Latest / Simple Enough: Organizing, Productivity, and Mindset for Entrepreneurs / 11. Simple Project Management for Entrepreneurs: How to Finish What You Start

Transcript

11. Simple Project Management for Entrepreneurs: How to Finish What You Start · Simple Enough: Organizing, Productivity, and Mindset for Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Every entrepreneur has that project that's been almost done for months.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: What are the simple steps you can take to make real headway on
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: a project that's been keeping you stuck?
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're smart and capable but overwhelmed by too many decisions,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: half-built systems,
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: and things you keep meaning to get to, you're in the right place.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Simple Enough.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, stuck projects usually happen because of uncertainty.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: My clients come to me when they are sick of spinning around in circles about the project.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: They aren't sure what to work on.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: They don't know why it's not working.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And really, the uncertainty shows up when there's an obstacle.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: They're going along,
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: and all of a sudden,
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: They come across something they didn't know before about the project
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: and they get stuck.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do I need to learn that before I make more progress?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Do I need to find out more information?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, it costs way more than I thought.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: All those little things that are just problems to solve along the way,
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: bring them to a dead stop.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so they rearrange things instead or say, one day I'll just know and I'll come back to it.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they put it aside and they start something new.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the reasons entrepreneurs have a hard time finishing things
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: because we come up against obstacles and it kind of freezes us in our tracks a lot
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: of the time if we haven't planned ahead for obstacles.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: And when we have a gazillion ideas all at the same time,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: it makes it hard to finish because we just keep waiting for the answer to come to us
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: while we're working on something else to finish that project over there.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: But really, we need to spend that energy solving the problem of the first project.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: What do I have to do next to make this problem go away or to find a unique
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: and exciting creative solution?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, it's very important to...
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: That we connect our projects to our desired outcome.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Why are you doing this project?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: What is it going to do for you and your business to finish this project?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Can't tell you how many of the projects my clients are working on do nothing
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: for their actual business and they can just let them go or incorporate some of
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: that work and ideas into a different project that make it all flow
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: because you know it's connected.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: When you know which ideas are going to get you to your desired outcome and
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: which ones you can let go of because they don't serve that purpose,
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: it's so much easier to work on the right things in the right order.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So don't forget to like, comment, rate, and review wherever you listen to or see this podcast.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And because I want to streamline the world, I need you to help me.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's how we get it done.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: More people will see it when you like, rate, comment, review, follow, all the things.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to tell all your friends.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, back to the project problem.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: There's a framework for working on a project.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty easy in theory.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a little bit harder to actually work on,
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: especially if you don't have that desired outcome already set in place.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: So there is the outcome.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Very first thing you ever have to do when you start a project.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: How does this fit into my business?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Why is this project important?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: What is it going to feel like or improve or help me attain by doing this project?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Then you have to recognize the resources you have available to reach that outcome.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: What is the money, the time, the energy, the people that you can call on?
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: You will have some knowledge about this project.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: You will have some knowledge about the things you don't know that you're going
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: to have to learn about this project.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So don't forget to include what knowledge is existing and what knowledge might need
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: to be filled in when you're doing a project.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: You can chunk it down into kind of like things together.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: So whether it's here's all the calls that'll need to be made,
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: here's all the assets we'll need to create,
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: here's all the forms we'll need to create, here's all the people we need to create.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Need to train whatever these chunks are,
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: the writing,
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: the recording, the distributing, all these things have chunks to them, right?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Little areas of focus.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And some are repeated several times throughout a project.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: But think about how you can group things together to get them done more easily.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then figure out if there's some actual deadlines.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Deadlines are actual hard deadlines, due dates when things must be complete by.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Other things are just on the timeline.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: They can happen during the project.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: They just need to be completed by the deadline and you don't have to do it on Monday.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: It'd be nice to do it on Monday, but maybe it doesn't happen until Thursday and that's okay.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: You're still getting some forward momentum on the project.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: So understand that difference between timelines and deadlines.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: The simplest project plan is actually something I did when I started my business.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: I made a commitment to work every day for a year on at least one thing
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: that would start get my business up and running.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Some days I didn't have a whole lot of energy and it would be looking up
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: a phone number or reading a chapter in a book about how to start a business.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Other days,
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'd get five or six things done on the Small Business Administration How to Start
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: a Business checklist,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: and I would feel very proud of myself for making more progress on my project
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: of starting a business, right?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: The simplest version, one thing a day until it's done.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that seems really simple because it is, and it gets it done.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: What doesn't get a project done is working in circles on the wrong things
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: without knowing where you're going.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So as long as you have those things done,
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: small incremental progress will make exponential results quicker
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: than any spinning around on 20 different projects simultaneously while you wait
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: for magic information to appear about how to solve the problem that you aren't sure
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: about.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: So stop going straight to doing.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Determine that desired outcome.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Figure out the chunks, the resources, and your timelines, and then get to work.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because now you will know what to work on and when.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you will have other small tasks to work on while you're waiting for the answer
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: to the bigger questions come up.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what makes business fun because now we have problem solving to do.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Our brains thrive on it.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I bet you're saying to yourself right now,
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: but I have 12 half-finished projects, not just one or two.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I would say I know because I do too.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's what makes us entrepreneurs.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: We always have more ideas.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: So pick the one or two most important projects, not the urgent ones.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Although if you owe taxes and you need to do your taxes,
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: you might want to go ahead and do that urgent one with a hard deadline
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: and money attached.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because the criteria for picking which ones to do are money, time, and what is essential.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And there are so many projects that sound really fun and might be helpful in
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: the future,
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: but don't actually hit that time, money, and essential for doing business criteria.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the ones that can be put on the back burner until that miraculous day
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: where you have a free afternoon to tackle it.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Pick the ones that are going to move the needle forward.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then you just block out 20 to 90 minutes a day to work on that until it's done.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then you add a new one in.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: When one is done, you add a new one in.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is not at the expense of your routines.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: You're still going to do your routines and service your clients.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is that deeper work time of more strategic thinking,
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: more creating something from scratch or reassembling pieces of your business
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: into something new until it's done.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the same as the routines and the client servicing.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I have something cool for you to help figure out some of the pieces of this puzzle.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's called the Five Essential Business Systems Masterclass.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: It is free and it is available at morethanorganized.net slash free dash resources.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a button there that you click on and you get the video and
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: the worksheets for this class on setting up the five essential systems
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: for your business.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: That'll also help you figure out which projects to work on and when.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: The one small thing this week, pick your most stuck project.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Write down in one sentence what done looks like for that project.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: When will it be done?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: What does complete look like?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: What is the desired outcome?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, that's it.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Just define that desired outcome.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Everything else gets easier when you know what that desired outcome is.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And you will pick up experience along the way and be able to make adjustments based
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: on that new knowledge.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's the fun of running a business.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: You pick it up as you work through it.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending this time with me today.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Before you go,
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: choose one thing from this episode that could make life just
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: a little simpler this week.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Not perfect, just simple enough.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Come join me on Substack at morethanorganized.substack.com and remember,
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: organizing doesn't have to be so hard.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you soon.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, have a delightful day.
• 10:10
  [music]