Midway through a project, what to do next?

"And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune, then the piper will lead us to reason." - Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven


It's nice to have a muse, or a piper, to show us the way forward but that doesn't always happen. Sometimes, it's up to us to decide the best path, specifically what do next. When there are a number of options which should we choose?

I was working on my own pet project the other day and had this exact problem. Of the 50 or so things I'd identified, which should I do next?

I came up with this simple method and it helped me decide what to do next.

1. Break down the project/product/service into chunks
What these chunks will look like will depend on what you're doing. Are you building a steam-train or writing a presentation?

2. Prioritise the chunks
Do you need a steam engine first or a chassis? Images for your presentation or the words?

3. Evaluate where you are now
For each chunk where are you on the No FRILs scale (below)?

4. Decide where you want to be, overall
Where are you aiming for on the No FRILs scale? Are you looking to simply provide a reliable service or do you want to blow the socks off your customers? (p.s. be honest here, it'll save you pain in the long term)

5. Evaluate overall status
Which chunk is farthest from your desired level? If there's just one there, that's what you work on. In case of a tie-breaker, go back to your priorities from part 2. Compare all the chunks at this lowest level. Whichever is highest-priority is what you work on next.


I hope this helps you as much as it helped me. Let me know if you find this useful in the comments below. And drop me a line if you can help me get another 'L' into the end of the scale!

No FRILs Scale

Nowhere - does nothing
Functional - solves a problem (your train runs sometimes)
Reliable - no bugs (it runs all the time but there's only one door for all passengers)
Ideal - no frustrations (now the train has a suitable number of doors)
Lovable - does everything expected and more besides (free chocolates for all passengers)

Head in the clouds, bum away from desk

"Making honey takes a lot of bees doing a lot of small jobs. But let me tell you about a small job. If you do it well, it makes a big difference." - Barry B. Benson, Bee Movie


It's been two months since my last blog post here. In that time I've learned a lot, and done very little. My standards became too high, the dream too big. Aiming high is a perfectly legitimate approach but it's not for me. This blog is about gentle steps to improvement and now I realise that includes having reasonable goals in the first place. (Or maybe no goals at all, but that's a question for another day).

I allowed myself to become enchanted by grand plans. Suddenly, I wasn't writing blog posts because I was planning the blog launch, then I wasn't planning the blog launch because I was trying to find the perfect domain name.

I was getting nowhere. And it was because I was following the wrong dream.

I started this blog to share my thoughts and maybe help some people along the way. When I began thinking about making this a successful blog, that's when things started to go wrong. True, if this blog were to reach more people I could potentially help more. But that's not why I was trying to be successful. I was chasing success itself.

I had succeeded in factoring out the part of the blog that I enjoyed.

It feels good to admit that. (It's taken me a while.) Now to start thinking in practical, realistic steps again. Like Barry B., I'm going to set my sights on doing a small thing, and aiming to do it well.

Here's what I have learned from looking back at my own actions from the last couple of months. Hopefully, it can save you from similar pain.

• Learning is great but has to be balanced with doing, consuming balanced by producing
• Have attainable goals. If the goal isn't attainable break it down into sub-goals (and repeat) or drop it
• Focus on the day-to-day, humble, gentle steps - don't be distracted by the glam and the glitter of 'big success'