Planner creates project schedules from project notes in seconds -- here's how to prepare your project notes for Planner.

1. Preparing Project Notes for Planner

2. Let’s say you're an author, and you have a
new book project, and your publisher wants
to know when to expect the final print.

3. To start your project plan notes, you open a
new document in your favorite tool (like MS
Word or Google Docs) and simply give your
project a name, like “My Book Project”.

4. Next you decide what to call your top
deliverable, or “that one thing that your
project will produce” – like “My New Book”.

5. Once you’ve named your top deliverable,
you give it a start date.

6. Once you have named your top deliverable, you
list the deliverables that will support your top
deliverable. Your supporting deliverables
contribute to or lead up to your top deliverable.

7. Once you have a good list of supporting deliverables,
you put those that can be started right away in
Phase 1. You put the those that have to wait in
Phase 2. And so on.

8. Once your supporting deliverables are arranged
by phase, you create an activity for each
supporting deliverable.

9. Once each supporting deliverable has an
activity, you list the tasks that will be done
within each activity.

10. Once you have tasks, you put all the tasks that can
be worked on first in Step 1. The tasks that have to
wait go in Step 2, and so on.

11. Now that your tasks are organized by step,
you give each a duration in days.

12. And, your project notes are ready for
Planner!

13. Next: A project schedule in seconds.