Welcome Back!
I hope you had a good vacation time with a good mix of holiday and work.
This can be a tricky time of year for people, as (at least in the Northern hemisphere) we come back
to university or college in the depths of winter, when your body can feel like hibernating and
everyone’s fending off illnesses.
to university or college in the depths of winter, when your body can feel like hibernating and
everyone’s fending off illnesses.
Yet your project awaits, and there are probably lots of other deadlines to attend to and new lecture
courses to engage with.
courses to engage with.
The trick is to get together a detailed PLAN of what you want to and need to do on the project.
Here are four ideas about how to do that.
Here are four ideas about how to do that.
1. BRAIN DUMP
Sit down with a pen and paper and give yourself some time to think about your project.
Let your mind wander over the following thoughts, and write stuff down as soon as you think of it:
Let your mind wander over the following thoughts, and write stuff down as soon as you think of it:
- The end point of your project - the ideal solution you're aiming for
- The next steps you just know you have to get on with now!
- Technical problems you know exist but haven't dealt with yet
- Issues that you are avoiding
- Things you need to find out more about
Continue this process for at least half an hour. You'll probably find that your mind goes quiet,
then after a while suddenly comes up with a new thought. This act of emptying your brain is good
for you, and also gets some of the worrying issues onto paper where you can think about them
objectively rather than them brooding inside your head as worries.
then after a while suddenly comes up with a new thought. This act of emptying your brain is good
for you, and also gets some of the worrying issues onto paper where you can think about them
objectively rather than them brooding inside your head as worries.
2. MIND MAP
Making a Mind Map is one of my favourite ways to help order my thoughts and to start converting
them into sensibly grouped sets of actions. My favourite mind-mapping software is XMind, but
there are many others, and indeed lots of people prefer to use pens and paper.
them into sensibly grouped sets of actions. My favourite mind-mapping software is XMind, but
there are many others, and indeed lots of people prefer to use pens and paper.
Consider using mind maps as a way to transform the raw thoughts from your Brain Dump into an
ordered cluster of sub-projects.
ordered cluster of sub-projects.
3. ORGANISED TASK LIST
Now that you're dealing with a big project that you're in charge of, you'll need to have a way to
store and handle all the low-level tasks that you need to do. Different people do this in different
ways, such as:
store and handle all the low-level tasks that you need to do. Different people do this in different
ways, such as:
- A cloud-based task management system, such as ToDoist
- A computer-based integrated system such as Microsoft Outlook
- A paper-based organiser system or daily planner sheets.
Whichever method you use, it's vital to a) add all your project tasks so that it's complete, and b)
refer regularly to the list and plan your work from there.
refer regularly to the list and plan your work from there.
Whilst the mind map might help you structure your sub-projects, it's the low-level day to day actions
such as "visit library to get Journal X", or "email supervisor about enquiry" that need to be recorded.
Rather than cluttering up your mind, or forgetting about them, commit them to your task list and plan
your daily work from there. You get a good boost when you get something done and can tick it off
the list.
such as "visit library to get Journal X", or "email supervisor about enquiry" that need to be recorded.
Rather than cluttering up your mind, or forgetting about them, commit them to your task list and plan
your daily work from there. You get a good boost when you get something done and can tick it off
the list.
4. SCHEDULED TIMES
A big list of tasks can be daunting, and can encourage you to hide from them. A good antidote to
this is to use your diary to schedule regular fixed slots of time in which to make progress on the
project. Rather than spending a lot of time just worrying about how much you have to do (and a
surprising number of students spend a spectacularly long time doing this), why not just commit
to an hour on Monday morning to do Task A, and 2 hours on Monday afternoon to do Task B etc.
this is to use your diary to schedule regular fixed slots of time in which to make progress on the
project. Rather than spending a lot of time just worrying about how much you have to do (and a
surprising number of students spend a spectacularly long time doing this), why not just commit
to an hour on Monday morning to do Task A, and 2 hours on Monday afternoon to do Task B etc.
Summary
So, at the start of this year, why not give yourself a project boost, and Brain Dump ideas to paper,
shape these into order in a Mind Map, take the subsequent tasks and store them in a list
management system that you'll see and update regularly, and Schedule Time for your project work.
shape these into order in a Mind Map, take the subsequent tasks and store them in a list
management system that you'll see and update regularly, and Schedule Time for your project work.
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Full details on how to successfully plan a project are found in the book, available from the Amazon site below.
Managing Your Project: Achieving Success with Minimal Stress < NEW: Print Version >
Also available on Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0164RXKLI
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