When Chaos Became Manageable

When I first started working as an Owner’s Representative, I was responsible for overseeing the entire development of a large shopping complex of about 156,000 sqm.

On paper, it sounded exciting — the kind of project that would test everything I’d learned. In practice, it was controlled chaos.

There were almost ten design firms, more than twenty contractors, and an internal team that included an in-house project manager, construction management and quantity surveying consultants, and an outsourced tenant fit-out supervision team.

Every week brought coordination meetings with six anchor tenants and two to three large international brands, alongside continuous reviews and coordination with the Owner’s own departments: Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Sales, Tenant Relations, Operations, and IT.

I also had to prepare monthly reports for the Executive Board and lead weekly coordination meetings with the CEO and department heads.

At some point, my schedule became the project itself. The work was no longer about concrete, design, or procurement, but about keeping track of hundreds of decisions, commitments, and follow-ups that moved the entire project forward.

Then, I was introduced to GTD (Getting Things Done), a productivity method by David Allen. It wasn’t a management tool; it was a thinking framework. It gave me a way to externalize complexity — to move tasks, reminders, and commitments out of my head and into a trusted system.

Suddenly, the meetings didn’t feel so chaotic. There was a way to review, decide, and move forward without drowning in details.

That experience shaped how I approach project management to this day. Big projects often fail not because people lack competence, but because the volume of small, interdependent tasks overwhelms their mental system. GTD reminded me that clarity is not luxury but necessity.

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Reflection:

A good project system does not only help you control the project but gives you space to think.