If you've got multiple projects going at the same time it's easy to fall into a pattern of jumping back and forth between projects, and not feeling like you're getting anything done on any of them. Or, you could have the opposite problem, and spend too long focusing on one, and miss deadlines on the others. Here's a way to solve these problems.
This is what you’ll need:
- a pack of sticky notes (multiple colors are more fun)
- a pen
- something to stick them to (the fridge, a white board)
Understanding Your Workload
- Make a sticky with the name of each project that’s on your plate.
- For each project make a set of stickies calling out the tasks required to complete the project. Either add the project name at the top of the stickie or color code them by project. If you need more detail, make a list on paper of the tasks required first, then put a short summary on each stickie note. Note any dependencies, e.g., I can’t send in my images for the contest before choosing the paintings I want to enter, and re-labeling the image files according to the contest instructions.
- Arrange your stickies on your board with the project titles at the top and the tasks in order underneath. Take a photo of the board. Print it out and pin it over your desk or somewhere where you’ll see it in your studio.
Now that you understand your workload, you can prioritize it. But first a few questions.
- How long do you want to work before re-prioritizing? For most artists this is about a week.
- In the next week, how many work days will you have? Be sure to subtract any days when you are away for whatever reason, and half days where you have to do other things. Add up and note down the number of hours you have available for these tasks over the next week.
Prioritizing
Take all the stickies off the board and gather up the task stickies. Make a pile of the task stickies that you’d like to get done in the next week, set the others aside.
Take a sticky from the pile, any one will do, and put it in the middle of the board.
Grab another sticky and compare it to the one on the board. Which one is more important to do this week? Put the new sticky on the board either above (if it’s more important), or below (if it’s less important) than the original sticky.
Take another sticky from the pile. Compare it to the two on the board. Which one is more important to do this week? Put the new sticky on the board either above the other two (if it’s more important), or in between the other two (if it’s in between in importance), or below the first sticky (if it’s less important).
Now you’re getting the idea. Do this over and over until all the tasks you’d like to do in the next week are lined up, one over the other.
Estimating
Go to the top of the list and do your best to estimate the number of hours it will take to accomplish. Write that on the board next to the stickie. (Or add a stickie with the hours on it next to the task stickie if you’re using the fridge.)
Do that for each sticky until you are about half way down the list.
Add up the hours so far. How are you doing versus hours available? You probably had more tasks on your list than you can reasonably do in a week, at least that’s what I usually have!
Keep going until all the available hours are used up. Take a photo of your board. It will be a long thin vertical line of stickies.
Now you’re ready to start working on your tasks for the week. Most people are not very good at estimating the first time they do this, so don’t be discouraged if you get less done than the board says you can do. It will help you do your estimates next week, if you keep track of how long each task really took. This doesn’t have to be with stop watch accuracy, just write down how long you think it took when you finish each task so you can compare with your estimate. Then next week make better estimates.
So why do we need to do this every week? Because priorities change. You want to be able to fold in new opportunities (you might sell a painting and have to pack it up and ship it, a commission could come your way, you might get accepted into a new gallery and have to pack up work). Because our estimates aren’t great. If you reprioritize regularly you can overcome that problem. And you need to be able to deal with things that happen in the rest of your life.
Of course, this will work for any kind of project, it's not art specific. I learned it managing software projects.
Reference: Johanna Rothman, "Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects"
Go to the top of the list and do your best to estimate the number of hours it will take to accomplish. Write that on the board next to the stickie. (Or add a stickie with the hours on it next to the task stickie if you’re using the fridge.)
Do that for each sticky until you are about half way down the list.
Add up the hours so far. How are you doing versus hours available? You probably had more tasks on your list than you can reasonably do in a week, at least that’s what I usually have!
Keep going until all the available hours are used up. Take a photo of your board. It will be a long thin vertical line of stickies.
Now you’re ready to start working on your tasks for the week. Most people are not very good at estimating the first time they do this, so don’t be discouraged if you get less done than the board says you can do. It will help you do your estimates next week, if you keep track of how long each task really took. This doesn’t have to be with stop watch accuracy, just write down how long you think it took when you finish each task so you can compare with your estimate. Then next week make better estimates.
So why do we need to do this every week? Because priorities change. You want to be able to fold in new opportunities (you might sell a painting and have to pack it up and ship it, a commission could come your way, you might get accepted into a new gallery and have to pack up work). Because our estimates aren’t great. If you reprioritize regularly you can overcome that problem. And you need to be able to deal with things that happen in the rest of your life.
Of course, this will work for any kind of project, it's not art specific. I learned it managing software projects.
Reference: Johanna Rothman, "Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects"