When we first take on a project, it feels like we’re given a huge block of stone – from which, we’re expected to sculpt a finely-detailed statue. Even worse, we must sculpt it within a certain amount of time, with set resources. Where do we start? What do we do first? At the very beginning, a new project can feel quite overwhelmed. It’s even easier to feel overwhelmed by big projects. There are just so many steps, phases and tasks to get right. Just as a 1,000 mile journey begins with a single step, or how the pyramids are built with one block of stone at a time, projects can be broken down into easy, bite-sized steps – all it takes is a change in our approach and strategy!
Are you feeling overwhelmed by big projects? Below, we’ll discuss our 6 strategies for approaching them. In each strategy, we’ll discuss a metaphorical example of each strategy, plus some specific techniques and examples. Let’s get started!
Our Articles Related To Project Management Strategy
If you’re interested in reading further about project management scheduling and strategy, check out our related articles below!
- What Are The Basics Of Project Scheduling? 9 Essential CPM Steps
- What Is The Agile Project Management Process? 4 Simple Techniques
- Common Issues Project Managers Face & How To Solve Them | TOP 10 LIST
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Our 6 Strategies To Use When Feeling Overwhelmed By Big Projects
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by big projects, check out these 6 strategies for approaching them!
- View Projects From Big-To-Small
- Break Down Project Into Individual Steps
- Separate The Project Into Categories
- Identify The Largest, Most Important Aspects
- Establish Milestones & A Timeline
- Create A Flowchart & Sequence Plan
Scroll below for additional information & examples!
1. View Projects From Big-To-Small
Mural paintings often cover an entire wall of a room, or maybe even the entire side of a building. When we’re standing one foot away from the wall, we see random colors and lines. When we move back 10, 25, 50 or 100 feet, we can see more and more of the painting. We see the entirety of the scene the artist is trying to convey.
Approaching big projects is the same way. We must see the entire big picture of a project first, then get into the details.
For this example, let’s imagine the mural is 100ft wide by 30ft tall. The painting is of a small town, viewed from the hills nearby. There are farms, houses and a downtown with mountains in the background on a partly-sunny day:
- 100ft Away: The entire town is visible, along with the mountains in the background and the sky above.
- 50ft Away: We can begin to focus in on the specific areas a bit more. Much like we can see the entire picture from 100ft away, we can see the subcategories as a whole from 50ft away. We can see the town’s features, like the farms, the houses and the downtown. We can see the details of the clouds in the sky.
- 25ft Away: The details become more apparent. We see fields of a few different types on the farms. Houses are colored in several hues with a few different architectural styles.
- 10ft Away: We can see there’s a tractor on the farm, cars on the streets and a couple of small cabins up in the mountains. Some trees are pine, others with fall foliage. There’s a clocktower at city hall and a small plane flying below the clouds.
- 3ft Away: We can see individual brush stokes in the fields. Houses have shutters, cars have tiny drivers and the downtown features several storefronts. All of the tiny details are visible from this distance.
To paint this picture, the artist must know what they’re trying to do from the furthest distance first, then slowly get closer to figure out the details.
Sticking with the wall mural example, here are a few thoughts to consider for approaching big projects, according to how far you’re standing away from ‘the wall’.
- 100ft Away: What is the overall goal? What end results should this project accomplish? What’s the main purpose of doing this project?
- 50ft Away: What categories is this project made up of? What are the major steps involved? What are the top 10 most important parts?
- 25ft Away: Within these few major categories, what stands out? Does any specific task require urgency or priority?
- 10ft Away: What needs to be done soon? What do the next couple of days or weeks look like? Who or what needs to be involved now vs. what can wait?
- 3ft Away: What needs to happen today? Right now? What are we doing moment-to-moment?
By approaching a project from a big-to-small perspective, we come to understand all of the moving parts within the project.
2. Break Down Project Into Individual Steps
On a 500 question multiple choice test, it’s easy to feel powerless against the gigantic task that lies ahead. In reality, we’re simply trying to answer one question at a time. Each individual question is quite manageable, but looking at the entire exam is overwhelming.
We get overwhelmed by big projects for the same reason we get overwhelmed by a long exam. We must take projects one step at a time.
Let’s say the project is organizing a fund raiser. When putting together a large event, quite a bit must be coordinated. Locations, dates, guests, donations, speakers, food and the like are all portions of the overall event. If you’re in charge of this project, it’s easy to get overwhelmed!
Not when we break it down to individual steps, though! This massive event is essentially:
- Picking a date – day of the week that makes sense at a time people can make it.
- Finding a venue – booking it, signing a lease, deposit, reviewing location for logistics etc.
- Hiring guest speakers – availability, booking, hiring, coordinating
- Choosing vendors – logistics, deposits, hiring, time constraints, etc.
- Food – choosing a restaurant, working out logistics, picking a menu
- Guests – sending out invitations, setting up method for them to RSVP, arranging seating, etc.
- Fundraising – choosing a charity, arranging legal/financial logistics, informing guests how to donate, etc.
By breaking down a big project into manageable pieces, each individual step is actionable and simple – not overwhelming.
3. Separate The Project Into Categories
A musical orchestra contains as many as 100 musicians, all playing one song or composition together in harmony. How do they all play along together? How does the conductor coordinate all of the individual players? Orchestras actually contain four sections – woodwind, string, percussion & brass. Within these four sections are various instruments. The string section has violins, violas and cellos, while the brass section has trumpets, trombones and tubas.
The composer and conductor must visualize and understand the roles and responsibilities of each individual player in the orchestra, as well as the role of each category. Managing a project is no different – we must separate the project into categories.
In the construction industry that I come from, it’s common to separate a construction project into the following categories, both in terms of budgeting and in terms of organization:
- Labor – the workers who will physically do the work.
- Equipment – large machinery, power tools, scaffolding.
- Materials – raw material such as concrete, steel reinforcement, lumber, sheet rock, wiring, pipes, etc.
- Supplies – safety equipment, barricades, fencing, plastic sheeting, tarps, etc.
- Subcontractors – speciality contractors hired to perform a specific piece of the project.
- Consultants/Services – engineers, surveyors, security, garbage removal, etc.
The project simply cannot come together without coordinating these various aspects of the work. All of the categories within the project must work in harmony. That said, each category has its’ own needs and feel to them – they must be addressed individually in order to work in harmony together.
4. Identify The Largest, Most Important Aspects Of The Project
A multi-course meal consists of many things. Drinks, bread and salad are served first. Other appetizers come next. Things are finished off with coffee and a slice of cake, but the main course is what everyone really cares about. Whether it be steak, fish, chicken or their vegetarian counterparts, the main course is the most important part of the meal. The main course costs more to cook, takes longer to make and customers pay the most for.
Salads, bread and coffee are quick and easy. Appetizers and desserts are a bit more involved, but still second priority. The main course is top priority. Just like a multi-course meal has an order of importance, so does a big project.
As project managers – especially early on in our careers – EVERYTHING can seem important. It’s ok if you feel that way now, because learning how to prioritize is often a skill that is developed on the job. But it is quite important to learn!
Here are a few ways to determine what the largest, most important aspects of the project are:
- What part of the project has the highest dollar value?
- Which part of the project will take the most time and resources?
- Which part(s) of the project are most important to the client, owner, customers or whoever is initiating the project?
- Which items will hold up the entire project if they’re not done correctly?
By singling out the largest, most important aspects of a project, you will understand where a large portion of focus and attention must be placed. These are the items that have the largest impact – good or bad – on schedule, cost, quality and overall success.
5. Establish Milestones & A Timeline
Cross country road trips involve hundreds, if not thousands of miles of driving in order to visit several destinations. Driving from New York City to Los Angeles, for example, is 2,790 miles. This is estimated to take around 41 hours of driving to complete. By itself, that drive is overwhelming for even the most seasoned driver.
The way to approach a road trip like that is the same approach we must take when overwhelmed by big projects – establish milestones and a timeline.
Instead, we can break that trip down into several destination milestones. Let’s say the group decides to approach the trip using these steps in a typical day:
- 8am – 12pm: Drive (4 hours)
- 12pm – 4pm: Spend Time At A Destination
- 4pm – 8pm: Drive (4 hours)
- 8pm – 8am: Hotel/Sleep/Do Whatever
By following this schedule, the group will reach L.A. in only five days. Each individual drive isn’t too much to handle and there’s specific locations to reach by certain times during every drive.
Here’s how the road trip from NYC to LA is broken down over these five days:
- Monday –
- 08:00am – Leave NYC
- 01:00pm – Stop In Punxsutawney, PA
- 08:00pm – Stay Over In Cleveland, OH
- Tuesday –
- 08:00am – Leave Cleveland, OH
- 02:00pm – Stop In Chicago, IL
- 08:00pm – Stay Over In Cedar Rapids, IA
- Wednesday –
- 08:00am – Leave Cedar Rapids, IA
- 12:00pm – Stop In Omaha, NE
- 08:00pm – Stay Over In North Platte, NE
- Thursday –
- 08:00am – Depart North Platte, NE
- 01:00pm – Stop In Denver, CO
- 08:00pm – Stay Over In Moab, UT
- Friday –
- 08:00am – Leave Moab, UT
- No Unnecessary Stops At This Point!
- 08:00pm – Arrive In Los Angeles, CA
In this cross country road trip example, we’ve set certain destinations we must reach, just as projects require that we reach certain milestones on the way to completion.
The process of reaching each milestone is like a mini project within the project. Getting to these destinations requires us to follow a map, take certain roads, drive through specific conditions and weather and so on. We must plan for these things as well as execute the proper steps.
When overwhelmed by big projects, it is of utmost importance that we establish milestones to reach as the project progresses, along with a timeline for reaching each one.
6. Create A Flowchart & Sequence Plan
Building a house requires that we follow a specific series of steps – for safety, quality and simple common sense! For example, the roof clearly can’t come before a foundation and walls. We won’t be tiling the bathroom floor before we have exterior walls. Some tasks simply must happen before others. It’s important to not only know all of the tasks that need to be accomplished within the big project, but also the order in which they must happen.
When overwhelmed by big projects, it’s essential that we figure out the sequence in which the project tasks will be completed.
In our recent article titled “What Are The Basics Of Project Scheduling? 9 Essential CPM Steps“, we explored the importance of establishing a flowchart and sequence plan when scheduling a project. In fact, we specifically used the home-building process as our main example.
Below is a sample flowchart from the above article on the process of building a house:
Much like the strategies outlined in earlier examples, this flowchart illustrates how all of the tasks are connected. The chart also illustrates the sequence in which all tasks will need to happen.
Note the green items – they note the tasks that fall on the project’s Critical Path. In the project sequence, these are items that must be finished before the others can begin. If Critical Path items are delayed, the project itself will be delayed. These require extra attention, as they have the biggest impact on the project’s end result.
Drafting a flowchart and sequence plan like the above is helpful on any project, or even to understand a portion of a project such as reaching a milestone.
In Summary
While it’s easy to become overwhelmed by big projects, all that’s required is a simple change in mentality. Using the 6 strategies and techniques outlined in this article, those big projects will seem like a breeze. I hope this article has been informative and helpful for you!
