The Quick and Easy Way to Manage Small Projects

Tasks and projects are similar, but should be handled differently.

Project management and task management differ in their purpose, scope, scale, and timeline. Managing tasks is one small aspect of project management. This link is important to keep in mind, regardless of a project’s size.

Here’s the quick and easy way to manage your small projects.

Background

Some definitions

• Task: an actionable bite-sized piece of work that needs to get done, often by one person.
• Task management: depends on checking a to-do list every day, and focuses on timing and completion.
• Project: a planned set of interrelated tasks geared toward achieving a specific goal.
• Project management: coordinates planning, scheduling, budgeting, and resource allocation flexibly.

Project size

Projects range in sizes, from huge to tiny.

• Large-scale projects: require more than 30 steps with many complicated dependencies between tasks, full-time staff, and complex management software, including Gantt charts.
• Single-person, full-time projects: often date driven with strong dependencies between tasks.
• Small projects: are often done on a flexible basis, outside work hours. They have about 5–20 tasks in them with few critical dependencies.
• Tiny projects: aren’t really projects; they’re multi-step tasks.

The first two sizes are beyond the scope of this blog post.

Starting your small projects

Use one page for each project.

Write the name of the project at the top of the page. Then place three lists under it:

1. Tasks that must be completed this week
2. Tasks you’d like to complete this week
3. Brainstormed tasks.

Fill in the third list first.

Brainstorm as many tasks as you can think of to accomplish the project. Then feed these tasks into the other two lists when it’s appropriate.

Use the right project management approach.

• Switch to a detailed Gantt chart and maintain it weekly if you have more than 30 steps with many complicated dependencies. (This large project is beyond the scope of this blog post.)
• Turn any task with 3–5 steps into a multi-step task. This isn’t worth setting up a project page. Rather, create one task on your to-do list. Next, add a small checklist of the steps under the task (if you’re using a piece of paper). Or in the notes section (if you’re using an app). Then tick off each step before marking the entire task complete.

Planning your small projects

Monday planning and review sessions

Schedule a time each Monday to plan and review your small projects.

During this time, review each project page. This will take about one minute per project.

Steps

1. Confirm the tasks in the first list from last week were completed. If so, delete them from in project plan. If not, chase them down.
2. Assess your second list of tasks. Reprioritise them and move some to your first list.
3. Look at your third list. Is it time to promote some tasks from there to the first or second list? (Note: tasks in the second list don’t need a due date. Tasks due this week belong in the first list).
4. Move tasks from the first list to your to-do list. Or ask others to put it on theirs if you’ve delegated the task.
5. Set a follow-up task for any task you have delegated to make sure they get done this week.
6. Repeat these steps for each background project.
7. Look at your to-do list and start working on tasks.
8. Repeat this planning and review session next Monday.

Summary

Link project management to task management:

• Use project management (one-page projects) to plan and review.
• Use task management (your to-do list) for action.
• Let your small projects feed tasks into your to-do list.
• Plan and review each week.

Inspiration

This post was inspired by Michael Linenberger’s 1MPM course.

It goes hand-in-hand with my post on the simple system I use to get tasks done, which was inspired by Michael’s 1MTD and MYN productivity systems.

If you’re immersed in the Apple ecosystem, you may be interested in Michael’s latest course. It shows you how to use MYN with Things (Culture Code’s award-winning personal task manager). Section 10 includes five videos on managing multi-step tasks and small projects.