Start with the end

The way I work in some way involves starting with the end point.

Visualize what the end product would look like and work back all the steps involved to ship the product.

Start with the mailer I send out once the assignment is complete.

With that in the drafts, work your way backwards to fill gaps in information.

These gaps could be in the form of documentations, lists, codebases, spreadsheets – you name it.

Create placeholders for all that, start filling out the placeholders and work on it.

Inside the placeholders, create the big picture headings you’d like to see fleshed out.

You can keep adding information to your draft as you build it.

If you know what the end product is, it’s easier to template it to make the last mile easy.

If you know there are insights that need to be documented in a meeting and sent, keep the placeholders ready, the mailer in your drafts, the document templated.

Brain time that goes into decision making is precious – save it for things of value.

Starting with the end is a mindset.