Managing Multiple Projects

Greetings All,

I'd like to hear from those of you who feel you're
winning the battle of managing more than one
project at a time and succeeding.

What are your strategies, methodologies and
philosophies for determining how to most
efficiently allocate your time and resources?

As we all know, the most precious commodity we
all have is time, and the better we use it, the
more succesful we'll be.

I'm interested in your thoughts on this matter.

Warmly,

Mike Wirth

> Greetings All,

> I'd like to hear from those of you who feel
> you're
> winning the battle of managing more than one
> project at a time and succeeding.

> What are your strategies, methodologies and
> philosophies for determining how to most
> efficiently allocate your time and
> resources?

> As we all know, the most precious commodity
> we
> all have is time, and the better we use it,
> the
> more succesful we'll be.

> I'm interested in your thoughts on this
> matter.

> Warmly,

> Mike Wirth

Hi Mike,

Here is a resource which I believe might be of interest to you.

There is a book (entitled "To Do, Doing. DONE!" by Lynne Snead and Joyce Wycoff) which I HIGHLY recommend you read for 4 reasons:

1) It takes a CREATIVE approach to project management. (It help answer the question WHAT DO YOU WANT? "I know Gordon has been asking this for a LONG time on discussion boards")

2) It shows you how to choose IMPORTANT projects based on your VALUES (It assists you in answering another important questions: WHY DO YOU WANT IT? sound familiar????)

3) It integrates TIME MANAGEMENT with PROJECT MANAGEMENT (HOW DO I GET WHAT I WANT? "This is where the ACTION STEPS come into play)

4) It is as SIMPLE as V.P.I.C

Here are some tidbits:

- 4 step Process to all projects:
Visualize, Plan, Implement, Close

- Why do projects fail?
Ans: The project did not meet expectations

- Why do projects succeed?
SUCCESS IS EQUAL TO MET EXPECTATIONS!!!!!

I hope that this has inspired you to at least take a look at the book. It applies not just to managing projects, but to managing your life!

If you have any questions, please let me know. I am here to HELP and LEARN.

Sincerely,

Duane Adolph

Mike -

My solution to multiple project management has been:

1. Outline a plan of action for each project, with dated deadlines.
2. Prioritize the steps required to complete each project.
3. Focus on each project for a designated time per day (loosely, as sometimes life overcomes plans:-))
4. Delegate/outsource as much as possible to ensure all elements are completed professionally.
5. Spend most of my time managing the overall picture, handling emergencies, staying out of the way of people working with me, and adding the creative touch when required.

The worst thing to do is get mired in minutia and micromanage. Then, all you get is frustrated! So I don't go in for elaborate dayplanners, etc. However, I do use project management software to plot the critical path of each project and see how they intersect.

The above has worked for me in large organizations and as a one-man business.

Take care,

Bob

Hi, Mike.

You're right. Time management is crucial. Maybe my
article below will be of help to you.

--Marty

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Webmaster or Web Slave? Time Saving Tips for
Cyberpreneurs (C) 1998-2000, Marty Foley

"Time is money" in your online business, just as
it is in the offline business world.

The problem is, the typical Internet entrepreneur
is in a race against time: Often snowed under with
many tasks to accomplish, trying to achieve
maximum results (primarily in the form of income)
within the precious, very limited time available.

Especially if you're holding down a full-time job
while trying to launch or expand your Internet
business in your spare hours, you've got precious
little time to waste.

If care is not exercised in the way we spend our
time online, our personal and family life can
suffer, not to mention the adverse financial
consequences.

To add to that pressure, family members may resent
the amount of time spent on our venture, versus
the limited income it may initially make.

As the author of an audio program on time
management, I'm going to share with you some
proven time management tips, which have been
adapted to running a business online. I can't
promise you more than 24 hours in your day, but
I'll share practical tips to help you work
smarter and more profitably online - instead of
longer or harder.

Two primary keys to making the most of the time we
spend online are:

A) Being selective, and

B) Staying focused.

We must be SELECTIVE, because there are an
infinite number of things we can spend our online
time on, which will not yield productive results.

We must stay FOCUSED, because any of an infinite
number of things can easily distract us from
getting more important things done.

That brings us to the first step of effective
online business time management...

1) Set Goals

If you don't know what your final destination is,
how can you ever take action toward getting there?
Hence, the need to set goals.

The goals you set for your online business will
vary, based on which stage you're at and which
direction you want to go from there. It helps to
write your goals down and periodically review
them. Many feel that this better enables your
subconscious mind to help you work toward your
goals.

2) Keep and Use a Prioritized To-Do List

Keeping lists may seem simplistic, but the most
productive top-achievers are typically methodical
users of To-Do lists.

Be sure to rank each task on your To-Do lists by
priority, such as high, medium or low. As you
tackle the items on your list, always tackle the
highest priority tasks first, and those of lower
priority as time allows. Obviously, your highest
priority tasks will correspond with the
achievement of your highest priority goals.

I've found that a 3-ring binder kept near my
computer is a good place for organizing To-Do
lists, project notes, and other frequently used
online information, within easy fingertip reach.

Once your goals are set, you'll know exactly where
you're going (and what to stay focused on), and
when you use a prioritized To-Do list, you'll have
a step-by-step plan for reaching your destination.

3) Exercise Self-Discipline

The best time management system in the world is
worthless if we don't exercise self-discipline.

It's so easy to log on to the Net, just planning
to "check your email," and before you know it, get
distracted by other things and end up spending
much more time on things we hadn't planned, and
then wonder where the time went.

I know, I know: It's easier said than done, but
exercising self-discipline will help us stay
focused and avoid wasting time or getting
distracted on less important activities. If you
can stay focused on the most important tasks
(which you've identified by setting goals and
prioritizing your To-Do list), you'll see greater
results from your time and effort.

4) Automate Where Possible

I have written much more on this topic than the
limited space in this article allows, but let me
mention a few tools that aren't new to online
marketers, but whose time-saving value is often
overlooked:

*Autoresponders

Autoresponders are very useful tools for
automatically filling your prospects' requests for
information on your products and services - 24 hrs
of every day of the year. If your web host
doesn't make autoresponders available, you might
check out those offered by http://Getresponse.com.
(They also offer free ones if you don't mind their ads in your messages.)

*Email Filters

The "filters" feature of good email programs such
as Pegasus and Eudora Pro make the automation of
many email activities a snap. If you're not using
them, you don't know what you're missing.

~ To download Pegasus: http://www.pmail.com
~ To purchase Eudora Pro: http://www.Eudora.com

5) Periodically Analyze Your Business

In our quest for more value from the time we spend
in our online businesses, it helps to stand back
and periodically analyze which activities have
been working - and which haven't.

From there, we can give more attention to
expanding what's been working, and tweak,
change, or eliminate what hasn't. We can thus
progressively see more profitable results from
the time spent online.

Conclusion

If you want to get maximum benefit from the
limited time you have to accomplish things in your
online business, or any other area of life, you
must manage your time well. When you do, you'll
achieve more, and you'll look back on your work
with the satisfaction of knowing that you got the
most important things done, instead of looking
back with regret.

As Benjamin Franklin said: "Dost thou love life?
Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff
life is made of."

-----

TIME IS MONEY -- TIME IS LIFE! Increase
productivity, efficiency & personal organization.
Defeat procrastination, conquer paperwork and more
-- with the convenient audio course by Marty
Foley, "How to Get More Done with Less Time and
Effort: A Streamlined Time Management Course."
Click now to make the most of the year 2000 and
beyond! ==>
http://ProfitInfo.com/catalog/v1.htm




This application "automates the habits of highly successful websites."

Mike wrote -

> I'd like to hear from those of you who feel
> you're
> winning the battle of managing more than one
> project at a time and succeeding.

Until about a month ago or so ago, there was no way I would have put myself in this category. But just a slight paradigm shift and encountering a new tool has made all the difference in the world for me in the last 6 weeks or so.

> What are your strategies, methodologies and
> philosophies for determining how to most
> efficiently allocate your time and
> resources?

Let me give you some background first. Like many here, I work a full time job during the day. But I also write custom software for various clients when not at work. I also have other projects of my own that are product related. I typically use my commute time, (on the bus), and off hours to develop and test the software. But I was frustrated because I wasn't spending the time I wanted on *my* projects. The problem with the custom software is that it's very time consuming and there are only so many hours in the day I can devote to it. It was consuming all my time. I was even working on these software projects while my son was at an early class from 5:30 am - 6:20 am. (I provide his ride since he can't drive yet.)

Then I started working with Julie Jordan Scott, (check out her web site at www.5passions.com), and Julie made just one suggestion. She suggested that I start using that 45 minutes early in the morning to work on *my* projects. She also suggested that I use mind mapping as a way to plan the projects. Now, mind mapping is a kinda left brain/right brain kinda thing. And being the typical computer geek, I was a left brained kind of a guy. So I was skeptical to say the least. But I trusted Julie enough to try it. I did my first mind map on paper. I liked it so much and it worked so well that I now do my mind maps using mind mapping software, (the one I use is at www.mindjet.com). Then I discovered that I could use other tools that I already knew about in conjunction with mind mapping. So I brainstormed the tips for an upcoming e-booklet. I couldn't believe the difference. I accomplished more in one month on my own projects than I had in probably the last six months. Another thing I learned was that that 45 minute block can really be used to good advantage. Why? Because it's totally uninterrupted time. I can probably accomplish more in that time period what I would normally accomplish in a 2 hour block of interrupted time.

So. There are some thoughts from a new convert. *g*

Rick Smith, "The Net Guerrilla"