The Simple Project Management System That Transformed My One-Person Business

Welcome to Impact Thinking.

Hi, I’m Peter. I’m a full-time solopreneur. I’ve run a one-person strategy consulting company since 2019. Before that, I worked in finance & strategy at Harvard. This newsletter distills helps you become an impact thinker. Ditch the noise, spot the signal, and think with impact.

Read time: 5 minutes

The Simple Project Management System That Transformed My One-Person Business

You cannot create simple; you can only make things simpler.

Complexity is a prerequisite.

What does this have to do with managing a project?

Everything.

Simplicity indicates understanding (you know what you are doing and can do it well).

To add some context:

• I do business strategy work with service-based businesses.

• I help companies make money and save time.

• It’s consulting, meaning each client engagement is a specific project.

I’ve run 30+ projects in the last 3 years.

My project management system did not start out simple. For the first two years, I basically started from scratch each time. As I said, complexity is a prerequisite.

By setting up a simple project management system, I’m building an inventory of projects to streamline workflow and operate future projects more effectively, efficiently, and reliably.

Here’s why I’m sharing this:

Value comes from good execution.

Good execution can’t start from scratch each time.

It’s a hundred iterations, with each version improving less and less until you’ve reached a point of diminishing returns.

And through that process, you figure out how to make it simpler.

I hope this helps you get to the point of simple, faster.

The trick is structuring it in a way your future self can understand.

I manage all my projects in Notion.

Every project (now) uses the same template.

• When a new project starts, I copy the template

• When the project ends, I clean it up and archive it

My archives are tools, not storage.

Here are the 7 sections of my project template:

Overview

This section is used at the very beginning and end.

When I need a refresher on the project details, I look here first.

It includes a few sentences on:

• project scope

• start and end date

• post project debrief comments

The scope allows me to compare an old project to a new one to see its relevance.

The start and end date gives me a timeline for how long it actually took.

And the post-project debrief comments really informed me on how to improve on the next one.

Inbox & Notes

I’m including these together because they are connected.

Think of the “Inbox” as the waiting room for the “Notes” section.

It holds half-baked notes, quick ideas, or information that needs to be reviewed more thoroughly.

My “Notes” section is all the essential details of the project that I can reference during and after.

Nothing enters “Notes “until it’s been reviewed and deemed valuable.

I used to combine everything together, but then I would waste time trying to remember what I meant instead of using it.

Task List

This is where I manage the important actions.

I previously used one long list of tasks for everything.

I found more value in focusing my attention on the project level.

Here is a small but helpful tip: Start each task with a verb because you tell the mind to take action (e.g., write, send, plan).

Each task is organized by status (and occasionally with specific due dates):

• In Progress

• Next Up

• Not Started

• Complete

When the task is complete, I hide it from view until the project is done.

Payment & Time Tracker

This is where I include the budget and payment plan.

I’ve used 4 options for payment type, depending on the project:

• Hourly

• Fixed

• Value

• Equity

I’ve experimented a lot with pricing structures. I’ll save that for a future post, but it’s essential to distinguish how I was compensated for the project.

Tracking time is critical for planning projects and setting expectations.

• In my first year, I tracked everything (too much)

• In my second year, I tracked nothing (too little)

I keep the time categories high-level but with just enough detail to isolate different functions:

1. Meetings & Chats (synchronous communication)

2. Pre-Meeting & Email (asynchronous communication)

3. Notes & Writing (documenting)

4. Analysis & Strategy (critical thinking)

Running List of ?s (Questions)

If I think of a question, I drop it here.

It’s an inventory of the unknown.

I break it into 2 sections:

• Open

• Answered

Even though some of the “Notes” may have the same questions and answers, I still store them all in one place.

When the project is complete, I add the valuable questions to a master questions inventory to repurpose them again.

Systems & Frameworks

This section carries lifetime value because the information is like mini assets producing annual dividends.

The “Systems” include items I built for the client:

• How-tos

• Templates

• Standard operating procedures

The “Frameworks” include items I’ve crafted for myself (over time) and applied to this project to solve the problem.

• Approaches

• Mental models

• Ways of thinking about the project

When systems and frameworks work well, I adapt to other projects and my business…and sometimes even write newsletters about them.