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Now that we have a diagnosis of too many projects, it is time to discuss remedying the problem.

Write your project list

To begin with, we will need to come up with a list of all our projects, similar to the one that I made in the diagnosis post. To be fair, here it is again for reference:

1. Programming a website from scratch;
2. Starting my career as a professional belly dance performer and instructor;
3. Continuing my web design business;
4. Writing on this blog;
5. Writing on my professional “Hey this is me” blog;
6. Opening a belly dance online store;
7. Planning my wedding, which is less than a month away;
8. Writing a book about starting a business;
9. Hunting for a job in Albuquerque and…;
10. Looking for a place to live in Albuquerque before…;
11. Moving to Albuquerque in order to keep on…;
12. Getting my college education.

Review your list

Now, some of these do not make a lot of sense in the context of project management. For example, I will continue my college education no matter what – that is one project I will not drop until it is complete.

Additionally, some of these become mini-projects when they are broken down. Looking for a place to move involves trying to get my credit score higher and putting together a nice references list. Getting a college education involves making money, which means finding a job, and finding scholarships, which involves a lot of things, including writing essays and participating in extracurricular activities.

Expand your list

So let’s take a look at all your projects. Break them down into a long list like this one:

• Find and join an extracurricular club or volunteer for an organization (for college).
• Write an amazing scholarship application essay (for college).
• Rewrite resume (for a job, for a place to live).
• Apply to about a thousand jobs (for a job, for a place to live).
• Check out credit report and correct errors (for a place to live).
• Pay down credit cards to increase credit score (for a place to live).
• Check in with client about website to design (to pay down credit cards, for a place to live).

Perhaps the most overlooked and yet most important part of this list is tacked on right at the end, where you tell yourself why you are doing what you are doing. It is important to productivity to be reminded what is supposed to be getting done, exactly, and also important to prioritizing, which is, conveniently, our next step.

Prioritize

The first major step to correcting a lack of time is to prioritize projects.

Find your context

What we want to do is figure out how we are going to prioritize. For example, a lot of my projects require the root of all evil: that is, money. So, it would be wise in this case to prioritize according to how much something will cost and how much money it will make. Blogging is, for the most part, free, but it costs a large investment of time, which is another commodity. If you have unlimited money, perhaps time would be a better solution. Or, if you are like me, and you lack money and want to use your time for the best return, perhaps breaking down the list by both would be wise.

Break it down

Now that we have chosen how to break everything down, it is time to actually do so. Every item on the project list should have a “cost” and a “return” next to it, if you have chosen a product that has such qualities – something like time, money, or energy.

My list looks something like this:

• Blogging – time intensive, little upfront return, medium return over time
• Writing on established sites – time intensive, some upfront return, little return over time
• Regular work – time varies, medium upfront and long-term returns
• Web design – time intensive, high upfront return, small long-term return

Your analysis may look completely different, but this is what I find works best for me.

Organize

The final step in prioritizing is to actually do so. Think about what you want to spend the most of in this situation. Do you want to dedicate a lot of time upfront for high long-term returns, or would you rather jump onto the bandwagon and plug away for somewhat similar returns over the course of a lifetime? Figure out which projects should make their ways higher up the list. But, do not do this all at once. Rather, think on a scale of 1 to 10 (the numbers are arbitrary) and assign a value to each project one at a time. This will help you to think in terms of the project, rather than relative to other projects. This is important for later.

Here’s my list:

• Blogging (8)
• Job (7)
• Writing on established website (2)
• Web design (7)

Analyze

As you can see from my list, blogging is my highest-ranked priority. This is because it provides reasonable returns over time, is almost free to do, and because it gives me  the most amount of joy. Although it takes a lot of effort, it will pay off in the long run.

What I ranked lowest was writing for an established website, such as Associated Content, because it does not provide a terribly high return, and I consider it somewhat soul-crushing.

In this case, ignoring all other possibilities for making money and successfully moving to Albuquerque, blogging looks like the best bet for my mental health. However, with such a short amount of time to earn a return on my time, perhaps a regular full-time job would be my best bet.

Putting it to work

So now that we have our projects prioritized, what do we do? It is time to select an item or a few items from our projects list which are most important to us and begin working on completing them. For example, moving to Albuquerque, continuing my college education, programming, and writing will be my handful of projects.

Additionally, it is important to select a chunk of time to dedicate to each project so that they will not become crossed and mixed together, which must be avoided at all costs.

For example, every few days, I review Craigslist postings for new jobs I could do in Albuquerque. Every day, I set aside about two hours for writing. I study at least twenty hours per week. I program with the rest of my free time, when I have the sanity for it.

After all this, I still usually have time to do other things, like planning my wedding or travel, and dancing. Because of all this, I consider my project management to be balanced and healthy.

What about you? Care to share your project list? Do you have to prioritize, or are you doing well enough managing everything at once?

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• Too Many Projects: A Diagnosis
• How to Stay Productive
• The Printable CEO
• How to Be Balanced at Work
• Trying to Achieve Focus? Stop.

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• The Printable CEO
• The Art of the To-Do List

Setting Goals

First, let us establish what is meant by setting goals. A goal is an aim; any time you want to accomplish something, that is a goal. Goals drive actions in meaningful directions and moderate tasks associated with going about one’s day. Setting goals is a process during which one sits down and thinks about every that must or should be accomplished in order to become happier. Goals are end-oriented, rather than being concerned with the path. As such, they can often end with frustration and little progress, unless one takes the necessary extra steps to lay out a chain of actions.

Setting priorities

Priorities are different from goals once the surface has been scratched. Priorities are any and all important things come to mind. If it is important, it is a priority. A goal would be to own a house by 2020. A priority would be providing a safe and stable environment for one’s family.

Another difference is the priorities are not end-oriented. Priorities have no ending, except for death or a change of heart. When one has a priority, it is an on-going task with which one keeps up – something maintained, kept afloat throughout life.

Priorities and goals both drive actions, but do so in different ways.

How to set priorities

First, get into a relaxed state and clear your mind of the day’s influences.

Next, think about what is important to you. Do you want a safe environment? Do you want to get to self-actualization on Maslow’s hierarchy? Write it down.

Finally, considering everything, decide an order of focus. What is the most important to you, and what is the least? Consider these categories: Physical, Mental, Financial, Spiritual, Emotional. Try to have only one highest priority in each, or you may become overwhelmed with the task at hand. Also, try to focus on one category while keeping all in somewhat close balance. Focus efforts, but never let the other weights drop.

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• Where Do You Find Motivation?
• The Six Habits of Balanced People
• A Portrait of You: How Not to Ruin It
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• Are you a toxic friend?

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Any regular reader of the One-Year Tightrope and all who follow a lifestyle of planning know that reviewing is one of the most important activities involved in staying organized and productive. Reviews also have the ability to increase motivation both negatively (“I wish I would have…”) and positively (“I am so glad I…”). This is a how-to guide for performing an effective end-of-year review.

Step 1: Preparation

Prepare for your review by going to a quiet place, turning off your phone and television, breathing deeply, and focusing on the task at hand. Clear your mind of all other thoughts and stresses as if you are going to meditate (You are going to meditate on the year, after all). Make sure you are at peace before you continue so that you will get an objective, positive review, rather than one that is negatively affected by bad thoughts. Get out a piece of paper or open a new file on your computer. You will be doing some writing.

Step 2: What were your major achievements?

Begin the review by writing out major achievements and how you completed them. For example, if you got a promotion in March and had worked on getting it since January 1, write down that detail. Try to come up with as many major achievements as possible.

Step 3: What were your minor achievements?

I am certain that while listing major achievements, you recognized many minor achievements. List all of these underneath the major achievements to which they apply, or separately if they are not relevant. Perhaps you finished reading five books or can do a few more crunches than before.

Step 4: What did you learn?

Growth is an achievement all on its own, so write “Growth” as its own setting and below it, write everything you learned and accomplished applicable to your journey in life. Some examples may be understanding a complicated concept in your industry or figuring out your parenting style.

Step 5: How did you fail?

A review is not impartial without listing some negatives. Write down how you managed to fail and what you could or should have done better.

Step 6: How is this good?

Turn your negatives into positives by asking yourself what you can take away from your failures. Did you learn something? Do you now have motivation to do something better next time, after seeing the consequences of your poor performance?

Step 7: What will you do the same?

Was there anything you did this year that was absolutely brilliant? Perhaps you learned a new, positive activity or began a hobby that relaxes you and keeps you sane day in day out.

Step 8: What will you do differently?

Do not “undo” your failures, but rather try to think of how you can live your life better for the next year. Perhaps you will exercise more or try to go to bed by a certain time every night, dedicating your evenings to relaxation and re-energizing your mind. This is similar to your New Year’s resolutions, only now you have a guide to building ones that matter.

Step 9: Put it away

Contrary to popular belief, a list of goals does not necessarily work best when it is seen constantly. If anything, it can be a painful reminder of how far behind schedule you are. Take one goal at a time and work on it gradually, breaking it into small steps on a to-do list. As you finish, check it off and find a new goal. Keep it findable and review it often, but do not focus only on it, or you will become stressed.

What is your advice for completing an end-of-year review? Have you done one before? What are you proud of? What does yours look like? What are your goals for the new year?

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But the segment of the population that reads The One-Year Tightrope is not average. I consider my readers to be intelligent and extraordinary. You guys do want to take measures to keep your life livable and successful, right?

The advantages of seeing a life coach can be many. A weekly, monthly, or even yearly trip with the sole purpose of reviewing previous actions and planning next steps is a healthy ritual I would like to see more of. I do feel, however, that the visits are unnecessary for many people, who have the ability to plan and review just as well on their own, or by brainstorming with close friends who have similar goals and abilities. I bounce ideas off of a few of my friends, particularly Logan, who also authors a blog and is a programmer (and a businessman).

Even so, just as I enjoy seeing a financial advisor informally, I think I would enjoy discussing progress and plans so far with somebody who listens to plans for a living. I think I would also enjoy becoming a life coach, because I do know planning and I believe I could offer some very meaningful advice.

My question for today is whether or not you have a life coach. Do you laugh at the job like much of the rest of us? Are you interested in seeing one? Do you enjoy your visits? What do you actually talk about?

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• How to Do a Year-End Review

Writing goals

Writing a to-do list is a simple task, and yet complicated. It begins with a goal. It doesn’t even have to be a SMART goal; just a goal. For example, have clean clothes by the end of tomorrow. Write a list of tomorrow’s goals, or future goals which you can and would like to begin working on tomorrow.

Snow flaking

From here, we snow flake the goals into a to-do list.

Goal: Have clean clothes.

First flake: Do laundry

Second flake:

• Organize whites and colors
• Carry laundry to machine
• Start washer
• Empty washer; start dryer; re-fill washer
• Rinse; repeat
• Fold clothes

And done. This sort of to-do list is simple to use, easy to read, and pleasurable to organize. Perfect.

Grouping and Flow

While the perfect to-do list starts with snow flaking, there are other requirements, too. For example, the list must flow well. If I am walking back and forth between rooms and traveling out for errands throughout the day, the list was not well-constructed. Alike tasks, whether geographically or mentally, must be grouped accordingly to get the most productive system going. Never jump between left and right brain and back again all day, or you will be far more exhausted than what is believable.

Interaction

Sometimes, tasks don’t fit well with others or need to be postponed. In this case, it is better to keep two separate lists – even on the same piece of paper – in order to separate the tasks. Jumping between the two can be difficult, though, so keeping a few tasks on both lists will help a lot. For example, if I need a cake cooked and laundry to be done, those are unrelated (although I wouldn’t separate the lists, I will in this example). In this case, I would have “Clean kitchen table” on both lists, because I both fold laundry and mix batter on it.

What are your tips for creating the perfect to-do list? What kind of lists do you keep around? Do calendar fans exist in rabid form? 

Related Posts:

• The Printable CEO
• Trying to Achieve Focus? Stop.
• How to Stay Productive
• Secrets to Success: Run Yourself Like a Business
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