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How to Organize a Project

Good Morning Friends!!!

I must attribute this blog idea to my husband. I posted a question of Facebook: If you wish one thing in your life was organized, what would it be? His answer: My construction project! For those of you who don’t know, there is a massive backstory to this “project.” After we got married, my husband insisted that he wanted to build our first house. I am not naturally an adventure-seeker, so I was not 100% on board with this idea at first. I knew it would be a logistical nightmare, and my ability to help would be severely limited. But he persisted, and I gave in. (He’s just too cute!) This process has a been a 10-month insane learning curve- not just learning how to physically do the tasks, but how to trust my husband through things I have never dealt with before.

All that established, I decided to write a blog on how to organize for a large and overwhelming project- or just a normal project...not everybody builds a house!

1. The first thing you need to determine is the due date. Human beings seem to work better under pressure, for some reason. So, if you don’t have a natural due date, create one. In our case, this is our closing date. For you, it may be Friday or the end of the month, or whatever. Just find a due date and set it on your calendar.

2. Make a list of EVERYTHING that you need to accomplish to finish the project. EVERYTHING!!!
If it’s writing a book, set how many pages you want it to be and create a preliminary outline. If it’s building a house, write down tile and grout and walls and ceiling and electrical and this list could go on and on and on.

3. Set a timeframe for each item. Be generous. My husband has a terrible habit of underestimating how long something will take him. The tile in the shower was supposed to take 2 days. Instead it took 8. Oy! It is better to overestimate than underestimate. In many projects, the timeline isn’t about how long something takes as much as how long you choose to invest in it every day. In those cases, just know how much you can get done in that time period and establish how many of those time periods you need to complete the project.

4. Know your materials and order them. We have wasted so much time over the last 10 months going to Home Depot 20,000 times a week (okay maybe not 20,000 but it felt that way). We could have saved so much time just ordering large amounts of materials all at once.

5. Write it down!!! You can think about it all day, but the most well-laid plans are simply daydreams until they’re on paper. (Or digital).

6. Stick to it. This is the hardest part because it requires self-discipline and perseverance. Unfortunately, I cannot provide any tips for building your character up. Set reminders to do the task. Do it at the same time every day. Make it a habit. Other than that, this part is up to you.


Until next week!

Mrs. Ashley Seguin

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