Having sought out the relevant help to create a project plan and brainstormed your project plan; it is now time to convert your project plan into a project schedule. At the end of your brainstorming session you will have produced a list of actions which need to be taken to complete the project. You can now take some simple steps to convert your project plan into a project schedule. An effective project schedule will allow you to successfully compelte the project in minimal time with reduced stress.
6 steps to convert your project plan into a project schedule
1. Schedule completion dates
Beside each task on the list, note a date for its completion. Be careful to ensure that you do not schedule the task for completion before the completion of a task upon which it is dependant i.e. you cannot schedule step 2 for completion before step 1 has been completed.
2. Schedule delegation
During your brainstorming session you may have identified a number of tasks which you will be delegating to others, either inside or outside of your business. Schedule the necessary meetings to delegate these tasks, ensuring that you have all the necessary information and materials to hand.
3. Schedule automation
Since the advent of the internet, many tasks can now be automated using scheduling tools. For example, much of my social media work is done via scheduling. I schedule these tasks at the beginning of the week allowing me to focus on my other tasks, safe in the knowledge that the social media work is being done. I then only need to check in on my social media sites occasionally to ensure that everything is running smoothly and answer any queries from my followers. Many projects have tasks which can be automated like this. Scheduling these tasks at the earliest opportunity allows you to move on with the rest of your work.
4. Prioritise your tasks
You should be left with no more than 5 key tasks to be completed each day. Assign each task a priority level based on their importance to the overall project. You can use numbers, letters or whatever system you like as long as it is applied consistently across all tasks.
5. Schedule tasks in your calendar
Now you can schedule each day’s tasks in your calendar. It is important that, each day, you schedule the most important task first. The benefits of doing this include:
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- Completing your most important task first sets the standard for the rest of the day. It will increase your confidence and your momentum, allowing you to get more done.
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- If you leave your most important task to the end of the day, you are more likely to put it off. Even if you complete the remainder of your tasks you will have had an ineffective day.
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- If any type of emergency were to arise, and you only got one task completed; you would still have maximised your daily performance under the circumstances. This helps to maintain your confidence
6. Plan your day the night before
You now have an overall action plan. It is one thing having a plan; it is another thing keeping to it. To ensure that you stick to your plan, plan each day the night before. This simple habit will ensure that you implement your action plan in the most effective manner by:
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- Providing a clear plan for the day ahead. Allowing you to know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and where you need to be at any given time.
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- Allowing you to prepare in advance. You can ensure that similar tasks are grouped together and that you have all the information and materials you need ready when you need them.
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- Allowing you to hit the ground running thus minimising downtime.
For more grea productivity and planning tips, check out The Organised Mind.
Creating an effective project plan; fleshing it out, and converting it to a project schedule, does take a little extra time but, by taking the time to do so, you get the right things done, when they need to be done. The end result is a job well done in minimal time with reduced stress.
Image Credit: boklm