One of the most common questions I get asked as a project manager is, “How do you create timelines that actually work in real life?” Honestly, it took me a few failed timelines, missed deadlines, and stressful releases to figure this out. Over time, I’ve learned that realistic project timelines are less about fancy tools and more about practical thinking, honest communication, and experience.
Here’s how I personally approach creating timelines that my team can actually stick to.
I Start With Understanding, Not Dates
Before opening any project management tool, I spend time understanding the project in detail. What are we building? Why are we building it? Who is involved? And most importantly what does done really mean? I ask a lot of questions at this stage. If the scope is unclear, any timeline I create will be wrong, no matter how good it looks on paper.
I Break Everything Down (Really Small)
Big tasks hide risks. So I break work into the smallest possible tasks, sometimes smaller than what feels comfortable.
For example, instead of writing:
I split it into:
This makes estimation more accurate and helps me see hidden dependencies early.
I Involve the Team in Estimation
One mistake I made early in my career was estimating everything by myself. Now, I always involve the team. Developers estimate development. Designers estimate design. QA estimates testing. People commit better to timelines when they are part of creating them. Plus, they often point out risks I would have missed.
I Always Add Buffer Time (Because Reality Happens)
Meetings run long. Bugs appear. Requirements change. Someone gets sick. So I always add buffer time, usually 15–25% depending on the project.
This buffer is not laziness; it’s respect for reality. When everything goes smoothly, the project finishes early. When it doesn’t, the timeline still survives.
I Factor in Dependencies and External Delays
Some tasks cannot start until others finish. Some things depend on third parties like clients, vendors, approvals. I clearly mark these dependencies in my timeline and never assume instant responses. In real projects, waiting is part of the work.
I Review Past Projects Before Finalizing
Experience is my best estimator.
Before locking a timeline, I look at similar past projects:
This helps me avoid repeating the same mistakes.
I Keep the Timeline Flexible, Not Rigid
A timeline is a guide, not a punishment tool. I regularly review progress, adjust timelines when needed, and communicate changes early. If something slips, I focus on solutions, not blame. A realistic timeline evolves with the project.
I Communicate the Timeline Clearly
Finally, I make sure everyone understands the timeline not just the dates, but the assumptions behind them. When stakeholders know what’s included, what’s risky, and where flexibility exists, trust increases. And trust makes execution easier.
Final Thoughts
Creating realistic project timelines is a skill that improves with experience. Tools like ClickUp or Jira help, but mindset matters more.
For me, realistic timelines come from:
And yes, sometimes timelines still slip—but far less often than they used to.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:
A realistic timeline saves more time than an optimistic one ever will.
If you’ve worked in project management or software development for some time, you’ve probably heard this question more times than you can count: Scrum or Kanban, which is better?
Honestly, I used to think one had to be better than the other. But after working with different teams and project types, I’ve realized something important: they solve different problems. In this blog, I want to share my practical understanding of Scrum and Kanban, how they work in real projects, and when I prefer one over the other.
Understanding Scrum (From the Ground Level)
Scrum is a structured Agile framework. It works in fixed time periods called sprints usually 1 or 2 weeks. Everything in Scrum revolves around these sprints.
How Scrum Works in Practice
As a PM, I’ve noticed Scrum works best when:
What I Like About Scrum
Where Scrum Struggles
Scrum can feel a bit heavy sometimes. If priorities change frequently or stakeholders keep pushing “urgent” tasks mid-sprint, Scrum becomes stressful instead of helpful.
Understanding Kanban (The Flow-Based Approach)
Kanban is much more flexible. There are no sprints, no mandatory ceremonies, and no fixed roles. Work flows continuously.
How Kanban Works in Real Life
From my experience, Kanban feels more natural for teams dealing with ongoing work.
What I Like About Kanban
Where Kanban Falls Short
Kanban doesn’t force planning or reflection. If the team isn’t disciplined, things can just keep flowing without real improvement or long-term direction.
When I Prefer Scrum
I usually go with Scrum when:
Scrum gives structure and predictability, which helps both the team and management.
When Kanban Makes More Sense
I prefer Kanban when:
Kanban helps keep things moving without unnecessary pressure.
My Honest Take: There’s No One-Size-Fits-All
Many teams think they must choose either Scrum or Kanban. In reality, some of the best teams I’ve worked with use a hybrid approach (Scrumban), Scrum structure with Kanban flow principles.
At the end of the day, frameworks don’t deliver projects, people do. The right framework is the one that helps your team work better, not the one that looks good in documentation.
Time is the one thing every IT project manager wishes they had more of. Between client calls, sprint planning, bug reviews, follow-ups, and surprise “urgent” requests, the day fills up faster than expected. Early in my career, I believed being busy meant being productive. Over time, I learned that managing time is less about doing more and more about doing the right things at the right time.
Here are some practical time management hacks that have genuinely helped me manage IT projects more effectively.
1. Plan the Day Before It Starts
One habit that changed everything for me was planning my next day before logging off. I don’t create a long to-do list and I just identify the top 3–5 tasks that truly matter. When the day starts, I already know where my focus should go, instead of reacting to emails and messages.
2. Meetings Need a Purpose, Not Just a Calendar Slot
Meetings can silently kill productivity. I now ask a simple question before accepting or scheduling any meeting: What decision will we make by the end of this meeting?
If there’s no clear outcome, it’s often better handled through a message or a short call. When meetings are necessary, I keep them time-boxed and agenda-driven.
3. Break Work into Time Blocks
Multitasking looks impressive, but it slows real progress. I prefer time blocking dedicating focused chunks of time to specific tasks like planning, reviewing work, or documentation. Even one uninterrupted hour can be more productive than an entire distracted day.
4. Use Tools, But Don’t Overuse Them
Project management tools like ClickUp or Jira are powerful, but only when used simply. I avoid tracking everything in extreme detail. Instead, I focus on clear task ownership, realistic deadlines, and visible progress. Tools should reduce mental load, not add to it.
5. Learn to Say “Not Now”
One of the hardest lessons was realizing that not every request needs immediate action. As project managers, we often feel pressured to respond instantly. I’ve learned to acknowledge requests quickly but schedule the actual work realistically. This protects focus and prevents burnout.
6. Delegate with Trust, Not Fear
Trying to control everything is a fast way to lose time. Delegation isn’t about dumping tasks—it’s about trusting your team with clear expectations. When responsibilities are well defined, I spend less time micromanaging and more time leading.
7. Review the Week, Not Just the Tasks
At the end of each week, I take a short moment to reflect. What consumed most of my time? What actually moved the project forward? This weekly review helps me adjust priorities and avoid repeating the same time-wasting patterns.
8. Leave Buffer Time for the Unexpected
In IT projects, something always goes wrong bugs, scope changes, last-minute client requests. I intentionally leave buffer time in my schedule. This keeps small surprises from turning into full-day disruptions.
Final Thoughts
Time management isn’t about squeezing every minute of the day. It’s about protecting focus, setting boundaries, and making conscious decisions about where your energy goes. As an IT project manager, your time influences the entire team when you manage it well, everything runs smoother.
I’m still learning, adjusting, and improving. But these small habits have made my workdays calmer, more productive, and far less chaotic and that’s a win in any project.
When people talk about project management, they often jump straight to tools. Jira, ClickUp, Trello, Asana and there’s always a new name in the discussion. But from my experience, tools only help when they fit the way you actually work.
Over the years, while managing real projects with real deadlines, I’ve narrowed my setup down to a few tools that I genuinely use every day. Nothing extra. Nothing complicated. Just what helps me stay organized and keep projects moving.
ClickUp – My Main Workspace
ClickUp is where almost everything begins for me. I use it to plan tasks, assign responsibilities, track progress, and make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Instead of asking the team again and again for updates, I can simply check the task status.
What I like most about ClickUp is flexibility. Some projects need detailed breakdowns, others just need simple tracking and ClickUp handles both without forcing one rigid structure.
Google Docs & Sheets – Where Clarity Happens
No matter how good a task tool is, documentation still matters. I use Google Docs for requirements, meeting notes, project plans, and approvals. Writing things down avoids confusion later—and saves time that would otherwise be wasted in rework or long explanations.
Google Sheets helps me think clearly during planning. Timelines, basic task lists, cost tracking, and resource planning all feel easier when I can see everything laid out in a simple sheet. Clients are also comfortable with these tools, which makes collaboration smoother.
Communication Tools – Used with Limits
Tools like Slack or WhatsApp are part of daily work, especially for quick questions and urgent updates. They’re fast and convenient—but they can easily become distracting.
I’ve learned not to treat chat tools as decision-making platforms. Important discussions, confirmations, and action items always get documented properly. Otherwise, things get lost in long message threads.
Meetings Tools – Only When Needed
Zoom and Google Meet are tools I use carefully now. Earlier, I thought frequent meetings meant better alignment. Experience taught me that too many meetings often slow work down. Now, I use video calls only when a conversation really needs real-time discussion—like resolving confusion or finalizing a decision. If something can be handled in writing, I prefer that.
Final Thoughts
My approach to tools is simple: fewer tools, used consistently. One main place for tasks. Clear documentation. Controlled communication. Fewer meetings, more execution.
Project management becomes much easier when tools support your workflow instead of adding noise. In the end, it’s not about using the most popular tools and it’s about using the right ones in the right way, every single day.
If I’m being honest, some days it feels like my job is just attending meetings. Daily standups. Client calls. Internal syncs. Emergency meetings after the meetings. By the end of the day, everyone is tired—but the actual work somehow stays untouched. Early in my career, I believed more meetings meant better control. If everyone was in the loop, surely things would move faster, right?
Reality taught me the opposite.
When Meetings Start Replacing Real Work
In many IT projects especially here in Nepal meetings often become a comfort zone. When things are unclear, we schedule a meeting. When someone is confused, we call another meeting. When deadlines slip, we discuss it… in a meeting.
The problem isn’t meetings themselves. The problem is meetings without action.
I’ve seen teams discuss the same issue for weeks:
And the next meeting looks exactly the same as the previous one.
The Hidden Cost of Too Many Meetings
Meetings don’t just consume time they quietly kill momentum. Developers lose focus. Designers pause creative flow. Everyone waits for the “final decision” that never fully comes. Productivity drops, but no one notices because everyone is “busy. In Nepali work culture, there’s also another issue: nobody wants to be the person who ends the discussion. We talk politely, agree verbally, and leave without clear ownership.
So the meeting ends but nothing moves.
Why Most Meetings Fail to Deliver Action
From my experience, meetings fail for three main reasons:
Shifting the Focus from Meetings to Outcomes
Over time, I started changing how I approach meetings. Now, before scheduling or joining one, I ask myself: “What action should happen because of this meeting?” If the answer isn’t clear, the meeting probably isn’t needed.
Some of the most effective changes I’ve made:
Surprisingly, fewer meetings led to faster delivery.
Making Every Meeting Count
A meeting should do at least one of these:
If it does none of these, it’s just a conversation not a meeting.
In my projects now, even small meetings end with simple clarity:
No fancy tools. Just accountability.
Final Thoughts
Meetings are easy. Action is hard. It feels productive to talk about problems, but real progress only happens when someone takes responsibility and moves things forward.
In project management, success doesn’t come from how many meetings you attend it comes from what actually gets done after the meeting ends. And once you start measuring meetings by outcomes, not attendance, everything changes.
When I first learned about project management, Agile sounded like the perfect solution. Flexible planning, fast delivery, constant feedback everything modern IT projects supposedly need. Waterfall, on the other hand, felt old-school. Too rigid. Too slow.
But after managing real IT projects in Nepal websites, software systems, and client-driven applications my thinking changed. The truth is, Agile doesn’t always work the way it’s written in books, especially in the Nepali IT environment. And surprisingly, Waterfall still survives for a reason.
Let’s talk about why.
Understanding the Nepali IT Project Reality
Before comparing Agile and Waterfall, we need to understand how most IT projects actually run in Nepal. In many projects, clients start with: “Just build something first. We’ll change it later.” Requirements are often unclear at the beginning. Decisions are delayed. Stakeholders change their minds frequently. Sometimes, the person approving the project is not the one giving daily feedback. This cultural and business reality affects which project management approach works best.
Agile in Theory vs Agile in Practice (Nepal Context)
Agile works best when:
In Nepal, this is rare.
Many clients expect:
As a result, “Agile” often turns into:
So while teams say they are using Agile, in reality, it becomes “chaotic development”, not true Agile.
Why Waterfall Still Works in Many Nepali Projects
Waterfall gets criticized a lot, but in Nepal, it has some strong advantages.
When we clearly document:
Clients feel more confident. They know what they are paying for. Developers know what to build. Project managers can control expectations better.
In projects like:
Waterfall often reduces conflict.
It forces early discussions, written approvals, and controlled changes things that are extremely important in the Nepali business environment.
The Real Problem Is Not Agile or Waterfall
From my experience, projects don’t fail because of methodology.
They fail because of:
Even the best Agile framework will fail if the client disappears for weeks. And even Waterfall will fail if requirements are rushed.
What Actually Works Better: A Hybrid Approach
In most Nepali IT projects, the best solution is a mix of both.
For example:
This hybrid approach respects both:
Final Thoughts
Agile is not bad. Waterfall is not outdated. The mistake we often make in Nepal is copying international project management models without adapting them to our culture and clients. Good project management is not about following a framework blindly. It’s about understanding people, expectations, and limitations and then choosing what works best for that situation. In Nepali IT projects, flexibility with structure works better than flexibility without control. And that’s something no textbook will tell you but real projects will.
As a project manager, I’ve faced the daunting challenge of DDoS attacks on multiple occasions. These attacks, often unpredictable and overwhelming, can turn a normal day into a crisis. But through experience, I’ve learned how to mitigate the risks, take proactive precautions, and respond effectively when the worst happens.
Understanding the Threat
A DDoS attack is essentially a flood of traffic from multiple sources, overwhelming your network and causing downtime. For any business, this is more than just a technical glitch, it’s a potential disruption of services, lost revenue, and damage to reputation.
Proactive Precautions
Before an attack even occurs, the key is preparation. I’ve made it a habit to:
Responding During an Attack
When a DDoS attack strikes, it’s all about quick and effective response. My approach includes:
Learning and Adapting
Every attack teaches us something new. After each incident, I update our security measures, improve our incident response plans, and ensure that the entire team is better prepared for the future.
Conclusion
For project managers, DDoS attacks are more than just a technical hurdle—they’re a business challenge. By staying proactive, prepared, and responsive, we can protect our projects and maintain client trust, even in the face of cyber threats.
When I first started managing teams, I used to think multitasking was a strength. If a team member could handle two or three tasks at once, I considered them efficient. More tasks meant more progress—or at least that’s what I believed at the time. Managing real projects changed that thinking completely.
Over time, I’ve learned that multitasking teams don’t always move faster. In many cases, they move slower, get tired quicker, and make more mistakes. And as a project manager, understanding this took me a while.
Being “Busy” Is Not the Same as Making Progress
In multitasking teams, everyone looks busy all the time. Messages are being replied to, meetings are happening, and tasks are moving across the board. But when you look closely, very little is actually getting finished. People keep switching between tasks, and every switch costs focus. A developer jumps from one feature to another. A designer pauses creative work to attend meetings. The result is half-finished work everywhere and fewer completed outcomes.
Context Switching Drains Energy
One thing I underestimated early on was mental fatigue. When team members work on multiple tasks for different projects, they constantly shift their thinking. By the end of the day, they’re exhausted—not because they worked too much, but because their mind never stayed in one place long enough. This leads to errors, slower delivery, and frustration that often goes unspoken.
Priorities Get Blurry
In a multitasking setup, priorities often become unclear. Everything feels urgent. When everything is urgent, nothing truly is. Team members end up working on what’s loudest or closest, not what’s most important. As a manager, this creates confusion, missed deadlines, and repeated follow-ups.
Quality Suffers Quietly
Multitasking doesn’t always show its damage immediately. The work gets done, but the quality slowly drops. Small mistakes increase. Revisions become frequent. Team members stop taking ownership because they’re mentally stretched. Nobody intends to do poor work—it’s simply the cost of divided attention.
Communication Becomes Reactive
Multitasking teams tend to communicate in a reactive way. Messages are answered quickly, but conversations lack depth. Important discussions are postponed or rushed. Over time, this creates misunderstandings and rework, adding more pressure to an already overloaded team.
What I’ve Learned the Hard Way
Managing multitasking teams taught me that my role isn’t to assign more work—it’s to protect focus.
Some changes that made a real difference:
The goal isn’t to make people work faster. It’s to help them work better.
Final Thoughts
Multitasking looks productive from the outside, but from the inside, it’s exhausting. Teams perform best when they have clarity, focus, and enough space to finish what they start. As managers, our job is not to keep teams busy—but to help them move forward in a meaningful way. That lesson didn’t come from books. It came from managing real people, real deadlines, and real pressure.
Let me be honest most projects I’ve seen fail in Nepal didn’t fail because the team was bad or because the technology was difficult. They failed because people didn’t really understand each other, even though everyone thought they did. I’ve been part of projects where meetings went smoothly, everyone agreed on everything, and we ended with “Okay, let’s start.” At that moment, it felt like the project was already halfway done. But a few weeks later, confusion started. The client wanted something different. The team had built something else. And no one could clearly say where things went wrong. That’s miscommunication and it’s one of the biggest silent killers of projects in Nepal.
We Say “Yes” Too Easily
In our work culture, saying “no” or asking too many questions feels uncomfortable. So we nod, we say “yes,” and we move on—even when we’re not fully sure. Developers don’t ask questions because they don’t want to look inexperienced. Project managers assume the client understands the process. Clients agree to requirements without actually imagining how the final product will look. Everyone is polite. Everyone is positive. And everyone is slightly confused.
Too Much Talking, Not Enough Writing
Another common issue is how casually we treat project discussions. A lot of important decisions happen over phone calls, quick meetings, or WhatsApp messages. At that time, it feels efficient. But when someone later asks, “Who said this?” or “When did we agree on that?” there’s no clear answer. Memory becomes the source of truth—and that’s dangerous. I’ve seen projects go into endless rework just because one small thing was never written down properly.
Language Makes It Worse
We mix Nepali and English all the time, which is normal—but it also creates confusion. Words like final, minor change, or deadline don’t mean the same thing to everyone. For a client, a “small change” might feel harmless. For the team, it could mean redoing days of work. But because no one clarifies it properly, frustration builds quietly on both sides.
Messages Get Lost Along the Way
In many projects, information passes through too many people. The client explains something to one person, that person explains it to another, and by the time it reaches the team, the message has changed.
When the result doesn’t match expectations, everyone starts defending themselves instead of fixing the problem. Trust slowly disappears, and the project becomes stressful for everyone involved.
How Projects Actually Fall Apart
Projects don’t suddenly fail. They slowly get uncomfortable:
And one day, the project is labeled “problematic,” even though no one planned for it to fail.
What I’ve Learned
Clear communication sounds simple, but it takes effort. These small habits make a huge difference:
Good communication isn’t about sounding smart. It’s about avoiding confusion.
Final Thought
Nepal doesn’t lack talent. It doesn’t lack effort. What we often lack is the courage to say, “I didn’t fully understand can we talk again?” If we fix that, many failing projects wouldn’t fail at all.
When I first heard the term “scope creep” as a project manager, I thought it was just a fancy way of saying “clients keep changing their mind.” I didn’t realize how much it could actually wreck a project—until I experienced it firsthand.
In Nepal, scope creep is a silent killer. It doesn’t start with big requests—it starts small, almost invisible, like a tiny crack in the foundation. A client asks, “Can we add just one more feature?” or a teammate says, “This will only take an extra hour.” And suddenly, weeks later, the project timeline is off, the team is stressed, and everyone is frustrated.
Let me share a few stories from my own experience.
1: The “One Extra Page”
I was managing a small website project for a local business. The client loved the design, but then asked: “Can we add one more page? Just a simple page about our services.” It seemed harmless. I agreed. But a week later, they wanted another page, and then a blog section. What started as “one extra page” turned into five extra pages. The developers had to redo layouts, adjust navigation, and manage content they hadn’t planned for. By the end, the project that was supposed to take two weeks stretched into over a month.
Lesson: Even small changes can add up fast. Always evaluate how a new request affects timeline and cost before saying yes.
2: “Just a Tiny Feature”
During a software project, the client asked for a “small” new feature in the app: a notification system. It sounded simple. But integrating notifications meant:
A feature that was supposed to take a few hours turned into three days of extra work, throwing off the project schedule. The client didn’t understand why this tiny addition caused delays, and the team felt stressed.
Lesson: No feature is truly small if it affects core functionality. Scope creep is sneaky—it often hides under the word “just.”
Why Scope Creep Happens
In Nepal, scope creep often happens because:
These factors make small requests easy to agree to, but hard to manage later.
How I Learned to Manage Scope Creep
Over time, I developed a few strategies to keep projects on track:
Final Thoughts
Scope creep might start small, but it can snowball into big problems if not managed carefully. In Nepal, with small IT teams and busy clients, it’s easy to underestimate the impact of tiny changes. If you’re a project manager, remember: every “small” request has consequences. Clarify, communicate, and document—that’s the key to keeping your projects on track and your team sane.
Scope creep is a universal challenge, but with experience and clear boundaries, it’s something you can control.