Of all project manager skills, the ability to make important business decisions is perhaps the most valuable. However the professional life of a project manager can include significant periods of isolation wherein they are where the buck stops in decision making. As a project contractor it is likely that you will spend a significant of your time working in isolation. Maintaining regular contact with friends and family, ensuring a good work-life balance, taking regular breaks, exercise and good nutrition are important to maintaining good mental health—whether working independently or in an office—or indeed at any time in life.
The connection between responsibility and loneliness isn’t clearly defined, conventional wisdom is that “the view from the top is a lonely one.” One explanation, proposed by Northwestern associate professor Adam Waytz, is that “power increases loneliness when it involves sole responsibility for exceedingly tough decisions nobody wants to make.” I share my thoughts on loneliness and the Project Manager here. A great read in the Harvard Business Review is Adam Waytz’s article titled, The Strange Relationship Between Power and Loneliness. – Prof. Dr. Te Wu, the founder Project Management training firm PMO Advisory is among the few people in the world certified in Project (PMP), Program (PgMP), Portfolio (PfMP), and Risk Management (PMI-RMP).