We’ve all got a million projects on our plate at a time. Realistically we’re probably juggling a dozen different things in our personal and professional lives, scribbling notes here, writing down deadlines there, making mental reminders all the time, and inevitably forgetting things and making mistakes. How do you keep everything organized?

I took an entire course and successive exam on project management for a job. A project is any endeavor that has a specific outcome and a deadline. Project management is making that outcome happen within budget and on time! I studied and walked through the five phases of project management – opening, planning, executing, monitoring, and evaluating and closing – in great detail. While most of that knowledge is not directly applicable for everything in life, I’m going to distill a few productivity hacks I’ve learned along the way as a project manager.

1. Figure out your end goal. The first thing you need to do is determine what actually needs to be accomplished. Is it redecorating your living room? Is it building a proposal? Is it developing a cash flow to help with your budget? Write out your end goal and be specific. If it’s something ongoing – like sticking to a monthly budget – that’s actually not a project, but an operational system. These tips are for a project that has a clear beginning and a clear end.

2. Get a planner. Trust me. You’re gonna need a place to write down all of the steps in your process! I prefer a paper planner to a digital one, but I think it’s mainly because I can have the satisfaction of crossing things off when I finish them! But you do you.

3. Brain dump. In your planner, write down every possible thought you have about the project. Think about what needs to happen, by when, how much it will cost, what resources you will need and who needs to be involved. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense or the ideas are out of order. The point of this step is just to get everything out of your head and onto paper.

4. Organize and prioritize. After you’ve brain dumped, then you can begin to see how the steps depend on each other. This way, you determine what needs to happen first and what steps will follow. For instance, you can’t organize your books without building your bookshelf and deciding where it needs to go in the room. I always place a big star and circle it next to action items that are most important!

5. Schedule it all out. Now you can begin to put a timeline together. There’s an old adage that says, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” so place realistic dates and expectations on each item you organized and prioritized. Work around larger chunks of time, like your work hours, any upcoming travel, or social events. Literally schedule the time you think it will take to perform each task. You’d be amazed at what you could get done even in an hour! If the project is really big, here is where you can begin firing off texts to your friends for help on THIS date and THIS time.

6. Count the Cost. Projects cost money. If you’ve been saving, or if you’ve been given a preset budget at the beginning of a project, start with that large figure. Then do some shopping to see on average what things will need to cost, but don’t buy anything yet. Place those costs next to your list items, keeping in mind the total budget you’ve been given in advance. Find ways to save – the online resale market is hot right now – and if you can’t afford everything on your list, be honest about going over budget, or determine what needs to be cut from your list, or reprioritized for a later date. I always keep a little bit of a margin in my budget for those inevitable problems and unseen costs that arise during execution.

7. Get to work. Now that you have everything written out and scheduled, go do it! Buy the things. Build the things. Write the things. Whatever it is, get stuff done! This step is so satisfying because you can cross things off of that giant list.

8. Review. How’s it going along the way? Are you making progress towards your goal you established in the beginning? Make adjustments and do another brain dump if you need to. When you’re finished with the project, look back to see what you’ve learned, and admire what you’ve accomplished.

I recently bought a condo, and I used these 8 steps throughout the entire process, from saving for my down payment, condo shopping and the inspection process, to looking for insurance, closing day and moving in. I can’t tell you the peace of mind it brought me along the way to ensure I didn’t miss a step and that the process went smoothly!

The great thing is, these tips can be utilized in any sized endeavor. Let me know how you use these productivity hacks with your next project!