Hi,
I'm new to GTD and am just discovering ZTD. I'm wondering how people plan their projects and keep track of them via desktop software (windows). I'm horribly bad at planning projects and often miss deadlines. I usually just see a project spec document and go "aaack!". I'm not sure how to break a project down into chunks, prioritizing, or estimating how long it takes to complete the project.
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For prioritizing you can use at least 3 priorities:
Priority 1. Things that are very important and you cannot possibly succeed without in your project.
Priority 2. Things that are important
Priority 3. Things that are pleasurable to do, but not so important
For example, if you build a car (the project), the only priority 1 things would be the engine, tires, transmission, brakes, steering wheel, and pedals. You can finish these and still call it a car.
Priority 2 items would be the doors, windshield, air conditioning, and radio because you can get around without those things. The core functionality of the automobile exists without them.
Priority 1. Things that are very important and you cannot possibly succeed without in your project.
Priority 2. Things that are important
Priority 3. Things that are pleasurable to do, but not so important
For example, if you build a car (the project), the only priority 1 things would be the engine, tires, transmission, brakes, steering wheel, and pedals. You can finish these and still call it a car.
Priority 2 items would be the doors, windshield, air conditioning, and radio because you can get around without those things. The core functionality of the automobile exists without them.
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A lot of advice on organizing yourself and on prioritizing uses Stephen Covey's quadrant idea, as featured in 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.'
Quadrant 1: Important and urgent
Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent
Quadrant 3: Not important but urgent
Quadrant 4: Not important and not urgent
The best way to do things is spend as much time as possible on the important but not urgent issues, such as personal development, product development, careful design and preparation. Over the long-term, life goes much smoother because you continually develop and prepare yourself in advance for the problems that come along. Next do Quadrant 1 activities. Avoid Quadrant 3 activities (such as a ringing phone) as much as possible and do what you can to totally cut-off Quadrant 4 activities.
This is good advice but deciding what's important and what's not important is not so easy. My advice is that, whenever you plan something, identify the hardest, most difficult and potentially impossible things as soon as possible. Then spend the majority of your focus on solving those problems and breaking them down into small, easy to do tasks, through careful thought and preparation before taking action. Everything else will fall into place much easier then.
If you find yourself procrastinating, then just for fun, try out my Procrastination Analyzer (yes, I know, it seems like a Quadrant 4 activity, but if you apply what you can learn from it then it becomes a Quadrant 2 activity! :) ).
http://www.nickpagan.com/procrastinationanalyzer.html
All the best,
Nick
Quadrant 1: Important and urgent
Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent
Quadrant 3: Not important but urgent
Quadrant 4: Not important and not urgent
The best way to do things is spend as much time as possible on the important but not urgent issues, such as personal development, product development, careful design and preparation. Over the long-term, life goes much smoother because you continually develop and prepare yourself in advance for the problems that come along. Next do Quadrant 1 activities. Avoid Quadrant 3 activities (such as a ringing phone) as much as possible and do what you can to totally cut-off Quadrant 4 activities.
This is good advice but deciding what's important and what's not important is not so easy. My advice is that, whenever you plan something, identify the hardest, most difficult and potentially impossible things as soon as possible. Then spend the majority of your focus on solving those problems and breaking them down into small, easy to do tasks, through careful thought and preparation before taking action. Everything else will fall into place much easier then.
If you find yourself procrastinating, then just for fun, try out my Procrastination Analyzer (yes, I know, it seems like a Quadrant 4 activity, but if you apply what you can learn from it then it becomes a Quadrant 2 activity! :) ).
http://www.nickpagan.com/procrastinationanalyzer.html
All the best,
Nick
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