FV and FVP Forum > FV for Students
Welcome, Brad.
Mark's other forum is more of a discussion than an archive. We are generally happy to repeat ourselves and often find that the discussion goes in new directions the second time around as different people join in.
There isn't really a "one size fits all" answer to projects. As I understand it, what you are doing makes good sense.
You might want to add a general task for each class to review progress and make sure that you are not falling behind or missing anything. And possibly a more general one to check that you are looking at all your classes (and other commitments!).
Mark's other forum is more of a discussion than an archive. We are generally happy to repeat ourselves and often find that the discussion goes in new directions the second time around as different people join in.
There isn't really a "one size fits all" answer to projects. As I understand it, what you are doing makes good sense.
You might want to add a general task for each class to review progress and make sure that you are not falling behind or missing anything. And possibly a more general one to check that you are looking at all your classes (and other commitments!).
March 15, 2012 at 9:07 |
will
will
Hi Brad,
So you want to be the annoying relaxed person who has time to sleep and eat during the last week? You've made a good start.
Think in terms of earliest start-date for each task, not deadline. See the second post here:
http://www.markforster.net/fv-forum/post/1755866
I like Gantt and PERT and Critical Path for planning, even though they've fallen out of fashion. Be detailed. One article said a 2 week scrum sprint should start with 8 hours of planning -- half to thoroughly define the desired outcome, half to spell out all the steps. Any step that takes more than 4 hours isn't sufficiently thought-out and may hide something nasty.
Have fun thinking of things that will throw you off track. Flooded library, building rekeyed so you can't get in until Monday, internet down, computer breaks (hint -- offsite backups!), new data appears which takes time to incorporate -- you have time since your other stuff is already done.
The idea is to feel the urgency early so things get done early.
Review and update your plan every week (and mini-review between). Anything that you can _start_ before the next review goes on the FV list, even if you can't start it immediately. Better on the list a bit early than forgotten. This also primes your brain. Every day you remind yourself "On Tuesday I need to start B -- but I need finish A first."
Add "can start" and "finish by" date to each line in your FV list. This reminds you how urgent the task is. If it's part of a chain, maybe add the chain length. "Chp 1 of 40". "Finish by ..." is from your plan, not the official deadline. This will also keep you focused on the tasks with less flexibility.
Don't be surprised if the end of term comes as a let-down. My 13yo son is finally spreading his work out properly, and as the deadline approaches and I don't see him panicking, I'm convinced he's forgotten all about it, or is procrastinating the way he used to.
In school, your profs know how much work is required for each assignment. On average, the make reasonable demands. In the real world, your boss, and certainly your customers, don't. Projects often grow unexpectedly. Good planning helps prevent the bad unexpected.
So you want to be the annoying relaxed person who has time to sleep and eat during the last week? You've made a good start.
Think in terms of earliest start-date for each task, not deadline. See the second post here:
http://www.markforster.net/fv-forum/post/1755866
I like Gantt and PERT and Critical Path for planning, even though they've fallen out of fashion. Be detailed. One article said a 2 week scrum sprint should start with 8 hours of planning -- half to thoroughly define the desired outcome, half to spell out all the steps. Any step that takes more than 4 hours isn't sufficiently thought-out and may hide something nasty.
Have fun thinking of things that will throw you off track. Flooded library, building rekeyed so you can't get in until Monday, internet down, computer breaks (hint -- offsite backups!), new data appears which takes time to incorporate -- you have time since your other stuff is already done.
The idea is to feel the urgency early so things get done early.
Review and update your plan every week (and mini-review between). Anything that you can _start_ before the next review goes on the FV list, even if you can't start it immediately. Better on the list a bit early than forgotten. This also primes your brain. Every day you remind yourself "On Tuesday I need to start B -- but I need finish A first."
Add "can start" and "finish by" date to each line in your FV list. This reminds you how urgent the task is. If it's part of a chain, maybe add the chain length. "Chp 1 of 40". "Finish by ..." is from your plan, not the official deadline. This will also keep you focused on the tasks with less flexibility.
Don't be surprised if the end of term comes as a let-down. My 13yo son is finally spreading his work out properly, and as the deadline approaches and I don't see him panicking, I'm convinced he's forgotten all about it, or is procrastinating the way he used to.
In school, your profs know how much work is required for each assignment. On average, the make reasonable demands. In the real world, your boss, and certainly your customers, don't. Projects often grow unexpectedly. Good planning helps prevent the bad unexpected.
March 15, 2012 at 14:28 |
Cricket
Cricket
Wow, I doubt I'd ever do all the planning Cricket advises. I do occasionally think through stuff like deadlines and such, but usually it suffices to write things on the list. If there's a project (listen to recorded lectures) just the next tasks need be entered and the rest kept on a project planning page. That should suffice.
And don't forget to put fun stuff on your list. It's a diversion that makes the rest easier to get through.
And don't forget to put fun stuff on your list. It's a diversion that makes the rest easier to get through.
March 15, 2012 at 17:58 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
I struggle with multiple projects all the time, and use different methods with different projects. It may take some trial and error to find the best way to chunk and group your tasks. There isn't any one right way.
I often refer back to this article by Mark:
http://www.markforster.net/blog/2011/2/22/whats-next-progress-report-2.html
I often refer back to this article by Mark:
http://www.markforster.net/blog/2011/2/22/whats-next-progress-report-2.html
March 15, 2012 at 18:03 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Thanks for the help and links everyone! I really appreciate your feedback.
@Cricket: Great advice! I'm not sure I'm up for getting that detailed, but I know it would be time well spent if I did. I will have to look up "Gantt and PERT and Critical Path." I've never heard of those.
@Cricket: Great advice! I'm not sure I'm up for getting that detailed, but I know it would be time well spent if I did. I will have to look up "Gantt and PERT and Critical Path." I've never heard of those.
March 15, 2012 at 19:48 |
Brad
Brad
I've only done a formal Gantt chart twice, to prove to a boss that he was asking the impossible, but the concepts apply all the time.
When cooking, the pasta is the first critical path. Get the water boiling before doing anything else. The sauce-pan is a critical resource. Browning the meat and sauteing the veggies each take only 10 minutes, but can't be done at the same time. The veggies are another critical path -cutting and sauteing. Brown the meat while chopping. The table can be set any time the critical paths are under control.
My husband's company charges for quotes. They used to get caught with ill-defined specs. The next stage was hours on a quote that the customer didn't go forward with. Now the programmer estimates the cost of making a proper quote, including pulling a detailed spec out of the customer. If the customer goes ahead with the project, the total cost is the same. The only change is the detailed planning and spec-review was paid for early. It's drastically reduced the time spent on quotes that the customer wasn't serious about in the first place. Quotes on quotes are free: That project will take 5 hours to quote.
When cooking, the pasta is the first critical path. Get the water boiling before doing anything else. The sauce-pan is a critical resource. Browning the meat and sauteing the veggies each take only 10 minutes, but can't be done at the same time. The veggies are another critical path -cutting and sauteing. Brown the meat while chopping. The table can be set any time the critical paths are under control.
My husband's company charges for quotes. They used to get caught with ill-defined specs. The next stage was hours on a quote that the customer didn't go forward with. Now the programmer estimates the cost of making a proper quote, including pulling a detailed spec out of the customer. If the customer goes ahead with the project, the total cost is the same. The only change is the detailed planning and spec-review was paid for early. It's drastically reduced the time spent on quotes that the customer wasn't serious about in the first place. Quotes on quotes are free: That project will take 5 hours to quote.
March 16, 2012 at 13:02 |
Cricket
Cricket
I do have a question that may have been answered through AF/SF forums. It is related to the management of projects, but I'm still not sure how to handle it. I'm a grad student taking 4 classes right now. Many of my assignments are weekly papers. But some classes make all the assignments due at the end of the semester.
What assignments do I add to the main FV list and what ones do I add to a separate project list?
For example, one class has: a 15pg paper, 40 audio lectures to listen to and take notes, 5 books to read and write a 5-10pg report on each, 4 additional short books that I need to make a 3pg outline of each, along with a final.
If I were to include each task for every class in the FV list I would quickly find myself with an overwhelming number of tasks and I would, at some point, have 40 cycles where a lecture was at the top of the list.
Here's what I've currently done:
1) Create a project list for each class
2) All assignments that are synchronous (i.e., 40 lectures, weekly quizzes) are added to the project list with separate tasks to "listen to lecture" and "prep for quiz" added to the main FV list
3) All assignments that are asynchronous (I.e., 15pg paper) are only added to the master FV list
I placed book reports in the class project list with the current book added to the main list. Technically, I could add every book to the main list, but I'd rather not read all 5 books simultaneously.
I would welcome anyone's feedback. Or maybe someone could point me in the direction of a previous forum topic/article that addresses this issue.