Why Projects Should Have an End Date

End date for Reunion Project

When I ask potential clients, “What do you want to accomplish by working with a professional organizer?”, I often hear replies like, “I want my house decluttered.” Or “I want to be comfortable having people over.”

They have a vision of sorts and motivation but the project at this point is open-ended.

When a client shares that they need to have their house on the market by September or that they want to have a less stressful space to study when they begin graduate school in January, I know that we are much more likely to get this project accomplished.

When there is a vision, and motivation, and an end date it is much easier to put a solid plan in place.

I like to start with the end result and work backward to make sure we can accomplish the project.

Let me give a personal example of what this looks like.

I am having a family reunion at my house on the first weekend in June.

I began working on my vision of what this would look like in January.

I called my siblings and stated my intention. First, we settled on a date that would work for everyone. That is my end date for this project.

I got great feedback on what we might do to make this reunion memorable. One sister wants to make sure that we share pictures and remembrances about our family history. Another suggested some outdoor games that could be played by all ages.

I brainstormed all that I felt I needed to do. I made a list and then put “do” dates by everything on the list. I knew what I wanted accomplished by the end of January, February, March, etc. I made several spreadsheets.

As of now, I am right on schedule and feeling excited about the project.

Another advantage of working out your project with a timeline is that you can adjust your expectations so that they are realistic and more likely to be accomplished. Your “perfect” vision may become a “certainly good enough” vision. Enough will get done so that you can meet your goal.

If you need some help jumpstarting a project or some guidance with organizing your time or space, reach out and we can schedule a consultation.

Phone: 404-299-5111 – call and leave a message or text

jonda@timespaceorg.com 

Jonda S. Beattie, Professional Organizer owner of Time Space Organization, and co-owner of Release, Repurpose, Reorganize. She is based in the Metro-Atlanta area. As presenter, award-winning author, as well as a retired special education teacher she uses her listening skills, problem solving skills, knowledge of different learning techniques, ADHD specialty, and paper management skills to help clients.