Day 6: Create a Backwards Calendar

Today you will begin to plan just one of your long-term, complex, task-driven projects (like teaching a class, or committee work), breaking all the work into small pieces and then adding it to your priority grid. This process is often called a backward calendar because you start with the end date, if it's a fixed date, and work backwards to plan when each part needs to be completed.

This will definitely require some extra effort, so just start with one project or committee. The good news is, you can re-use these plans for similar projects in the future. Save them in your Map Book if you want. 

Choose one project or committee or event to plan.

• Brainstorm a list of all the supplies, information, and people you need to gather to complete the project or to do the work of your committee. List any skills you need to learn (including people skills, practical skills, technological skills...) and all of the steps you need to take. This is just a brainstorm with no particular order.

• Group all the tasks into chunks. It might also be helpful to estimate how long each chunk will take. For example, a chunk might read "Write agenda, send zoom invite, call P&D -1 hour".

• Organize chunks into the order they need to happen to complete the project on time. (If you have a firm deadline, start from that date and work backwards).

• Plug your chunks of action into the weeks of this month on your priorities grid.

Weeks	Health	Heart	Service
1	Exercise, eat more veggies;  Make eye appt.	Baby care; Adventure downtown	Kid’s pumpkin Day; Earth care group meeting; Write newsletter; CRbB: Agenda, zoom invite, meeting to plan rides
2	Exercise, eat more veggies;	Baby care;  Write thank you	Bike group ride;  Children's comm. meeting (plans for Fall-Winter); Pre-ride for Nov.
3	Exercise, eat more veggies	Baby care;  Family potluck	Support meeting; CRbB: Agenda, zoom invite, update web calendar, meetingtp plan events
4	Exercise, eat more veggies	Baby care;  Halloween adventures	CRbB: Craftivism ideas and plans

• When you have all of your priority goals plugged into your grid, sit back and ask: Does this look reasonable and realistic? If not, begin to discern adjustments. Can you move some goals to a later date? or delegate them to someone else? ("There is no way I will finish this driveway project in the time I thought I would... unless I defer some of these other tasks, or ask for help...").

I use backwards calendars all the time, to plan blog posts, for example, and all the photos and samples I will need. 

Please post a comment below about how you might use this skill.