Do you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed by an upcoming project and don’t even know where to begin? Planning the work of a team, let alone yourself, can be difficult. The planning portion sometimes seems like another project of its own. So what can we do to help manage and streamline this process?

Solution: Create a work plan.

While creating a work plan involves a few extra steps, the planning and organization involved actually makes more efficient use of your time and keeps you on track to the completion of the project. Without a proper work plan, it’s all too easy to lose focus along the way.

In Shelley Frost’s article How to Plan & Organize Work Activities and Maggie McCormick’s How to Create a Work Plan, they each break down the planning process into simple steps to help you stay organized and ensure you meet your deadlines. A summary of these steps is included below:

1) Record your goals and outcomes of the project.

2) Set an end date/deadline.

3) Break down larger tasks into smaller steps and prioritize them.

4) Schedule tasks into a daily and weekly plan. This involves creating a timeline.

5) Make sure you are regularly sending out updates and scheduling meetings to solicit feedback.

All of these steps can be tailored and applied both to a project for a whole team or individual. I’m going to try to implement this in my daily work routine to see how it affects and/or improves my organization and project outcomes. Has anyone else tried something similar and seen results?

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/plan-organize-work-activities-10000.html 

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/create-work-plan-4599.html