Projects

Projects are outcomes that you are working toward that require a dedicated effort within a certain time frame.

Projects must have two things

1. A clear goal that you want to achieve and
2. A deadline or even just a rough timeline you want to complete the project

Step #1 - Brainstorming to prepare the list

Writing down that everything we are working on right now, without struggling to determine if the item is a project or not. We will be refining the list later.

We can prepare the list of projects from the below ways

• From Top of the mind
• From Emails
• From Calendars
• From To-do Apps if any

Step #2 - Follow the 10-15 Rule

We want to end up with no more than about 15 projects on your list and no fewer than about 10. if we have more than 15 projects we’re unlikely to make significant visible progress on them in any given week and the risk is that if we don’t make visible progress we’ll stop believing you can and you’ll abandon our projects.

On the contrary, having fewer than about 10 projects in play holds a different risk. No matter how motivated we are to complete any particular project we will eventually find ourself stuck or stalled out on any given one at any given time whether it’s a creative block, fatigue or something entirely out of our control sometimes a project is simply unable to move forward and since there’s no way for anyone to avoid that entirely we always want another project that we can seamlessly switch to whenever we get stalled out.

This keeps your project list living and breathing you’re never stuck always in motion so try to keep the number at around 10 minimum.

The key takeaways are

1. Keep within 10-15 projects at a time.
2. Make significant and visible progress.
3. Never get stuck on a project, if we do we should have a healthy list so we are not stuck.

Step #3 Identify false projects

In the list we may have some items here that aren’t really projects, the most common items that sneak onto a project list are dreams, hobbies and areas.

• Dreams are like projects but they don’t have a specific deadline or timeline.
• Hobbies are projects without any particular outcome or goal in mind.
• Areas are in general to describe ongoing responsibilities that do not really end.

The key takeaways are Remove false projects that are

1. Dreams - Projects with no deadline
2. Hobbies - Projects with no specific goals
3. Areas of Responsibilities - That are ongoing and do not end
4. Mega projects - A collection of sub projects

What if we have more than 15 projects?

Move the least urgent ones to a future projects note

Summary

The P of the PARA organizing framework. The process begins with making a simple list of every active project and clearly defining them to gain focus, clarity, and momentum in digital note-taking and creative work.

Projects must have a clear goal and a deadline or timeline to achieve them, and the list should follow the 10 to 15 rule to avoid overcommitment or lack of progress. The list should also exclude dreams, hobbies, and open-ended areas of responsibility.

Q & A

Question: What is the 10-to-15 rule? Answer: The 10-to-15 rule is a guideline to limit the number of projects on your list to no more than 15 and no less than 10.

Question: What are false projects? Answer: False projects are items that sneak onto a project list but are not really projects. Examples include dreams, hobbies or ongoing areas of responsibility that do not require a dedicated effort within a certain time frame.

Question: Why is it important to have multiple projects on your list? Answer: Having multiple projects on your list is important so that when you get stuck or stalled out on one project, you can seamlessly switch to another. This keeps your project list living and breathing, and prevents you from getting stuck and abandoning your projects.

Project completion checklist

1. Mark the Project as complete in your task management app
2. Review Projects against your short and long-term goals
3. Review your Intermediate Packets and move them as needed
4. Move your Project folders to Archives
5. Add a “Current Status” note to inactive Projects