Table of Contents
Part 1 Clearing the Decks for Your Best Work
Chapter 1 "Someday" Can Be Today 3
Why it's time to focus on projects rather than ideas
The link between your best work and thriving
How living in a project world gives us freedom at the cost of uncertainty"
What to do if your interests are all over the place
Why projects are bridges and mirrors
What separates the change makers from the sideliners
Chapter 2 Getting to Your Best Work 19
What's really in the middle of the air sandwich between your big picture and day-to-day reality
Marc and Angel Chernoff: What Else Could This Mean?
The 5 keys to unlocking your best work
The difference between positive and negative boundaries
How we confuse courage and clarity
Discipline creates freedom
James Clear: The Difference Between Professionals and Amateurs
Getting clear about your competing priorities helps you make better plans and commitments
Ishita Gupta: Build Your Courage Muscle
Chapter 3 Pick an Idea That Matters to You 41
Why thrashing is a sign that something matters to you
How not doing your best work leads to creative constipation
We're built to slay dragons
The 3 gifts of failure
Chelsea Dinsmore: What to Do When Life Changes Your Plans
How not being able to do everything at once is a gift once you accept it
Why you have to let go of some ideas to trade up to the best ones
Susan Piver: Should You Break Up with Your Idea?
5 questions to help you sort through what matters most
Part 2 Planning Your Project
Chapter 4 Convert Your Idea into a Project 67
How to convert an idea into a SMART goal
The 3 levels of success and why you can't do everything at the epic level
No date, no finish
The 4 kinds of people to put in your success pack
Pamela Slim: The Principles of Enrolling a Guide
The 5 steps to activate your success pack
Chapter 5 Make Space for Your Project 93
You don't find time and space for your best work-you make time and space for it
What playing with building blocks taught as about bending time
How to use the project pyramid to break down your big projects into smaller ones
34 common project verbs that make planning easier
Using the Five Projects Rule to prioritize and plan your work
The 4 kinds of blocks that power your best work and life
3 focus blocks per week avoids a thrash crash
Chapter 6 Build Your Project Road Map 121
The difference between a flat list and a road map
Using your GATES to fuel your project
Jonathan Fields: Your GATES Point to a Deeper Spark
5 categories to consider for every project budget
Jacquette M. Timmons: Your Money Needs You to Give It Direction
Deadlines guide your project; capacity drives your project
The 7 steps to building your project road map
Chapter 7 Keep Flying by Accounting for Drag Points 147
Why every plan has drag points
The 3 kinds of no-win scenarios we often don't realize we're telling ourselves
Jeff Goins: The Myth of the Starving Artist
Why we choose mediocrity and what it really costs us
Seth Godin: Only the Tall Poppy Gets Full Sunlight
Don't be down with OPP (other people's priorities)
9 ways to handle derailers and naysayers
Jeffrey Davis: Let Wonder Intervene with Derailers
6 questions to ask during your project premortem
Part 3 Working the Plan
Chapter 8 Weave Your Project into Your Schedule 173
How momentum planning keeps you going
The 7 environmental factors to make work for you
Joshua Becker: How a Minimalist Workspace Enhances Focus
Why batching and stacking makes you more efficient
The relationship between frogs and your dread-to-work ratio
When you're working can be more critical than what you're working on
Mike Vardy: You Don't Have to Be an Early Riser to Be Productive
Rethinking "first things first"
The 5/10/15 Split makes daily momentum planning a breeze
Why planning too far in advance can be much worse than a waste of time
Chapter 9 Build Daily Momentum 201
3 ways to celebrate small wins-and why it's important to do so
Srinivas Rao: Don't Break the Chain
6 routines that will help minimize decision fatigue
What Hansel and Gretel taught us about project management
10 ways to mitigate distractions and interruptions
Cascades, logjams, and tarpits-3 ways projects get stuck and how to handle them
How to get your projects through the creative red zone
Chapter 10 Finish Strong 229
The underappreciated reasons why we should run victory laps
Transition time and space between projects help us avoid burnout
Todd Kashdan: Curating and Trimming Relationships
The value of CAT time
How after-action reviews make your next projects easier
5 doors you may have unlocked by completing your project
Acknowledgments 247
Further Reading 249
About the Author 255