Author C. Northcote Parkinson wrote, “The man whose life is devoted to paperwork has lost the initiative. He is dealing with things that are brought to his notice, having ceased to notice anything himself.” Paperwork is the bane of all existence, it’s true. We have our work. And then we have the paperwork. It’s like having a great dinner at home. You eat. And then you have the dishes. We see a lot of project managers who are so busy working that the paperwork gets left by the wayside. While there is some that is extraneous, I’m going to make a case for this necessary evil – and say it’s not so evil at all.

Feasibility studies, project charters, project plans, risk registers, communications plans, RACI documents, resource plans…the list goes on and on. And on. As do the excuses not to do paperwork: I’ll do it later; I want to focus on the project; it’s not a priority; I can get more done if I skip that; we can take care of it after the project is done.

It’s the least exciting part of any project, and it’s one of those thankless jobs that goes unappreciated by everyone else. But that same paperwork is essential – and it’s equally important that it’s done in a timely manner for accuracy and time-saving.

I know. What a killjoy. But we need specific documents and plans to:

• Ensure the project is approved and proper resources are allocated
• Define the scope of the project and provide clarity to the team while allowing senior executives visibility into the project. Documents are useful to all stakeholders
• Lay out expectations, roles, and responsibilities
• Create a detailed work schedule with goal milestones
• Identify major risks and create contingency plans
• Identify potential opportunities and create a plan to maximize them
• Provide a written record of a project’s progress, which can be used to inform future projects

You’ve got to do it, but you don’t have to spend all your time doing it. If you keep on top of it, you don’t get overwhelmed. Delegate where appropriate. Further, there are terrific tools you can use to make it easier. SharePoint, for instance, allows you to share documents, create forms, make internal sites, edit and modify documents, create reports, and communicate with team members seamlessly. Whether it’s SharePoint or some other application, use the tools you have available to make it easier on yourself.