Do you feel anxious or stressed when you’re given a new project at work? Are you getting things done, but never in a way that feels like you’re in control?
Today’s world is faster, busier, and noisier than ever before. We simply have more options to consider. There are more tools to do things, more paths to get involved, more ways to create value.
These are all good things. But many people and organizations get paralyzed in this hyper-opportunistic environment because they lack the systems needed to filter the noise and drive clarity.
The knowledge-economy is quickly becoming a human-economy. Artificial intelligence is replacing the tasks that specialized knowledge workers used to do.
What we need now are more leaders who can make good decisions. We need people with the ability to make sense of the complexity around us and lead others with clarity.
Start With A Framework
Regaining control of our projects starts by having a framework. A framework helps us quickly evaluate the priority of a new opportunity and drive momentum if we deem it worthwhile.
Without a framework for managing new projects, we too often react by either:
- Blindly adding the project on an ever-growing list of things we need to do
- Ignoring the project because we have too much on our plate as it is
Neither reaction is a path to efficient productivity. You’re either adding to the stress of prior commitments, or you’re potentially working on the wrong thing and leaving a great opportunity on the table.
The Natural Planning Method
The N
I highly recommend you read Getting Things Done for yourself and do a deep dive into the chapter on the natural planning method. But in the meantime, I’ll outline the 5-step planning framework in the remainder of this post.
Copy it down. Practice using this thought process for considering new projects, or getting old projects unstuck. I hope you’ll find it as helpful for clarifying priorities and moving projects forward towards completion as I have.
Step 1: State your purpose by asking “why”
Always start by asking yourself the question “why.” Why would you be willing to spend finite time and resources working on this project? A strong answer here will make it obvious whether or not this project should become a priority.
Asking “why” forces common sense
When we ask ourselves why we want to do something, it forces us to discern the merely good ideas from the truly great opportunities. We’re more empowered to say “no” to a project when we’ve taken the time to define why this idea may not be as important as what else is on our plate.
Asking “why” motivates us
Projects that languish behind schedule or eventually run stuck often do so because the purpose hasn’t been clearly defined or communicated to the team.
Without a good reason to do something, why do it? Conversely, if we have a strong reason why a project is a good opportunity, it can be an extremely powerful motivator to get us through a project no matter the obstacle.
Step 2: Envision the outcome by asking “what”
Defining your “why” gives you the impetus to begin. But clarifying the outcome – the “what” – is critical to building a blueprint you can follow.
Be careful not to skip this step! A mistake many of us make at this step is to jump to the how before we envision the what.
Many of us hold ourselves back from imagining the desired outcome unless someone can show us how to get there. Unfortunately, that’s backward in terms of how our minds work to generate and recognize solutions and methods.
David Allen
The bottom line: You won’t see how to do it until you see yourself doing it. This is the power of vision.
Creating a clear outcome sets the mark for what defines success. Without it, you never really know if you won or not. Worse yet, you won’t even know how to go about winning!
Some outcome defining questions sound like: What will this project look like when it’s done? How do you want the client to feel? What do you want them to know after the presentation?
One of the most powerful life skills, and one of the most important to hone and develop for both professional and personal
David Allensuccess, is creating clear outcomes.
This is not as easy of a step as it may sound. Envisioning the outcome of a project is a step that we continuously need to come back to and reimagine as aspects of the project change.
Step 3: Brainstorm options by asking “how”
How often do you just jump into a project without actually considering all your options?
The efficiency and quality of my writing improved dramatically when I forced myself to brainstorm ideas related to a topic before writing a single sentence.
Brainstorming is what your brain does best. It’s a random thought generator that is capable of brilliant subconscious connections.
We do ourselves and our productivity a disservice when we move forward without first exploring all of our options.
Allow yourself to be creative in this step. Go for quantity, not the quality of ideas. Avoid the urge to organize or analyze any of it until you move on to step 4.
Step 4: Organize and develop the plan
At this point in the process, you’re going to naturally start making logical connections. You’ll pick out the most important steps and identify them as project milestones.
You should group tasks in a chronological sequence and identify dependencies. A good project management software, like Asana or Smartsheet, is a great tool to use at this point.
Step 5: Decide on next actions
What are the next set of physical actions you need to do to get the project moving? Do you need to schedule a meeting? Make a phone call? Do some targeted research?
You cannot do a project. You can only do a task.
At this point you should feel in control. You know why you’re prioritizing this project, you’ve envisioned what you want to accomplish, and you’ve generated ideas how to do it and organized them into a logical sequence.
The final step is to assign responsibility and a due date. Who’s doing what by when. It’s the mantra of all project managers – including yourself – who are disciplined about getting things done.
Still Stressed About A Project?
We feel stressed at work when we don’t feel in control. Deadlines slip and we’re not sure how to prioritize our time.
The reason for this is almost always due to a lack of planning.
Keep the 5 steps of the Natural Planning Method close by. Use it to help you become a better planner. Practice becoming a better decision maker and lead your team down a winning path with clarity.
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