On any project, there will be bumps.
The project’s specific modality is irrelevant. Whether it’s in-person, remote, or hybrid, at some point, a colleague, team, vendor, or partner will drop the ball, forget to do something, miss a deadline, and the like. To paraphrase from The Matrix, it is an evitability.
The type of project doesn’t matter either. Whether you’re launching a new application, building a physical product, or opening a restaurant, bet on a problem or six.
Put differently, the question isn’t if, but when a task, phase, or process breaks bad. A few related queries:
- How bad is it?
- Is the issue fixable? If so, then how much time and cost will it take to course-correct?
- What other things will suffer as a result?
You get my drift.
Writing Is No Different
Make no mistake: The same axiom holds true with long-form writing projects. There will be bumps. Over the course of months or even years, someone will do one or more of the following:
- Work on the wrong file.
- Miss time due to illness or another emergency.
- Fail to properly interpret a comment.
- Realize a major mistake that calls for a rethink.
- Completely forget to do something.
Given all that could go wrong, why not minimize the chance of errors?
Given all that could go wrong, why not minimize the chance of errors?
Yeah, I’m talking about managing the project via a proper tool, not in your head or inbox. I’m partial to Notion, but Monday.com, Asana, Smartsheet, Coda, Trello, or a dozen other tools can bring order to chaos. As you embark on your next writing assignment, keep that in mind.
Happy holidays.
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