海角大神

Jennifer writes in:

鈥�I was wondering, though, if you would consider another post that goes a bit more into detail on how you break down your larger goals? Particularly, I would love to see an example of a project that you created daily tasks for that eventually led to a larger goal. Do break things down at the beginning and then filter tasks into your to-do list from a master list? Or do you have another such plan of action?鈥�

This is something I鈥檓 constantly doing. I usually have several different large projects going at once and knowing how to effectively keep track of them and manage them while also making sure I move forward on them each and every day is absolutely vital.

Here鈥檚 how I manage this.

Brainstorming and initial project planning
I鈥檝e got a big project in mind 鈥� say, writing a novel. I鈥檝e given it some thought and I鈥檝e decided to commit to actually carrying that project through to the end.

What now?

The first step I take is that I have a brainstorming session. I usually do this over the course of several days in short sessions of fifteen to thirty minutes spread across those days.

In those sessions, I try to break down that big project into smaller pieces and come up with an ordered list of what would need to happen to carry this project from start to finish.

With a novel, for example, I might have a list that involves drafting character sketches, drafting a plot outline, writing a first draft, revising that draft, sending that draft through an editor, sending聽that聽draft out to a few test readers, then packaging it up and trying to sell it to publishers. That鈥檚 just a rough example.

Usually, my list consists of pretty big milestones in the overall project. It usually numbers somewhere between seven and twenty items that are roughly of the same size.

For each of those items, I try to write a sentence or two that explains what exactly I need to have completed in order to consider that part 鈥渄one.鈥� Sometimes, it鈥檚 self-evident. Sometimes, it鈥檚 not. It really depends on the project.

When I have that final list 鈥� which usually comes together over several brainstorming sessions 鈥� I save it in my preferred list manager, which is聽Remember the Milk.

Breaking down the first step
The next thing I do is repeat the process with the first element on that list. I try to break it down into a list of seven to twenty small milestones that I鈥檒l need to achieve in order to say I鈥檝e finished that first item. Again, this takes some brainstorming, but it usually doesn鈥檛 take nearly as long as the first session.

After this, I鈥檒l save that list.

I鈥檒l then聽repeat聽this activity using the first item in this new list I鈥檝e generated. I try to come up with a list of seven to twenty items I鈥檇 need to achieve to consider聽that聽one item done.

I keep doing this until聽I鈥檓 breaking an item down into pieces I can achieve in fifteen minutes or so.

So, let鈥檚 say I have a project in mind and I鈥檝e broken it down into ten items. I鈥檒l take that first item 鈥� we鈥檒l call it item 1 鈥� and I鈥檒l break it down into ten items. I鈥檒l take the first item off of聽that聽list 鈥� we鈥檒l call it item 1.A 鈥� and I鈥檒l break聽it聽down into twelve items. I judge that each of those items will take me around fifteen minutes or so, so I鈥檓 satisfied.

The 鈥渘ext action鈥�
Now, from that list where I鈥檝e broken things down into fifteen minute bits, I designate the next uncompleted item on the list as my 鈥渘ext action.鈥� That 鈥渘ext action鈥� gets added to my to-do list for the day.

So, how does this work? For each project I have, I have a set of two to four lists as described above. One is the big project outline, the next breaks down my current step in that big project outline, the next breaks down my current step in the second list (if needed), and the final one breaks down my current step in the third list (if needed). All of those final lists 鈥� the ones that are full of fifteen minute (or so) tasks 鈥� are marked with a special designation 鈥� I call them 鈥渘a鈥� lists (for 鈥渘ext action鈥�). Since it鈥檚 all stored electronically, I just look for the lists that start with 鈥渘a-鈥� to find what I鈥檓 looking for.

I just go to each of my 鈥渘a鈥� lists, pull the top uncompleted item off of each one, and then add those items to my to-do list for tomorrow. Then, tomorrow morning, I just pick up my to-do list and I鈥檓 ready to go.

The review
Once a week, I spend some time reviewing the state of each project. I usually do this on Saturday or Sunday afternoon during 鈥渜uiet time鈥� (when our youngest is taking a nap).

For each project, I just make sure that things are actually moving forward smoothly and that I鈥檓 happy with the progress on that project. I also look at my lists and see whether or not I鈥檓 going to finish up one of my 鈥渘ext action鈥� lists in the next week and, if so, I brainstorm the next list by going back up to the master checklist and moving down through each incomplete piece as described above.

So, for example, let鈥檚 say I have a project list where I鈥檓 working on the first step, a list of elements for that first step of which I鈥檓 working on the eighth piece, and a list describing all of the elements I need to complete that eighth piece. I see that I have only two things left to do on that eighth piece, so I鈥檓 likely to finish it this week. I鈥檒l go back, look at the ninth piece, and brainstorm a list of what needs to be done to complete that one. That way, during the week, I can seamlessly move onto the ninth piece when the eighth piece is finished up in a few days.

Final thoughts
This system takes time, don鈥檛 get me wrong. However,聽it is unbelievably effective at making sure that I always have a manageable next action to take on any project I鈥檓 serious about.

Without that 鈥渘ext action鈥� always at hand, it would be really easy to just give up on a project and not bother to complete it. With that 鈥渘ext action,鈥� I know that if I just do this fifteen minute thing, the project is moving forward and I鈥檓 actually moving toward completing whatever it is that I want to complete.

For me,聽Remember the Milk聽and聽Evernote聽have been vital tools in all of this. Evernote is where I do my brainstorming and my jotting down of ideas and my rough organization of them. Remember the Milk is where I store all of the lists, along with my ongoing personal to-do list.

This is how I do project management. Without this system, I would have never been able to write two published books or to launch The Simple Dollar and make it successful or to achieve several other things in my personal life.

The post聽Breaking Down and Managing Large Life Goals and Projects聽appeared first on聽The Simple Dollar.