Joe's
Digital Garden

Project Planning

When begining a new side project, I find the following questions worth addressing in a document before I begin:

  1. What does success look like?
  2. How to track progress?
  3. Address uncertainties in the project
  4. Break the work down into tasks
  5. Identify milestones in the calendar

1. What would success look like?

In starting a project it is a good idea to consider what success for that project would look like. Some project exist just for play, success is merely the enjoyment of the project itself. Other projects have definitive end goal: remodel the bathroom has a success condition of the bathroom being remodeled. Some projects have vague or subjective goals, for example master a new language. Where on the skill continuum would I consider "mastery" achieved?

2. How to track progress?

Progress tracking naturally evolves from the success conditions of the project. A project that exists for mere play might simply need dedicated time set aside to work on it. Progress is then simply the accumulation of time working on that project. A project that produces some kind of artifact might have set milestones: build the container garden; plants the seeds; harvest the plants. This is largely exploring the reason for the project.

3. Address uncertainties in the project

A tactic for avoiding procrastination on a project, is to be upfront and honest about the uncertainties and pitfalls of that project. Certain conditions may exist outside of our control (like a global pandemic). Other uncertainties lie with in ourselves and working them out is a precondition of begining the project (deciding on a style for the bathroom).

4. Break the work down into tasks

If success and progress tracking for a project lend towards particular task work, consider breaking the project down into a series of granular steps. Identify any dependencies in the tasks. For example, the garden must be plowed before the seeds planted. The harvest must come after the planting.

5 Identify milestones in the calendar

Take the task list and consider if there are any items in the list that have hard time constraints. For example, the seeds must be planted before midsummer if they are to be harvested before the autumn frost. Perhaps a project is building towards a particular date. Or merely establishing some personal milestones in a project will encourage dedication towards completing it.

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