Creating a Project Timeline
INTRODUCTION: One of the most important real-world skills you will learn is project planning, and a major part of that is creating a timeline. Your goal is to create a challenging but realistic guide to doing your project. PREPARATION: --Read over your project proposal. Keep thinking about your main goal and when it needs to be completed. --Keep your Planner updated with all of your other deadlines so you can be ready to plug in your project timeline dates. --Look at models of other projects like this done in your school. ACTION: --Create a task list (see the timeline planning form). Start by brainstorming the main tasks, then break each main task into smaller ones. For example, if your project is to create a mural for the wall of a pet shop, one task might be to do research on murals, another would be to buy supplies. Under each task, there are smaller tasks such as creating a budget, calling paint stores for the best prices, finding transportation to the store, etc. --Meet with your advisor and your mentor to review your task list. Have you listed all of the main tasks needed for the project? What other tasks are needed? --Put your tasks in order. How should the steps be prioritized? Are there any that should naturally occur before another? Which will be the hardest for you to do? --PLAN BACKWARDS! This is the most important step in project planning. Plan from the due date of your project backwards. If your completed booklet is due on week 8, then what needs to be completed by week 7? If that is due week 7, what needs to be completed by week 6, and so on. This step can be hard at first, but it will help you think about how long different tasks will take. --Be realistic about your timeline. Give yourself enough time to do each task. The, look at your school schedule and talk with your advisor and mentor—are there any other obligations you have to plan around (state testing, college trips, busy season at the LTSP site, holidays)? --Schedule a meeting with your advisor and mentor to go over the timeline. Does the project timeline seem realistic? Are there any additional issues that need to be addressed? --Put the dates in your Planner. Your project timeline should be integrated into your weekly work. REFLECTION: --Write a journal entry about this process. Did writing the timeline help you to understand the project better? What did it require for you to do? How well did you set goals for yourself (were they realistic but also challenging)? What will you do differently the next time you plan out a project? RESOURCES: --There are many other ways to develop timelines of work. You can use a computer program (such as Microsoft Project), you can take the task list and due dates and create your own visual on Excel, or you can create an outline in Microsoft Word. --You can also color code your work. In your Planner, write in different colors or highlight specific tasks with a highlighting pen. --Books like The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People and The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Teens may be helpful in learning to set goals and determine tasks.