Have a bunch of pesky projects on your to do list that just keep getting migrated? After you read this, you’ll be getting them done in no time!
Let me share with you all my tips & tricks for productive project planning that actually help me accomplish my projects without being overwhelmed. (There will be a video on this topic as well at the end of this post!
When creating your to do lists, you are more than likely writing down a mix of tasks and projects. But, what actually classifies something as a project instead of a task?
A task is a single item that needs to get done. These tasks are simple such as print an invoice, vacuum the living room, call the doctor, etc.
A project is essentially something bigger and includes multiple tasks to complete it.
So if you have to, for example, make a video montage from your vacation, like I did, this would have several steps included. Some of these smaller tasks might be to collect all the photos & video clips, upload them to computer, create a video with them, add music & text to your video, edit it, burn DVDs for everyone etc. So you see the difference there? A project has multiple tasks to complete it.
Now, on your to do list, you write down for the day to vacuum, call your doctor, run an errand & make vacation video. Chances are you will not be getting to that vacation video. Life is crazy busy already, so adding a big item on your to do list like that will most likely get pushed to the next day, then the next, then the next until it just never gets done.
How do we fix this? You break down your projects! I know, it might seem like common sense but I cannot tell you how many times I see (from myself as well) people putting big projects on their to do lists instead of the broken down tasks to complete that project.
When you break down your projects, you know are creating more attainable tasks. So, like mentioned before, those tasks I listed that made up the vacation video project, are now all listed out for me on its own page or a projects insert in my planner. (My favorite project planner inserts are from Perfectionism Prints).
Now, when I am creating my to do list for the day or week, instead of writing on it to do the vacation video, I will now pick the first task for that project and write that down. That task is ow so much easier & less time consuming to get done, so boom, I just got the first task done for that project. You keep continuing this process & suddenly you are completing that project that has been hanging around needing to be done for months!
Some other tips for my personal projects planning system would be to number your projects. I go down the list and number out every project on my current projects lists. This way, when I am putting one of those smaller tasks on my to do list, I can reference the projects number right next to that task to know that I need to head to my projects page and update that I completed that task and to see what is next. This is also great because I like to sometimes add in pages or notes that have to do with that project that I label with that projects number as well.
This brings me into my next tip. When I (in my own system) put a * next to the projects number on my projects page, that indicates to me that I have additional pages in my planner or notebook with reference material on it pertaining to that project. I even go a little further to tab it with a removable projects tab I created so I can easily find these pages.
It is all about having a system that works for you as well as, and most importantly, breaking down your big projects into smaller attainable tasks. I promise you, once you start doing this, you will be so much less overwhelmed with these large projects & you will be getting them all completed you will end up a project planning pro!
I hope you enjoyed this post everyone! Please be sure to check out my FREEBIES PAGE for lots of amazing printable planner freebies & downloadable digital device wallpaper freebies as well as my SHOP MY FAVORITES PAGE where I keep an ongoing list of all my favorite products that help me stay organized & productive!
Feel free to watch my video all about my project planning below!
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