My planning process comprises three phases: 1. Scoping 2. Road Mapping 3. Task Management The Scope describes the vision, clarifies what's in bounds and out of bounds, and defines high level objectives. A Road Map lists outcomes and the dates by which outcomes should be observable. These should meet the criteria for SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound). Tasks are actionable units of work that contribute to an outcome. Tasks may be organized around "Initiatives". > **Objectives, Outputs, Outcomes** > An outcome must be observable whereas an objective can be less specific. For example, an objective may state "transition to the new data management system". This can be broken down into a set of outcomes, such as "securely back up all existing data" and "90% of staff attend trainings on the new system". Within a Road Map, these outcomes should be assigned due dates. Tasks result in outputs. Recognizing which phase I'm in, and when to switch between phases, is critical to avoiding the overwhelm of accumulating more tasks than can be accomplished. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, it's time to move to a higher phase in the planning process. While the promise of project management software like ClickUp is appealing, the reality is I rarely use even basic features like a Gantt chart. When I do, I often quickly abandon the tool as the project changes and maintaining the tool requires more work than its worth. The truth is that any task I plan that is not completed within a few weeks is either not worth doing, not actionable enough, or ## How might we? - Allow flexibility to achieve an outcome rather than capture all of the tasks we think we need to do right now to achieve that outcome? - Capture brainstormy tasks when doing road mapping without cluttering the to dos? - Make sure tasks get done by the due TIMES not just the due dates?