Project Time Management

DEALING WITH COMPLEX TASKS
The following suggestions are specifically aimed at dealing with the complex aspect of high-ambiguity tasks and projects:

Use the five-minute brainstorm. Take five minutes to break the overall project down into as many smaller, double activities as possible.
Work on high pay off activities. The Pareto Principle states that 80 percent of the results can be achieved in 20 percent of the time expended.
Block out an adequate length of time. This time might range from 30 minutes to an hour without interruptions.
Work when you are at your best. This is what time management expert Alan Lakein refers to as internal prime time.
Start each session with something easy. Since getting started each day is sometimes the most difficult thing of all, do anything to get going rather than nothing at all.
Redefine the project. It is important to realize that a less ambitious project actually completed is infinitely better than a more grandiose one that never gets off the drawing board.

MAKING PROGRESS ON LONG-TERM TASKS
The following suggestions are offered to help you deal with tasks and projects that require a long-term effort:

Specify tasks in advance. By knowing exactly what aspect of a long-term project you will be working on next, it will be easier to get started on it.
Establish a regular time for working on long term projects. The advantage of having the same time period each day, or maybe three times per week, is that it helps to develop a habit.
Switch to other aspects of the overall task. Continuing to work on the same aspect of a long-term task for an extended time might bring about one of several possible adverse situations.
Avoid the activity trap. This idea states that people get so enmeshed in activity they lose sight of the purpose of their work.
Limit the number of major projects. It is important to realize that the more routine aspects of most jobs take up the majority of time available each week.

Record your ongoing progress each week. Some visible method should be used to monitor your day-to-day and week-to-week progress on a long-term project.