Project Orchestration

Manage many projects without losing your mind.

Core Philosophy

The Reality of Creative Work

Projects exist in various states simultaneously
Energy and attention fluctuate
Context-switching has real costs
Not everything can move forward at once
Done is better than perfect

Orchestration vs Management

Traditional PM	Personal Orchestration
Timelines and deadlines	Energy and momentum
Resource allocation	Attention allocation
Status reporting	Progress awareness
Team coordination	Self-coordination
External accountability	Internal systems

Project States

The State Model

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  ACTIVE                          │
│  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐         │
│  │ Primary │  │Secondary│  │ Support │         │
│  │ (1-2)   │  │ (2-3)   │  │ (many)  │         │
│  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ▲                           │
         │                           ▼
┌─────────────┐               ┌─────────────┐
│   WAITING   │               │   DORMANT   │
│ (blocked)   │               │ (paused)    │
└─────────────┘               └─────────────┘
         ▲                           │
         │                           ▼
         │                    ┌─────────────┐
         └────────────────────│  ARCHIVED   │
                              │ (complete)  │
                              └─────────────┘

State Definitions

State	Definition	Attention
Primary	Active daily work	Deep focus
Secondary	Regular progress	Scheduled time
Support	Maintenance mode	As needed
Waiting	Blocked on external	Check-in only
Dormant	Intentionally paused	Monthly review
Archived	Complete or abandoned	None

Capacity Guidelines

Primary: 1-2 projects max
Secondary: 2-3 projects
Support: No limit (but be honest)
Total active attention: 5-7 projects

Weekly Rhythm

Weekly Review (30-60 min)

1. CLEAR (15 min)
   - Process inbox
   - Update project statuses
   - Log completions

2. REFLECT (15 min)
   - What moved forward?
   - What's stuck?
   - What drained vs energized?

3. DECIDE (15 min)
   - Primary focus for next week
   - Must-do items
   - Might-do if energy allows

4. PREPARE (15 min)
   - Next actions are clear
   - Blocks identified
   - Environment ready

Daily Check-in (5 min)

Morning:
- What's the ONE thing today?
- What state am I in? (energy/focus)
- What might derail me?

Evening:
- Did the thing happen?
- What surprised me?
- Tomorrow's one thing?

Project Tracking

Minimum Viable Tracking

For each project, know:

## [Project Name]

**State**: [Primary/Secondary/Support/Waiting/Dormant]
**One-liner**: What is this?
**Next Action**: The very next physical action
**Waiting For**: (if blocked) What/who/when
**Last Touched**: [Date]

Project Dashboard

Project	State	Next Action	Blocked?	Last Touched
[Name]	Primary	[Action]	No	Today
[Name]	Secondary	[Action]	Yes: [reason]	3 days ago
[Name]	Dormant	-	-	2 weeks ago

Progress Indicators

Simple traffic light:

Status	Meaning
🟢	Moving, on track
🟡	Slow, needs attention
🔴	Stuck, needs intervention
⚪	Intentionally paused

Energy Management

Energy States

State	Suitable Work
High Focus	Complex creative work, writing, coding
Medium Focus	Editing, planning, correspondence
Low Focus	Admin, organizing, routine tasks
Recovery	Rest, input, inspiration

Matching Work to Energy

Don't fight your energy. Match work to state.

High Energy → Primary project deep work
Medium Energy → Secondary project progress
Low Energy → Support tasks, admin
No Energy → Rest or quit for the day

Energy Recovery

Physical: Movement, sleep, nutrition
Mental: Different modality (visual vs verbal)
Creative: Input (reading, watching, listening)
Social: Connection or solitude (know yourself)

Stuck Points

Common Blocks

Block	Signal	Intervention
Unclear next action	Avoiding project	Define smallest step
Fear of failure	Procrastination	Lower stakes, draft mode
Perfectionism	Endless revision	Ship deadline
Overwhelm	Paralysis	Reduce scope
Boredom	No progress	Find the interesting part
External dependency	Waiting	Follow up or route around

Unsticking Protocol

1. Name the block (what specifically is stuck?)
2. Identify the feeling (fear? confusion? boredom?)
3. Find the smallest action (2-minute version)
4. Do that action now
5. Reassess

When to Pause vs Push

Pause when:

Consistent dread over multiple days
Other projects urgently need attention
External factors make progress impossible
You've lost the thread entirely

Push when:

Resistance is fear-based
You're close to a milestone
The project has external commitments
Pausing would create more problems

Multi-Project Coordination

Context Switching Protocol

Ending a work session:
1. Write down exactly where you are
2. Note the next action
3. Leave breadcrumbs (comments, notes)
4. Mental "close" ritual

Starting a work session:
1. Read your previous notes
2. Review recent work (5 min)
3. Start with smallest action
4. Build momentum before diving deep

Interleaving Strategies

Time blocking: Dedicate days/half-days to projects

Mon: Project A (Primary)
Tue: Project A (Primary)
Wed: Project B (Secondary)
Thu: Project A (Primary)
Fri: Admin + Secondary projects

Energy blocking: Match projects to energy patterns

Morning (high focus): Primary project
Afternoon (medium): Secondary projects
Evening (low): Support tasks

Theme days: Group similar work

Mon: Deep creative work
Tue: Communication + meetings
Wed: Deep creative work
Thu: Learning + input
Fri: Admin + planning

Project Lifecycle

Starting a Project

1. Capture the spark (what excites you?)
2. Define done (what does completion look like?)
3. Identify first milestone (what's the first "win"?)
4. List knowns and unknowns
5. Determine initial state (Primary? Secondary?)
6. Set review date

Maintaining a Project

Regular questions:
- Is this still worth doing?
- Is the scope still right?
- Am I the right person?
- Is the timing still right?

Ending a Project

Completion:

Define "done enough"
Ship/publish/deliver
Capture lessons learned
Archive materials
Celebrate

Abandonment (equally valid):

Acknowledge the decision
Extract any reusable parts
Note why it didn't work
Archive without guilt
Free the mental space

Tooling Principles

Tool Requirements

Must have:

Quick capture
Easy status view
Friction-free update
Works when you're tired

Nice to have:

Cross-device sync
Search
Relationships between projects

Avoid:

Complex setup
Maintenance burden
Tool becomes the project

Recommended Approaches

Minimal: Text file per project + master index Light: Single notes app with tags Medium: Notion/Obsidian with simple database Heavy: Full PM tool (only if you actually use it)

References

references/review-templates.md - Weekly/monthly/quarterly review templates
references/stuck-interventions.md - Detailed unsticking strategies

project-orchestration