Enough Time

There is a project to complete. How do you know how much time it's going to take?

A project could be anything, as long as it is time-bound and delivers something at the end. According to the Association for Project Management (APM), a project is a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned objectives, which could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits. A project brings change - as opposed to BAU (business-as-usual), which ensures consistency and manages the predictable process.

Take time to scope your project

Let's say our project is: get a new bathroom put in. For business purposes, you can swap 'bathroom' for something else, like 'system' or 'office furniture', but the concepts pertaining to time-planning should be pretty universal. To start from, you should be defining the project scope, which is: what exactly you want from your new bathroom. Are you going to keep anything from the existing setup? Are there any layout changes you'd like to introduce? Is there anything missing from your current bathroom that you think would be a great addition to the new? What would you like your new bathroom to look like?

Notice how each of your choices potentially impacts the project plan. Keeping the existing floor and wall tiles will reduce the shopping list. Changing the layout may have a significant impact on what you will be able to fit in the space. And how does it sit with the style of the bathroom you are after? For instance, swapping a shower enclosure for a wet-room style shower may impact your ability to move around the bathroom, so that vanity unit you wanted next to it may be too wide or that toilet seat may stick out too far.

This may already be giving you a headache. Without this early planning, however, you won't be able to reliably set the project's deadline. So give yourself time to think. Draw your concepts. Measure. Draw alternatives. Sleep on it. Try again. Check if the things you imagined are available on the market. Get an early idea of how much the items you like may cost. Finally, when you've got a good grasp of what you want, approach contractors to find out how long the works will take and if the budget you assumed actually holds (typically a very stressful but extremely important point of early planning).

Set deadline (carefully!)

Now you know what you're doing. You've picked a contractor and you know they are going to need 3 weeks to complete the works in your house. To protect your budget, you want to supply all major products yourself (the contractor will provide building materials). Your contractor says they are fully booked for the next 3 months. Which is good! Before committing to the first available slot with them, take time to assess your capability. What holidays have you got planned for the months to follow? Is your budget comfortable or do you need extra time to save up some more/acquire a loan? How much time do you honestly have to browse bathrooms online and go to showrooms to view them? This exercise will give you a realistic horizon, so that you can commit to a deadline that will cause you as little stress as possible (I'm not going to say 'no stress at all' because all projects come with stress - it's the art of minimising it that it key). Whatever you think is a conservative estimate, add some buffer time to it, if you can afford it. 6 months should be enough but 8 is better.

Plan backwards

Having set a deadline, it's time to start planning backwards. What needs to be done before the contractor arrives to wreak chaos in your household for three weeks? The bathroom project doesn't have that many tasks to plan, other than: a. find what you want, b. order it, c. get it delivered. It is best practice to assume some wait time for stock availability, so best not to leave the browsing and purchases for month 5 in the 6-month horizon. Planning backwards in this case could be as simple as: everything needs to be delivered latest 7 days before the project starts. The prices may change in the next 5-6 months so it might be best to select your products as soon as possible. But don't assume it will be done in one evening. If you're picky, like me, it will take hours of endless browsing, only to find out that what you like is extortionately expensive and the more reasonably priced alternatives are scarce, and mostly delivered from Someplace Far Away. Allow yourself extra time for mulling it over, for not liking what you see and not settling for something that will do. When I get fed up with the scroll of doom, I forget about it for a few days and return with a pair of fresh eyes and new enthusiasm, typically to then find exactly what I need - just because I've given it enough time. 

Progress in small, comfortable increments, to avoid burnout (you don't want to hate your bathroom, do you?). When planning backwards, remember to accommodate room for hesitation and changes of heart.

Some extra tips

The bathroom project may not need a Gantt chart, but on the other hand, why not? Even the smallest of projects (and a bathroom replacement is no small endeavour!) could benefit from documentation: a plan, budget sheet, Pinterest board of ideas, list of favourite products found online. Having points of reference will save you the hassle when you need to review your assumptions - and that means, saving time. Good time management is key in successful project delivery so whatever your goal, don't wing it. Plan it. Give yourself enough time to accommodate every scenario, not only the most straightforward one. Projects do go sideways. Prevent it as best as you can and you won't regret it. Your money (budget) and wellbeing (stress) are at stake.