Are you getting the results you want out of your projects? Are you defining those results upfront?
Ah, that’s the key, isn’t it … defining the results you want upfront. In his highly acclaimed Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
David’s view is that we should start the planning of all projects, even the simple ones, with a definition of what we consider the successful outcomes to be.
You probably know this, but are you doing it consistently and effectively? In my experience, it’s easy to overlook doing this for the simple projects. Sad, because simple projects can be just as important as complex ones.
Let’s consider a simple example: hosting a Christmas Dinner for your extended family. It’s easy to envision the steps needed to do the invitations, get the food, prepare it, do some decorations, and so on. But does putting food on the table and having some entertainment accomplish all you want to accomplish with the dinner? Probably not … there are likely some less tangible outcomes you would like to have.
One of the things that David recommends is to envision a time a couple months after the completion of the project, and ask yourself what you would like to as a “lasting result.” In our example, you might envision that the dinner helped overcome a strained relationship between a couple of family members. Then, you ask yourself, while you are still planning the dinner, how you might help bring that about.
So, as they say, there’s no rocket science here. But becoming consistent at doing this can can turn so-so projects into highly successful ones.