April IWSG: A Tip for Project Management

Do you ever feel a little overwhelmed by too many commitments and not enough time? Especially when working with a committee, new projects may be presented, but no one wants to take on a leadership role. Yet interest is high in pursuing the project. What filters can we use to assess and prioritize the proposed project?

Here are 4 questions my daughter scribbled on a sticky note for me after attending a recent conference.

1. How does the proposed project serve our membership?
2. Am I personally interested in this project?
3. What are the positive and negative impacts?
4. Do I (and others) have the time, skills, energy available to support this project?

In just this last week, I've adapted these questions to plan a presentation and to facilitate a goals setting meeting -- with less stress and more focus.

For example, here are those key questions adapted for a group of writers interested in audiobooks:

1. How do audiobooks help me reach my overall writing goals?
2. How interested am I in converting one of my books to an audiobook?
3. What skills do I have, need to learn, or need to hire?
4. What are the positive and negative impacts? (visibility, reaching audience, my budget)
5. How much time can I commit to this project?

This week has been incredibly busy, but the two mornings of getting up at 5am to prep for meetings and a presentation today on audiobooks for our local author's group are over. Now I can dive back into my current writing project. Yes, I took on the A-Z Blogging Challenge for April. This means I'm one day late with the post for the Insecure Writers Support Group, but I hope these questions help you analyze and manage any unwieldy projects, reduce stress, and focus on those projects that are most meaningful to you!

May April bring you warmer weather and uncluttered time to work on your goals!

Mountain Goat, Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson (2011)