I’m really getting frustrated these days with a little something called project management and was hoping that someone out there might have some solution or suggestion(s) for me to try out.
Managing one single project would not be so bad, but in my case i am not so fortunate – I am trying to manage multiple projects at once, 4 to be specific and although i know this is not a good thing to do as my focus really should be on one thing at a time to remain effective, i cannot stray from the other projects – all are important and essential.
What i would like to be able to do is have specific project records stored separately, but have my to do lists based on priority or by due date all run from the same location, but linked to the projects location to remain organized if this makes sense to anyone?
I thought i had this problem licked when i restructured last.
My idea was to create a single mind map which linked off to each project i was working on.
This main mind map would also have a to do listing where i could easily manage my priorities from, but this to do listing would also be somehow linked back to the projects mind map so everything was kept nice and tidy inside each and every project.
I am new to mind mapping so perhaps i have missed something along the way as i am really finding it difficult and much more timely that i had imagined.
If any of you would be so kind as to share any suggestions or tips on how you manage your workload(s), i would really appreciate it. Organization for me has always proved to be a big problem for me. I have never only worked with one thing at any given time and i know i really need a good system in place otherwise i will suffer through the same struggles that left me stressing out last year.
Again, any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
In my upcoming posts i will be posting about my traffic generation plan, minor tweaks that i am currently working on with my blog as well as a complete visual overhaul that should be visible here in the very near future.
Stay tuned…
11 comments ↓
Hi Colin,
Firstly thanks for dropping by my site, have added you to my blogroll
in relation to project management, my first question is – is it absolutely essential that these 4 projects be on the boil now? for example could you just leave 3 of them for this week, so you can just focus on one, then once you’ve been able to get organised on this one project, next week add another, and so on. I think you’ll have a much better chance of being successful by trying this.
Secondly. . great to see that you have created a mind map. my question in relation to being linked – do you want this linked in terms of having a computer program that allows you to do this? or via paper?
I would recommend getting it down on paper first. I create project folders, so i can keep all notes and related material in one place, and so If I need to work on a project i can have everything there for me.
So once you have your outcomes, and the list of things you need to do for each project, then you need to break it down by month, week, day etc. This can take some time.
From the list that you have created for each project then, with weekly goals and to do lists, I would create the daily task list. If you are adamant that you need to work on all 4 projects at the same time (keep in mind if you have 8 hours that’s only 2 hours each or if you are working part-time on these projects that’s only 1 hour per project per day on top of your normal work – i would suspect you’ll run yourself into the ground trying to do this by yourself – but that’s just me
Anyways separate your diary page or notebook into the number of projects or areas – and write your task list down here. – give an estimate of how much time each task will take (Don’t worry – its only an estimate – and you’ll soon get to know how long things really take, when you review your day – This will help you manage your time as you get a better feel of how long things do take and so can estimate better in the future)
So there is your days plan. to increase efficiency , group activities between the areas / projects that are similiar eg. . phone calls and email correspondence that need to be made – can all be done at the same time.
I could write plenty more, but I think there’s enough to get started. hope that helps!
anyway, that’s my 2c
All the best!
Derrick
http://www.TheNetExperiment.com
Hi Derrick,
Don’t worry, i am trying to work my way towards visiting other sites including yours very soon – little slow here
Is it absolutely necessary to run 4 projects at once? Well, one takes priority over this coaching program actually as it is and has been a steady stream of income for almost 2 years now, so there is no way in getting around that one. This mentoring program is number one outside of any other task and i also have another one that i a participating in which deals more with continuity models, but it can be on the back burner for all i care. There is one other, but the time spent isn’t constant just yet, but i suspect in the next month i will need to setup the system, but for now yes i could get away with working mostly on 2 projects at one time.
I have tried working specifically on one thing at a time in recent times, but i seem to get hit with things that have to get done right away in other projects, so it hasn’t been easy.
I do write out my organizational structure in paper or on my whiteboard before working it into my computer. In this case, i do have project folders and subfolders inside my project folder which contain notes of all sorts, but the difficulty i have with this method is perhaps all in my head. Before i used to have my to do listings open at the same time in notepad windows and i would work from those.
Based on this response i am thinking that the Mind Map i have created with little revisions could very well be the best approach to my self created madness actually.
I will just work from one master to do list that is created ahead of time as you suggested by breaking down tasks into weekly or by day to day. This is something i have not really tried yet, but it sounds good.
Well rather than over think as i tend to do, i will start by working from a daily master to do list sorted by priority and measure the time spent as well.
I really appreciate the advice or suggestions. Thanks for that.
Colin
HI Colin,
just realised that I have got you confused with another Colin who has visited my site
. . anyways.
I forgot to ask – did you write the Blog-Fu Book? also I noticed you haven’t set gravatars up on your wordpress blog – check out my videos to learn how to get it going for you when you visit other peoples websites as well as how to set it up for your own website,
cheers,
Derrick
http://www.TheNetExperiment.com
Yes, i am the person responsible for BlogFU actually. Have you looked at it yourself?
As far as i know (though i have not concerned myself with yet due to activity here), gravatars are setup, but it might depend on the theme that i am using or the WP version i am currently using which could be why the avatars are not displaying.
I will get them setup shortly, but will wait on my theme to finish getting modified before i spend the time.
Thanks,
Colin
Hi Colin,
I am just getting round to visiting other students blogs. Your blog looks good. In regard to your situation I know how you feel. I am also frustrated mainly by the fact that I am not a technical person. The only thing I can suggest is to prioritise your projects in terms of what is vital. I find myself that this seems to help. I wish you success.
Regards,
Rod
http://www.rodwarnock.com
Hi Rod,
You know the great thing about what we have going here is that there is help for the non-tech savvy individuals. I’ve never had that before – had to learn on my own or spend a great deal of time researching OR paying for the kind of support you can get inside this community. It would be much easier if it was laid out in a community forum though as it is far to scattered and time consuming to keep up with commenting on multiple blogs at once… though i see the point over all.
Appreciate your advice,
Colin
Hi Colin
I understand why Derrick was confused as to which Colin he was talking to because I’ve been harvesting names from everywhere and when I clicked on what I believed was Colin Platt’s link I landed here. I advised him as to what happened, fixed his link at my site and added your name on my student page. Come visit to get your link activated.
I may have gotten that link from Garry Parkes place but I am not sure.
Considering you have 4 projects on the go, you seem to be doing a good job here to date. An ebook already which I grabbed. I’m looking to do the same but being new to this I’ve been a little slower having to learn and think about everything along the way, but I’m havin fun.
That’s it for now, and if you have a chance come by. I have a work sheet for tracking Alex students with a count of more than 310 now that is yours for the asking.
Cheers
The Marketing Canuck
Hi Clayton,
Thanks for stopping by! I too have been spending some time gathering student names and compiling them into an excel sheet prior to starting my quest of visiting each and every blog i can and contributing if i can. I wish there was a list publishing by Alex somewhere as it would save a lot of time
( maybe there is? ). My list stands around 230, so i am almost half way there *shivers*.
I’ve been doing this type of stuff for the last 3-4 years solid and i must say, outside of the tedious tasks (traffic generation), this is fun indeed.
In any event, i will be stopping by your blog very soon.
Cheers,
Colin
Hi Colin,
I’ts the other one!!
As advised in your ‘friends’ page, I have added you to my list so that we can be identified..I have thanked Clayton for letting me know. Appreciate if you could do likewise.
I intend to open up “BLOGFU” (my next task) and have a read. Well done.
Derrick Sui advised me on setting up my image with my posts (Gravator) i’ts quite simple really. I think it is important that you identify yourself as it becomes more personal.
I like your ‘hover’ , can you advise me on how you manageged to import that on to your site?
Will get back to you when I have read your Book.
Cheers for now
Colin
Hi Colin,
I see your submission, so i will add you soon as well. Although i have a huge listing of students and their blog address, i am not in a hurry to create a huge blogroll actually. I think that adding too many links to a site with minimal content is a bad thing actually in the eyes of the search engines so i stick with my approach and will allow visitors to submit and i will manually add.
As for gravatars, i see them in the Administrator panel just fine, so i am pretty sure it has to do with how the theme is laid out actually, but i am having my theme re-designed so i will have to put this on hold for the moment. I will set it up soon though as i fully agree with what you’ve said.
As for my hover effect. It’s all actually done with a wordpress plugin i use called FasterIM Optin (it’s mentioned in my ebook). The free version does all you will need to do, but restricts you with more creative control. But, it is as simple as uploading the plugin to your blogs ftp server, activating and setting the configuration you want inside the administrator interface.
Three step process. If you need any help, you know where to find me now.
Cheers,
Colin
Hi Collin,
Thanks for visiting my blog and that you post a comment.
Here`s my answer about your questions:
I`m trying some new stuff to get visitors to my blog, wright now I`m experiment 2 new sites. I will post my results with these programs on my blog. I just started so about 2 weeks I post my results on my blog. And the links in my resources are not mine it`s a part of the program I joined. I hope the results will be good and you can use them to.
Arian,
I wish you luck with those results – more than i have had in the past trying new things anyways
I am a little curious so i will be following what you are up to of course.
Thanks for stopping by as well.
Cheers,
Colin
Hi Colin,
Thanks for the info on the hover. Have had time to read “Blogfu”, and all seems clearer now!
Cheers
Colin
Hi Colin,
Many thanks for the comments on my blog until you mentioned it I did not know anything about permalink structure. Hope I will be able to pick up some tips when I download your book. The other problem I have is the same as all the other newbies getting traffic to the site. Are we supposed to be getting traffic to the blog or the profit pulling platform?
Best wishes
Christine
Hi Christine,
The main idea is to get traffic to your PPP by using your blog. The reason for driving traffic to your blog is that it is a better means of capturing interest and is also more ethical than sending traffic directly to a lead capturing page. In other words, by including a link in your comments that points to your PPP, it’s actually frowned upon and will not turn the results you’d like in my honest opinion. I know that whenever i click on a link and am taken to a lead capture page, i exit right away – especially if i am led to believe that i’m going to find something else.
So the model is:
Get traffic to your site, interact and ensure that you have your optin box for your PPP on either your sidebar or hover ad. Leads will come.
Cheers,
Colin
Hey Colin
Just thought I would drop by and see how things are going here brother ….
Going very well by the looks of things !!
Great content and a great following ..What could be better than that
Keep in touch
Dean
Hi Dean,
Thanks for the comment.
What could be better? For starters, content added more regularly and the ability to focus much more time generating traffic – which so far i am failing miserably with. My time has been destroyed since my latest shift change at work. Which once was an abundance of time free to work on things has now become a struggle just to get some time free to work on things.
Oh how do you do it? as i know you work a lot yourself! – Extra Caffeine?
Colin
Hello Colin,
Just thought I’d pop over to your blog…I just joined the fortunate 500, saw you there and noticed you are in Ontario…small world.
I also wanted to comment on your headline…that is totally where I am now…I seem to have too much on the go…I’ve really got to get my head straight. There is so much new stuff to learn and implement. Well, I’d better get back at it.
Talk to you soon, cheers…
Heather:)
Hi Heather,
Small world indeed!
If it’s one thing i have learned throughout the years with regards to tasks – it never gets any easier and in fact it always continues to grow, so you really need to just learn to accept and deal with it because it won’t change until you are able to find help with your tasks. I can tell you straight up from my perspective that it’s a pain.
For a few weeks there i was doing well with updating and adding to my blog here, but one side project took me away from all of this and i haven’t had the time to update in quite some time now – it’s a shame actually! Frustrating as well
I hope you are fairing better!
Colin
I have to many projects and i would rather focus on golf and play. cheers luke
luke bryan’s latest blog post… Last call to E-verge to Global Verge
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