like me to cover in future blog posts.
