Organizing Projects and Getting More Projects Done

I have a ravenous hunger to build and tinker with stuff. However, there are a few things that slow me down from being able to crush projects:

  1. Lack of usable energy in the evenings - I work hard during the day, and prioritize spending time with my family.
  2. Setup time for projects before being able to be productive.
  3. Not having big blocks of time to make massive progress.

To mitigate the above limitations, I’ve had to develop strategies that work for me to allow me to get more projects done. Here are some them that might be helpful for you to incorporate into your project workflow.

All the Notes and Journal Together

In Obsidian, I have a note for every project in whatever shape it’s in. I don’t record the state really, but I give myself freedom to just make LOTS of project notes:

  • Idea: Maybe it’s an idea and I just paste in a couple of links.
  • Planning: I want to build it and I record some research and organize some TODOs.
  • In Progress: I started it
  • Done: I keep it around for notes as I might use it as a jumping off point.

If I work on the project, I’ll add a journal entry in the note with what I did. Making it really easy to context switch and know where I felt off.

Have Next Steps Available

If I have some usable time when I feel inspired, I needed to have a list of things that I could accomplish in a short amount of time.

I keep a list of TODOs as markdown checkboxes like so:

- [ ] Research how to get XYZ working
- [ ] Make a list of parts to order
- [ ] Order stuff
- [ ] Research firmware

Then I add a tag to the project: #personal_project/active.

Finally, I have a catch-all note called All Active Hobby Project TODOs that basically just lists all the incomplete TODOs from those projects:

task from #personal_project/active
WHERE !completed
GROUP BY file.name

Which generates a list like so:

Tools and Workspace Available

For electronics or 3d printing projects, having all my tools have a home and be within arms reach reduces the time spent hunting for tools and more time making progress.

Things that have made all the difference:

  • Building a workbench to give me a dedicated space I can work from.
  • Lots of Gridfinity organizers to put everything within arms reach.
  • “Project Boxes” that contain all the components that I can pull off the shelf, work on and put back within a few seconds.

Reducing Pressure on Myself and Enjoying the Ride

Over the years I’ve learned to enjoy the ride and not be hard on myself if I don’t make the progress that I want. Putting the right priorities in place like: Family, work, and serving others really helps to maintain perspective.

If a project takes years to do, so be it. There is lots to life other that projects :D

I write this stuff to meet and engage with interesting folks like you! If you have a comment or question, please email me: jevin@quickjack.ca.