For me, the first week of September represents the beginning of school and an intense period of work. This year, that includes webinars, conference workshops and client engagements in Canada, US and UK.
I have decided to use a builder’s approach to doing so much with so little time:
- Start with a macro view of all projects – take a big picture view across all projects to identify similarities and differences
- Aggregate common activities – it is more effective and efficient to complete like tasks
- Draw out the work – blueprints aren’t Word text documents, they are pictures
- Reuse blueprints – reuse component parts if they meet the specifications of the job
- Test your work with a peer – quick draft reviews take less time and are more productive than long solo design sessions
- Compartmentalize delivery – the second presentation is irrelevant to the first audience so meet the first deadline first
- Capture learnings, then move on – document what worked and didn’t and then move on to the next deadline – the clock is ticking

I am at the blueprinting phase of my work and already feel a sense of momentum. My projects are informing each other, and the thinking is consistent among them. Each one is customized but with a common foundation. It feels like the builder analogy is working.