Moving Mountains

Moving Mountains – Planning Projects

When I was working, I used to specialize in doing projects that most people would consider impossible. Some of my favorites were:

Finding accessible, affordable housing for hundreds of low-income, physically disabled San Franciscans every year for seven years
Overseeing completion of construction for a new building for homeless families while hiring staff and creating systems to operate the program under intense pressure to open the program immediately
Conducting simultaneous rent-ups of two different types of low-income housing under extremely tight deadlines, while cleaning up years of poorly managed tenant records and contracts and improving recordkeeping and services
Arranging four glitch-free office moves within two months with a budget of only $10,000 for the entire project – normally one would spend at least a year planning even one such move and would spend immensely more money

I’m telling you all this not to brag but to share the secrets of how one can achieve the seemingly impossible with little time or money. The principles involved can be applied to any kind of project, large or small, whether it is clearing out your house, moving, starting a business, or writing a book.

So, what are the secrets that make tasks that seem enormous projects do-able and fun rather than unbearable? It all boils down to a few basics:

Staying calm – Getting upset over the magnitude of the task is a sure way to fail. This means that you need reliable methods for becoming and staying calm and refusing to be dismayed in the face of the inevitable setbacks and even mistakes that will be encountered during any major project. Meditation, prayer, relaxation practice, exercise, reframing, and keeping things in perspective are all proven techniques that support staying calm.

Breaking the project into small pieces – All major projects are just a succession of lots of little bits, really just the scope of what can be done each day. Identify the major steps (objectives) of each project, then the components of each step, then finally the little tasks that can be done each day to move the project forward.

Planning backwards – Begin by describing where you want to end up, then identify all the major and minor steps required to get there, along with whatever timelines might be required for each step so that they will mesh together.

Being organized – Once all the little pieces are identified, you need a system for keeping track of them and all related documents, making sure that nothing is overlooked or out-of-sequence. Spreadsheets, wall charts, binders, and project files are all useful tools for organizing projects, and there are many more possibilities

Being determined – All major projects require sacrifice (any non-essential activities), lots of time and persistence.

These are the ingredients that make projects possible. All project planning and accomplishments are really just elaborations on these keys. There are some other factors that are situation-dependent, such as communication and clarity if your project involves other people. Feedback from or participation of others may be helpful for many projects.

Comments or questions on the above material are not just welcome, but helpful. Requests or suggestions for other topics to be covered are also greatly valued.

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