How to Gauge Your Progress When Working on a Project

How to Gauge Your Progress When Working on a Project

Do you want to track your progress when working on a project?

Are you 100% determined to make headway on a project?

You prepare all your materials, focus your mind, and sit down to do your work.

You complete several tasks over the next couple of days.

You’re absolutely elated! But something’s bothering you…

You’ve been putting in the hours, but you keep asking yourself the same old question: “How far along am I in my work?”

In this post, you’ll find guidance on how to gauge your progress when working on a project.

While making progress in your work is commendable, it’s a good idea to take a look at your past to see where you’ve been.

As we all know, it can be difficult to move forward when you’re unsure of your present location!

The following tips will help you figure out exactly where you are in your work.

Describe your progress in broad strokes.

Do you whittle down your projects to the teeny, tiniest tasks, or actions? If so, you’ll benefit from taking a giant step back from things.

You’ll want to try your hand at describing your progress in broad strokes.

Try viewing your project over the course of a relatively large chunk of time, such as months or years, rather than days or weeks.

Ideally, you want to be able to stand back from your work so you can answer this question: “Where am I in the grand scheme of things?”

For starters, you can ask yourself whether you are at the beginning, middle, or end of your project.

Where do you think your project currently falls in this timeline? Are you just getting started, coasting along somewhere in the middle, or in the process of wrapping things up?

Take stock of where you’ve been…and where you’re going.

Still unsure how far along you are in your project? Reviewing where you’ve been can help determine your progress.

The following methods can help you figure out whether you are nearing the finish line, making it to the halfway point, or are still starting out at the gate:

Method #1. Record the work you’ve completed thus far. Take stock of the meetings you’ve held, the information you’ve learned, the revisions you’ve made, and the work you’ve produced. Making a brief list will help you see things as they are.

Method #2. Consider your schedule over the past few weeks. What has your schedule been like over the last few weeks or months? Has your calendar been booked solid or was it relatively empty? Conversely, is your schedule extremely busy right now or is it relatively quiet?

Method #3. Look at the types of tasks in your daily work. Which type of tasks do you find yourself working on more often than not? Are you knee-deep into project research or are you just starting to find your way through reference materials?

Hold a mental and physical check-in with yourself.

You know that rush you get when you start working on a brand-new project? Everything seems gloriously promising.

The project is new and sparkling, and there are so many different opportunities and possibilities available to you.

You’re extremely eager to begin your work.

Now, compare that feeling to the feeling you get when you’ve been working on a project for some time.

You may feel tired, lethargic, and unmotivated. You might even feel overly comfortable with your work.

If you want to know how far along you are in your project, then you’ll want to hold a brief check-in with yourself. How do you feel about your project right now?

Do you feel energized, comfortable, exhausted…or something else entirely? Your response will give you some much-needed guidance. 

How about you? How do you gauge where you are in a project at any given point in time? Do you turn to the calendar or do you take a more inward approach? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

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About the Author

Rashelle

Rashelle Isip is a New York City-based productivity consultant who helps successful entrepreneurs and business owners manage their time and energy so they can reduce stress, work less, and make more money in their businesses. She has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Atlantic. Get her free guide, 5 Unexpected Things You Need to Organize a Work Notebook, by clicking here.

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