Challenges are a natural occurrence in life, and whether you’re a student, entrepreneur, or start-up business owner, there will come a time when you need to handle a massive project. Now, this challenge will be unlike any other challenge you’ve faced before. Its goal will take longer to realize and could even span years of your effort and time invested!
However, there lies the main issue, the sheer size and capacity of the said project can appear exceptionally threatening up front, and might even trick some into a false sense of security because of time. As a result, most people are lulled into the concept of breaking down larger projects into smaller tasks, but do they know how to achieve that?
So to address this gap of information, we will be learning three key strategies that you can implement right now and finally put those words of yours into action.
The Secret is Planning
The secret ingredient behind every big project’s success is planning, and planning is what’s going to keep you busy. Think of it as setting the foundation of a tall building; without a strong foundation, it won’t be structurally sound and is at risk of falling with one error. However, if you make the necessary preparations and build on a strong foundation, your project will succeed.
#1 Create A General Timeline
First on your to-do list is creating a general timeline of events that will accurately present an actionable guideline for you to follow.
Have you ever found it challenging to sit down and focus on one specific task? Where your mind continually wanders and looks for other things to cloud your thoughts, keeping you from making any progress? If the answer is yes, then you’re like most of us, where we occasionally experience busy or unmotivated days. This is where a timeline comes into play because it will help you recognize how much progress you’re making and function as a constant reminder you can fall back to.
Set Attainable Time-Bound Goals. For your general timeline, please avoid being too idealistic with your goals and milestones. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with sprinkling a bit of optimism, when you can’t achieve them on time, the set goals will work against you. Strive to make them realistic, attainable, and time-bound so you can wok your way up.
Have A Strict Deadline. Your timeline should have a start and a finish. The last thing you’ll want to happen is for this project to take way too long, so be strict with your deadline.
#2 Group Your Tasks
Up next on your to-do list is grouping your tasks, so your progress is not all over the place and follows a level-up system.
If large teams and businesses utilize ServiceNow to increase productivity and improve workflow, you should also practice the same concept when addressing your big project. When breaking down a large project into different tasks, you don’t want to pick and choose whichever suits your fancy at a given time. You need to categorize these tasks into groups and multi-step processes that make sense.
- Difficulty: One method you can follow is by grouping your tasks according to the difficulty level. Try mixing some more manageable tasks with one associated hard activity to give a sense of progression. Likewise, you can also opt to finish all the easier tasks first, giving you more time to work with challenging aspects later on.
- Importance: If not by the difficulty level, you can also group your tasks according to their relative level of significance. With this strategy, you’ll tackle more essential tasks first to lay the groundwork and work your way up from there.
#3 Set A Regular Schedule
Lastly, you need to set a regular daily schedule to help keep you on track towards your goals.
Whether we admit it or not, no one can escape the clutches of short-term pleasures and fleeting happy moments that present themselves and take us out of the zone. So instead of depending on zones and feelings, discipline yourself to follow a set time every day. This ensures that you get work done no matter what unexpected event might arise and promises gradual, steady progress over sudden bursts of motivation.
Don’t Overthink It
Overall, if you practice and implement these three different strategies, you’ll have zero complications when breaking down that massive project into bite-sized tasks. Just make sure to adjust these factors to suit your needs, and you’ll be smooth sailing in no time.
However, as a reminder, don’t overthink and dwell on the project too much and take that first step. Things like these start slow but get more straightforward once your engine starts to warm up!
