You are out to lunch with your co-workers to plan out the new Thornton project. This is a very important task and the representatives from the Thornton company have related the importance of the short timeline for the assignment. You relate to your co-workers that the first draft is due by the end of next week.
You can tell they are anxious, but you tell them not to worry and pull a small stack of cards from your pocket. As you pass around the cards, the waiter brings your lunch. As you start to enjoy the wonderful salad, you realize you also need to get business done. You grab a business card sized project list card and a pen.
As you start to brainstorm the project, you write down the major items on your project list one by one on the cards. You then lay the cards out on the table in front of you. This is where it gets fun. You and your co-workers arrange the cards in order of completion, make notes, and write down who will be doing what.
You bring out a second stack of cards. This stack includes a …
- Resource List
- Department list
- Document List
- Crew List
- Cost estimate
- Three different timeline cards
As you continue to brainstorm, you make notes on the appropriate cards. Pretty soon you have a good list going. The little cards are great memory joggers and they are easy to pass around the table. You have your HR person fill out the department and crew lists, while your business services person makes a note of all the required documents and fill out the resources that will be needed.
As lunch is winding down you grab a 5 day timeline card and put one word in each box. You ask Sally to grab some highlighters out of her purse and you mark the important days with different colors. The colors help you organize the project by milestones that will need to be met.
Soon the waiter brings you the check, but in your short lunch period you were able to get a lot done. You have each one of your co-workers grab a to-do card and make a quick note of their tasks for the next week. This will give them an easy to use take away so they wont forget what they need to do.
You gather up the project and resource cards and clip them together with a mini clip. It won’t take you long when you get back to your desk, to transfer the information and get the project started. With the cards at hand the e-mails start flying and the appropriate people are able to get started on their individual projects.
The cards you used were part of a free download and the three 8.5 x 11 sheets easily printed out on Avery Blank Business Cards on your laser printer. A few minutes breaking them apart and you had a project planning kit that was small enough to fit in your pocket.
Here is how you can create a set for yourself…
- Download the Instant Project Planner for MS Word
- Open the template(s) and modify the text as necessary
- Print out on Avery business card stock (10 Card)
- Break cards apart
- Use the project list cards to outline your project tasks
- Arrange as necessary on your desk to set the proper order
- Use the resource project cards to fill in all the necessary resources that will be needed for the project
- Use the appropriate timeline card to set priorities
- Fill in the to-do cards for task management
- For portability stack cards in order and clip together with mini clip
- Transport easily in pocket or purse
Make your next project more enjoyable, download a set today.
Other Project Planning Tools you may enjoy…
Five Minute Flowchart
Five Minute Organizer
Five Minute Motivators
