How to Plan, Organize, and Complete a Project
Planning, organizing, and completing projects are foundational skills for achieving goals. If there's something you want to do/have/be, there's a project you can complete to get there.
Worthwhile projects catalyze meaningful change in our lives. They make our values and goals tangible, measurable, and demonstrable. You can work on projects with a team or as an individual. See How to Organize a Team to work on projects as a team.
In this post, you’ll learn how to plan and execute a project as an individual. You’ll learn how to plan a project, organize your workflow, and get it all done.
How to Define and Organize a Project
The Value → Key Result → Project Chain
Projects need a lot of time, attention, and effort. That's why it's important to choose projects that are relevant to what's important to you.
Start with Values
Start by referencing your life of values. Your values represent the things you care most about in life. They can relate to any aspect of your life that you deem most important.
If you’ve not already created a list of values that matter to you, do that first. Grab a sheet of paper or a blank word-processing document. Ask yourself the question:
“What matters most to me in my life?”
No matter what comes to mind, capture it on your list. Complete this brainstorm until you can't think of anything else to add. At this point, you'll have your complete list of values.
Turn Your Values Into Key Results
Values by themselves are only ideas. Without becoming a specific behavior or achievement, values remain only ideas.
Key results give you a specific and measurable target to work towards. They determine the direction of your behavior that will soon become your project.
The next step is to turn at least one of your values into a key result. The key result you choose should be specific and measurable. When you re-write a value as a key result, include a verb, a metric, and a deadline you can measure against. For example:
I will __________ (verb) for __________ times (metric) by __________ (deadline).
When creating value-based key results, it’s best to focus on a small number at any time. Focusing on too many can dilute your efforts and prevent meaningful progress.
Once you have a list of key results to work towards, it’s time to create your project.
Create Your Project
Now that you have a list of specific key results you want to work towards, you need to turn each into a project.
A project is a series of tasks and actions that, when completed, achieve your key result.
Brainstorm Your Initial Tasks
To turn a key result into a project, you need to break down that key result into tasks and action steps. You can do this through brainstorming. A brainstorm is the act of writing down as many ideas as possible that relate to a single prompt. Here's how:
Pick a key result that’s most important to you. Write it down at the top of a page or word-processing document. Then, ask yourself:
What tasks and actions would I need to complete to achieve this key result?
At this point, a “storm” should begin in your brain. Write down everything you can think of. Your list can also include ideas, questions, and areas of confusion. When you brainstorm, don't worry about whether you're "right" or "wrong." Instead, focus on capturing all the bits of information that come to mind.
After writing, go back to the top of your list and turn each into an actionable task or action. You can do this by re-writing it, beginning with a verb that describes what you'll do. Here are some tips to make your brainstorming list actionable:
If you wrote down an idea: Think about the next action step to make that idea real. Do you need to buy something or schedule a meeting with others?
If you wrote down a question: What action step would you need to take to answer it? Do you need to speak to someone, do some research, or get help?
If you wrote down an area of confusion: What task can you complete to resolve that confusion? Do you need to take a course, read a book, do a Google search, or get someone's help?
By the end, you should have a list of specific action steps related to your project. Each should be a specific phrase that begins with a verb that would help you achieve your key result.
Sequence Your Initial Tasks
Next, figure out the sequence in which you’ll work on your tasks.
Take your list of action steps and consider what order you'd need to complete them. Again, you don’t need to be 100% correct in identifying the proper order. It’s more important that you put the tasks in the most appropriate order you can figure out.
Start with the first task and write a “1” beside it. Identify the task that you would need to complete next and write a “2” beside it. Continue this process of numbering each task until you number all the tasks in your list. When you’re done, each task should have a number beside it indicating its position in the sequence.
Organize and Manage Your Project
The final step to organizing your project is to create a visual project management system. This system will help you:
Manage all your project-related tasks
Determine which task(s) are currently in progress
Capture and organize any information, data, etc., relevant to your project
One effective system you can use for any project is a kanban board.
A kanban board turns your list of tasks into three columns:
To do
In progress
Done
Here’s what it looks like:
Using a kanban board, add your entire list of sequenced tasks to the To do column. Then, when you’re ready to begin working on your project, move the first action or task into the In progress column. This is the only task you’ll focus on until it's complete. Sometimes, you may need to work on two or three tasks simultaneously. As you decide which tasks you’ll work on, remember that the less you focus on at one time, the more effective you’ll be.
When you move a task over to In progress, before you start working on it, it’s best to estimate how long it should take. Set a clear deadline for yourself to complete the task. The deadline you choose should be long enough to complete the task but not so long that you don’t take any action. Remember that the complexity of tasks expands to fill the time allotted for them. For this reason, shorter personal deadlines for tasks are always preferable.
Then, when the current In progress task is complete:
Move it over to the Done column
Move the next task in the To do column over to the In progress column
Set a deadline for the new In progress task
Begin working on the next task
Adding New Tasks
As you make progress through your project, you’ll likely discover new tasks that you need to complete. Capture these tasks by adding them to the To do column as soon as you discover them. Find the most appropriate place in the sequence and input it as a new task.
Manage Project Knowledge, Data, and Information
Throughout your project, you'll also need to track specific knowledge, data, and information. These can include documents, notes, files, charts, metrics, and more. These are project resources.
Think of your kanban board as a "second brain" for your project. Instead of trying to keep track of project resources in your head, use your kanban board. Using a kanban board allows you to free up your brain for what's in progress.
Always add project resources to the task card that it corresponds to. If a file, document, or checklist relates to an In progress task, add it inside that card. This allows you to access everything related to the task in one click.
Complete Your Project
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.' - Amelia Earhart
Organizing a project is only one way of increasing the probability you’ll complete it. Another essential skill for completing any project is perseverance.
You will encounter obstacles and barriers while you work towards completing your project. There's no way to prevent this reality. It's how you respond to these barriers that will determine whether you reach the finish line or not.
Here are a few strategies to help you increase and improve your perseverance:
Make Time For Your Project and Add It To Your Weekly Routine
Completing projects requires time. If your current routine doesn’t allow for enough time to complete it, you won’t make any meaningful progress.
When you plan out your weekly schedule, add time blocks to your schedule for your project. These time blocks are for completing the project-related tasks that are in progress. If possible, add reminders and prompts using your phone. These will ensure that you receive a nudge before and at the start of the time block.
Make It Easier
You may find that a particular project-related task isn’t getting completed. These are the tasks that you keep putting off or avoiding altogether. This occurs because your perception of the task is that it is too difficult. In these cases, the only appropriate strategy is determining how to make the task easier.
There are tons of ways to make a task easier, including:
Doing it for less time
Lowering the standard or expectation
Breaking it into smaller, more actionable steps
Getting help from someone more knowledgeable
Reducing complexity through getting knowledge and skills
When you aren’t getting through an In progress task in your project, figure out how you can make the task easier. Then, update your kanban board to reflect the change, and try again. Sometimes, you may need to try different approaches to making the task easier. What matters is that the task gets done. Always focus on making the task manageable enough to get it done.
Celebrate Milestones
For longer-term projects, maintaining motivation can become a challenge. One motivation strategy for longer projects is to create project milestones. Milestones are like checkpoints that you achieve throughout the project. When you reach a milestone, you should celebrate it meaningfully.
At the start of the project, identify any meaningful milestones you’ll reach along the way. Decide ahead of time how you’ll celebrate them, and add these to your kanban board. When you reach one, make it a point to celebrate and relate that celebration to the goal of your project.
Need Help Planning, Organizing, or Completing a Project?
Send me an email at gabe@learnchangedo.org