PARA Part 5: The Project List Mindsweep

Welcome to the Project List Mindsweep, a step-by-step exercise to help you properly identify every project in your work and life.

Your Project List is a list of the outcomes or goals you are currently committed to, all in one place. It serves as a dashboard of your current workload, helping you grasp the current progress of your projects with just a glance.

Most people couldn’t give you a full inventory of their projects if their life depended on it. Yet they also tell you that they have too much on their plate. Creating an accurate Project List gives you the confidence to say yes OR no to new commitments. Once you know how much capacity you actually have, the decision of what to fill it with can be intentional and strategic, instead of reactive.

There is often a resistance to writing down all our projects, because we fear that seeing them all in one place will be overwhelming. But non-judgmentally collecting the full inventory is the first step to gaining control. You committed to these projects – we’re just creating a tool to support you in managing them.