As an interdisciplinary studies major in college, I often found myself fielding the same question: "So, what do you actually do?" 

I wonder how many PMs go through this same situation on their journey through the workplace.

Early in my career, I felt the tug of doubt—concerned that my self-designed pathway, blending criminal justice and pre-law, made me look like someone who couldn’t settle on a single focus.  

In hindsight, that flexible approach was nothing short of a superpower. It gave me a platform to showcase what I could bring to the table. During interviews, I’d say, “This may seem all over the place, but these connections have helped me solve problems creatively and put my degree to impactful use.”

Later, when I secured a role as a contract administrator for Alexion Rare Diseases— now part of AstraZeneca, my mentor changed my trajectory. “You’re the guy who gets things done,” he said. “Why not make project management your next mountain to climb?”

Guiding thought: Do mentors or management often describe you similarly? 

Why this matters to you: You may already be the PM that is leaned on to achieve organizational — simplicity.

Read on to discover more examples, should this be true to your situation.

🧩 Piecing Together the Puzzle and Rest Periods 

Fast forward to one of my pivotal moments: handling a global team of attorneys, operations professionals, and data scientists at Neumoratx. Managing intricate workflows taught me something startlingly simple—complexity for its own sake doesn’t work. 

This opinion was echoed by all my coworkers. We often had breakout meetings that end in, we have way too many systems. 

Simplification, however, absolutely does.

Here’s how I figured it out. 

As project professionals, we are no different. After all, we’ve tried it all: Asana, Jira, Smartsheet, comprehensive AI solutions, and everything in between. Our firsthand expertise makes us the Simplicity Experts who teams rely on to cut through the noise and find the best path forward.

In an age defined by tool overload and artificial intelligence, we must be the differentiators. Our breadth of knowledge and lessons learned allow us to guide organizations forward—not with more tools, but with sharper judgement rooted in practical experience.

Here is a real-world example: My brand, @neveroffschedule is currently off schedule...

We release new Athleisure, update our yoga program and hire new positions during this time. It's our time to have a retrospective without the pressure of day-to-day sales. We also remove any systems that don't produce verified deliverables. These days we use only, Instagram—for communication and leads; Asana—for project dashboards and vision setting.

That's it.

What we don't use: expensive domains for websites. 

Why: This helps us focus funds to only what matters, ESG donations to partnering brands, and marketing savings.

Guiding thought: How many systems have your tried in your organization? What systems or apps worked for you? What's systems can we remove— whether because they are costly or don't serve the end client to justify it's use?

Why this matters to you: Taking notes on what works and doesn't work allows project professionals to have an archive of best practices. I suggest running your own projects on the side to truly understand what tool can be used for a particular situation, without the pressure or fear of failure. Failures often keep us from suggesting the right path forward to our stakeholders. 

🏗️  Tool Overload 

Amid the chaos of the pandemic, I streamlined contract management at Alexion by consolidating milestones into a single dashboard using Smartsheet.

The result? Clarity, efficiency, and a team empowered to focus on outcomes rather than systems. 

Teams could easily see the status of where each contract was, outside vendors had their updates and could begin allocation resources earlier, and high-level stakeholders could sign off with ease as they had the right information, at the right time. It was all transparent and the vision was plain and simple. I even placed a video of the CEO mission statement on the main grid so there was no misalignment. The patients were our guiding North Star.

Guiding principles:

When faced with stakeholder questions like:

Should we use Jira or Asana? Or 

Do we need Generative AI, or can we work with existing solutions?

Project managers are equipped with a robust Swiss Army knife of lessons learned. We’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t, and we tailor our knowledge to deliver high-impact results for the teams in front of us.

🚦 Defining Cadence and Burnout-Free Workflows

Simplifying isn’t just about tools, it’s about rhythm. For example, in my fitness business, we align project timelines and releases to seasonal rhythms, such as quarterly “sprints” and milestones. By baking in rest and reflection periods, we prevent burnout and create space for long-term success. Lessons like these resonate far beyond individual industries. 

Examples:

Apple: seasonal iPhone 1-17 drops

Blue Origin : periodic payload 🛰️ satellite missions following more recently a human team launch. 

Never off-schedule: 1sr-4sr meaning summer release and winter release. (Season 5sr coming Feb 2027)

FIFA world cup: every 4 years 

Trader Joe's: seasonal healthy options, customer reviewed favorites, and no outside vendors.

🎨 Owning Your Narrative

Experienced project professionals know that every tool, every failure, and every win has shaped their story. As we sit before leadership teams or interview panels, our journey is ours to paint. What do they need to know? That the complexity we’ve navigated has turned us into well-rounded problem solvers. While others may say, Jack of all trades, we embrace the phrase: Swiss Army knife of project management. Meaning we apply the right tool at the right time, based on the true project need and team!

Final Guiding Thought for the PMP:

By focusing on simplicity, cadence, and solutions—not systems—we elevate not only ourselves but also the teams we serve. In doing so, we leave behind burnout and reclaim brilliance.

Experiment. Simplify. Ask team opinions. Sharpen. Then lead. Remember, the path forward doesn’t have to be complex—just thoughtfully designed.

Bring clarity to your 2026,

Cheers 🥂 we made it!

Moses Maxi