As a graphic and website designer, I have had to figure out how to complete big projects. And, ill be honest, it hasn’t been easy. Sometimes, it’s overwhelming. There are strict deadlines and lots of communication. But, I pride myself on being organized. Mostly because I cant work without order.
I have two types of clients: seasoned business owners and startups. And, often I get seasoned owners who want to launch something new. (So, I guess that’s three types.) What they have in common is an understanding of how important is to be willing to change and grow in new spaces. They never want to be comfortable. So here is my solution for them — and for you. This is how I launch new projects and programs with less stress.
How to get organized and complete your big project
You have to view your new venture as a project. Not just another day-to-day task. So, as hard as it is, you have to pause and plan first. Don’t just go and sign up, log in or purchase. Write it out first.
Treat this as a brain dump. Ask yourself what would this project look like if money and time wasn’t a concern. Let yourself dream.
Title It
Write the name of the project. But, don’t get stuck here. You don’t need an official name. Say you’re planning on creating a course about how to be a productive entrepreneur and scale your business. The name is “course about how to be a productive entrepreneur and scale your business”. You’ll come up with something better later.
Break It Down
List out all of the tasks you have to do or delegate to get the project to 100%. This means everything. Even the tasks that you think will only take a second. Once you write out your tasks go over them and decide if there are any subtasks. This way you know exactly what you have to do. For example, if you have to sign up for a course platform, you’ll probably want to research your options first. So, that would be considered a subtask. I want to stress to you how important this step is. There are never too many tasks.
Split It Into Phases
If you’ve already started your business then your time is especially important to you. So, separating your tasks will help you to feel accomplished and assure you’ll get to 100%. Look at your tasks, if there’s a logical area to split it then do that. But if not, just split it into two or three even sets.
List It
Neatly rewrite it in your planner. Title it, separate it into phases and write each task with a checkbox before it. It’s important to put it in your agenda because it’s something that you use every day. You need to look at it and check things off regularly. If your not the paper and pen type I understand. But, I would highly encourage that you consider using a physical planner or at least a notebook.
Divide And Conquer
Now that you know what you need to do it’s time to put it into action. To do this you MUST map it out and create a timeline. This is the key to the plan. Remember not to push yourself too hard. You’ll just become stressed and overwhelmed. This will make you more likely to fail. So, let’s make sure your plan is realistic. To make it achievable you have to split it up. First, separate it by months. I typically give each phase a full month. This should help you to schedule a reasonable deadline. Then, choose which three tasks you will complete for the first week.
Now, organize your days . . .
Instead of just writing a task down that you’d like to complete each day, schedule the subtasks. So, if your task is to write module 1. The subtasks that you should complete are: create an outline, start module 1 draft, edit the draft and finalize it. These tasks should be spread out throughout the week.
The only thing left to do is stick to your plan. And don’t forget to celebrate your wins, forgive yourself when you fall off track and enjoy the journey.
How do you get things done? What’s your strategy?
