Put Down the Pencil, Pick Up a Shovel

There’s a fuzzy line between being thorough and being too thorough.

I’m not one of those “just grind harder” people. I don’t believe in working long hours just to look busy or filling your calendar with meetings just so it feels like you're doing something. I’m all for smart work, thoughtful planning, and leaning on data.

But there is such a thing as too much analysis. At some point, you’ve got to put the pencil down… and pick up a shovel. Metaphorically.

We’re living in a time where you can Google just about anything. And if that’s not enough, you’ve got generative AI that’ll spit out options, scenarios, templates, and suggestions in seconds. The temptation to overthink and over-plan is everywhere.

In construction project management, it’s especially easy to fall into this trap. We’ve got lots of data - dashboards, reports, trackers, and more trackers to track the trackers. You can spend your whole day reviewing submittal logs, cost reports, manpower forecasts, schedule slippage analyses - and let’s not forget the beloved three-week lookaheads. Everyone loves a good plan. Lots of people love to analyze.

But here’s the thing: no amount of planning physically puts pipe in the ground. Or makes concrete harden. Or sets steel in the air.

There’s a phrase I’ve always liked: “The dose makes the poison.” A little bit of something risky might be okay. But too much of even a good thing? Dangerous. Did you know you can actually die from drinking too much water?

Same thing with analysis. Too much of it doesn’t just stall momentum - it can paralyze you and the whole team. You end up mistaking the map for the terrain. At some point, someone has to actually go.

Let me give you an example.

A few years back, I was on a project that was in its final stretch. We were nearing substantial completion, but we hadn’t been diligent about closing out submittals throughout the job. Naturally, the owner’s consultant noticed. And they latched onto it like a dog with a bone.

So the team built a punch list of outstanding submittals, divvied it up, and started pushing. Calling subs, tracking down documentation, submitting it, resubmitting when needed - the whole closeout song and dance.

But here’s the kicker. One of our team members had the role of “submittal status tracker.” And by that, I mean… that’s all he did. All day. He’d sit at his computer, refreshing the tracker. Twice a day, he’d send out an update email with the same info. Didn’t make calls. Didn’t follow up. Just watched.

Eventually, we got frustrated and asked him to pitch in more directly. His answer? “I’m the one tracking the status. You all are responsible for getting the work done.”

Now, technically, he wasn’t wrong. But practically? He was completely missing the point.

Being in construction - and especially in project management - means knowing when to track and when to act. When to review and when to pick up the phone. When to polish the plan and when to jump in the trench.

Don’t let the pursuit of the “perfect” plan stop you from making progress. Most of the time, a “good enough” plan plus action beats a perfect plan that never gets off the ground.

So the next time you find yourself endlessly tweaking a spreadsheet, building a color-coded Gantt chart, or asking AI for the tenth time what could go wrong - take a breath. Look around.

And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to put down the pencil and pick up a shovel.

-Dan