How do you plan your projects out?

[stevek]

I sometimes need to take stock of the stages required to complete a project I'm working on. Writing stuff out can help me to get my head straight and make a plan. Unfortunately it doesn't usually turn out how I would like. I tend to end up with horrible scraps of half formed lists or flowcharts. I normally end up annoyed and giving up because I can't go back and edit reorder stages or I run out of space or I can't add the detail I want in bla bla bla...



I'm sure there is a computer based way to do it but I haven't found anything that suits.

Full blown project management stuff is just too over kill. I have no desire to pin stuff to a timeline and they seem very linear too. 

I have looked at some mind mapping programs like XMind and MindMaple but they are not really the right thing either.

A program that can generate multi path block charts like this (below) might be good, especially if you could link a note pad section to each block for more detail as you clicked one but I don't know of a program that does.



So have you got a clever way to plan stuff out or is it pen and paper all the way?

-Steve-

[VW]

I pick up the tools and get on with it.

Only lists I make are for parts I need.

What are you trying to achieve?

Times to short to waste on planning how your going to do it, that time is better spent getting it done.

[Dez]

Apr 25, 2016 21:15:50 GMT VW said:

I pick up the tools and get on with it.

Only lists I make are for parts I need.

What are you trying to achieve?

Times to short to waste on planning how your going to do it, that time is better spent getting it done.

Pretty much.

Your brain is the most powerful tool you will ever use, you just need to learn how to use it properly.

[oli123]

I just completed a major refurb of my bike, was a mess. Planning working on it was really depressing, so I just forgot about the list and started doing jobs one by one, now finished looking great, as said, just crack on.

[goldnrust]

I find notepad/wordpad/generic low rent word processor, the best tool for planning my projects out. For me it's very much the same experience as doing it with a bit of paper, but much more editable! Throw in a bit of colour coding if you want and it can be surprisingly effective. Make a folder with a number of little text files in, each for a different purpose, and its much easier to keep track of than a stack of paper work.

For example, I currently have a list of parts I need to buy for my motorbike project, it's easy to add things to the list when I think of them, and unlike paper because I can easily insert new lines I can keep the list organised by category (suspension parts or engine parts etc). Then I colour it black text for things I need to buy, orange text with a link/info next to it for things I've planned to buy but haven't done yet, and green for things that I've bought. It's really really easy to see whats going on, and where I'm at in the project. I also tend to keep a 'To Do List' for each of my vehicles in a similar fashion, just adding new things as I think of them, and deleting things once they're done. Again because its digital and I can reorder my list with a little cut and paste, its easy to keep the list prioritised too.

It's very very basic, and probably a bit OCD, but it seems to work for me. I do like to have a plan, but the plan is always evolving. If I don't have a plan then the work seems never ending, but with plan then there's purpose to any job that seems tedious and frustrating, as it's inching me closer to being able to tick that item off the list and move forward. I guess different people find motivation in different ways.

[stevek]

Yeah that works up to a point. But sometimes the process of working out the stages is important to know what needs doing. I guess its a way of focusing on the next task in hand rather than being swamped by the scale of things.

There are two senarios that have brought this to my mind:

1) Toby's MGA project, He's got three engines with various issues, all the fuel system out, the floor boards, gearbox and tunnel out. He's got so many bits on the go at once it would swamp my mind.

2) My roof skin project, OK I'm a good way into it now but there are still lots of stages to go through. I got home today and didn't get on with anything, OK it was partly the weather but I couldn't decide what to do next.


Also a bit of though and planning can be done at 10.30pm so its not wasting time I could be getting on with it really.

-Steve-

[VW]

Whatever works for you

I always see it as...
Car needs taking apart.
Fix/replace/refinish.
Put car back together again.

don't really see what id need to organise.
Id already fully restored the van bit by bit in my mind 100 times before id even started.

At the moment I have my day job, 2 motorcycles to finish, 2 motorcycles in bits, a camper being rebuilt and my house renovation all going on at once.

If I'm not physicaly working, I'm eating dinner, in the bath or asleep.

[nomad]

^ see Dez above - saved me typing it

I got large chalkboard (menu board) from a local place that was having a clearout, I find it handy to list things as they come to mind. The aim is to wipe items off the list quicker than you think of new ones to add on !

Or use something simple like a spreadsheet, no need to get complicated just put each task in a seperate box and move them up or down the list as priorities change

[alolympic]

Wall space/white board.
Index cards for noting each job.
Stick the cards on the board with blu tac.
Whiteboard pen to make notes and draw arrows.
Start work

[vonthrash]

Bits of paper. Lots and lots of bits of paper that i seem to have to carry everywhere with me, and after 4 years on the same project, clutching on to these weathered home made wiring diagrams and compression ratio sums like they're a treasure maps, my panic increasing as the first show deadline looms ever closer, I'm nearly at the stage of running round in my shoes and dressing gown, with an overstuffed briefcase spilling these precious documents out, as I run down the road in my pants like Edward Norton at the end of Fight Club . . . .

[sal]

I tend to just get on with doing what's needed to get the car working how I want it. A white board and marker mounted to the wall is handy for noting parts to order, running down a list of jobs for an mot, or noting wiring order, compression figures etc.

Don't overthink things. It's better to get your hands on and just get through the jobs.

[westycapri]

I use Google sheets (Google's version of excel) as I can access on my phone really easily as I have a Gmail account. It's also in the cloud so can do some thinking at work or other places using a laptop

I'll use it to write a list of tasks that need to happen and I can add and mark complete as needed.

It's then pretty easy to turn the list into a high level project plan by sticking in dates or hours along the top of columns then either filling in with an "x" or adding colour to the cells. I do this at work (I'm a project manager) when doing high level plans before it goes into Project.

[pistonpopper]

For me I get my new project, spend a while driving it about while I formulate a plan in my mind of what I want to do. Or if it's undriveable spend a little while just looking at it (normally while asking myself why I bought the damn thing in the first place!) Then grab my tools and crack on. I make lists of things that need to be bought for it, but that's about it. I also start each little job on it, and finish each job before starting my the next little job, otherwise I end up with lots of things to do where everything is only half done. Lastly, don't set deadlines, it will only frustrate you when you can't/don't meet them due to outside circumstances, life etc.

[mad]

Bit of cardboard and a sharpie.

Make a list of everything that needs doing and then cross them off as they get done. That way you can pick and choose depending on how much time you've got.

If i'm doing a bigger project i might only make the list up to a certain point like,end of dry build or before paint. That way keeps the lists manageable.

[nalesutol]

A bit of both. I do a lot of research and have both digital and paper spreadsheets and notes. Also a large wipe board for reminders of things still to do, eg tighten rear hub nuts! If you make a note it is there as a reminder.

If you don't make at least a rough todo list, especially on a complicated build, there is a good chance that you end up undoing or redoing things. I have that particular T-shirt.

[rodbuilder]

Have a clear plan of what you want to achieve before you step into the garage, set a realistic target for that session.

Step by step it will move forward.

If possible collect all the parts you need before starting the build, you are then not held up.

Works for me and I do about 1 ground up hot rod build per year.

[Deleted]

I bought a whiteboard to write "to do" lists on in the garage about a year ago. So far, i think its been used once, when my friend drew a penis on it.

[Needmoretime]

[Needmoretime]

 

Please remove

[TurboDieselWeasel]

I don't. Maybe I should