A very common problem in project management is expanding scope. You agree to manage a project with a fixed budget, a fixed number of people, a fixed set of deliverables, and finish on the date set for completion. Then, a few new requirements get added, some staff get transfered, and you start scrambling to find some way to finish on time. The bigger the project, the more frequently scope, staff, and funding change.

My latest book is a nice small project. I am the staff. I provide the funding. I set the scope. But, world events have set the completion date. I was making good progress, when I got sick and had to slow down for several weeks. I started working a few more hours each day trying to make up some lost time.

I thought I was doing pretty well. There are three sections in this book. I finished the research for the first section and finished abut 70% of the writing. I am about 60% finished with the research for the second part. I am a bit behind my original schedule, but doing alright.

Then, I hit a snag. As I was trying to explain one of the key points in the first section, I realized I was going to need a fourth section. More importantly, I need to do the research and analysis on the fourth section before I can do any more writing on the first section.

As of now, I am about 25% through the analysis in the fourth section. I will not finish when I had planned. In previous years, I would have been obsessing over this. Now, I accept my powerlessness to control the unforeseen. I am going to work diligently and I will re-estimate this project after I finish the research and analysis on this fourth section.