Comments on: How to Handle Having Lots of Projects

By: What you should know about priorities

What you should know about priorities — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:03:36 +0000

[...] at the end of January, I read a post by Ali Hale over at Aliventures, titled “How to Handle Having Lots of Projects“. Being a fan of Ali’s work, and knowing how many irons in the fire that she has, I [...]

By: Ali

Ali — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:17:40 +0000

Cheers Paul, and yeah, I definitely find that it helps with to-do lists (have been doing that this afternoon, actually, getting some of the little tasks knocked off cos I’m out of energy for the big ones!)

By: Paul Montwill - Switch Stories

Paul Montwill - Switch Stories — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:23:04 +0000

Regarding “Finish Smaller Projects First” – I also use it with my TODO lists, especially if I can’t move on. I start with the smallest and easiest taks. It really helps. Thanks for reminding.

By: Ali

Ali — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:33:39 +0000

Charlotte, I’m just the same — I like to have a lot going on, so that I can switch to working on whatever interests me at the time! I suspect I sometimes need to break stuff up more, though; it’s so easy to get stuck in that bewildering forest of projects…

By: Charlotte Rains Dixon

Charlotte Rains Dixon — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:52:13 +0000

I love having lots of projects, it keeps me fresh. However, they do sometimes get overwhelming….and that is when I step back and break things up into small chunks of activity. That way I can start to see specific steps to lead me out of the forest.
Charlotte Rains Dixon´s last blog ..The Things That Scare You

By: Ali

Ali — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:01:52 +0000

Cai, thanks! Really hope your son finds the post useful too … and hope he’s enjoying his work experience. (I have got a site that I started on a couple of years back at http://www.alphastudent.com which is student-focused advice, and Martin’s http://www.theuniversityblog.co.uk is a fantastic resource with lots on time management etc.)

Dave, great point about timers, if I’m really struggling to focus on writing I sometimes set a timer. It’s surprising how much you can get done in 15 focused minutes! Also, knowing you’ve only got a short burst of time can help with the impulse to check Twitter/emails/Facebook/etc…

By: Dave Doolin

Dave Doolin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:29:57 +0000

All good, don’t have much to add… but here’s what’s been working really well for me lately: Timers.

Time stuff.

Give yourself 1 hour to do something. Or 15 minutes.

Here’s an example. I’m working on a mongo (did I just date myself?) blog post on building custom splash pages on WordPress using Thesis theme.

It’s like pulling teeth. Painful. Tedious. The requirements for accuracy are binary: if it isn’t right, it’s wrong, black and white. Very time consuming to check the php, the css, the html, etc. Along with that, the article has to be readable!

So I’m down working on in 15 minute sprints. That’s all the focus I put to bear on it.

It’s working.

By: Cai Graham

Cai Graham — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:17:31 +0000

Thank you so much for this post.
True to form – you tend to blog just when I need a helping hand …. and this post is no exception.
I feel that this subject matter will strike a chord with my son.
He is away at present enjoying some work experience in London – and I know that taking time out of his studies is rather overwhelming for him as he has mock exams on his return.
I will forward this blog post to him – as very often – advice is heeded – if it does not come from Mum !

Thanks again

Cai x

By: Ali

Ali — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:32:36 +0000

Thanks Jen! I think I could do with an internet cut-off at the weekend: when I’m away for a couple of days and netless, it’s always refreshing!

Marcus, thank you so much! I’m really glad you’re enjoying reading here. I don’t write a great deal about blogging per se (though I plan to do a bit more in upcoming weeks), but glad you’re finding it all of interest!

Rebecca, good luck! I think prioritisation can be tough, but it’s always doable — even when it means making difficult decisions.

By: rebecca

rebecca — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:18:56 +0000

thanks, i needed to read this. i can’t wait to use your tips to help with my inability to prioritize which leads me onto the mis-productive path of procrastination.