Time after time, my project plan is fine

“Remember thatTimeis Money. He that can earn Ten Shillings a Day by his Labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one half of that Day, tho’ he spends but Sixpence during his Diversion or Idleness, ought not to reckon That the only Expence; he has really spent or rather thrown away Five Shillings besides.”

-Benjamin Franklin - Advice to a Young Tradesman, [21 July 1748]

Most of us have heard the first part of that quote, but read beyond ‘ye olde English’ and you’ll see much more than a cliche that gets bantered about.

Every project timeline is different, but they all have two things in common. Construction takes time and must be done in a particular order. When you’re first analyzing your deal, part of you exercise should be to determine how long the construction phase is going to take.  You've got the property under contract, so now it’s time to string them together. (If you’re not sure where to start, check out this BP article.) 

When assembling a timeline, there is a little bit of an art to the exercise. Consider the kitchen in your latest super deal.  Four days to install the cabinets plus two days to install the flooring plus one day to install the countertop and backsplash does not equal a week. Huh?  I know this flies in the face of Kindergarten math, but this is the world of project planning and it has its own set of math rules. If you have one person doing all of the work, it may be close to a week, but there are other factors to consider.

Tasks

You should organize your tasks into a project plan. A task is something that has duration. You will need to schedule your tasks in an order that makes sense to the order in which the work should be completed. Your contractor should be able to tell you that it takes 2 days to install the cabinets in the kitchen. Next determine when the schedule allows for the cabinets can be installed. Work with your cabinet installer to figure out when they are available. If your cabinet install will start on Thursday morning, it’s pretty safe to say that by the end of day on Friday, you’ll have cabinets completed. If the countertop is next, and it takes one day to install, you could have it take place on Saturday, unless… The cabinet installer’s son has a birthday party to attend on Saturday and he doesn’t work on Sunday. What you now thought could be complete in three days is now taking five! It’s one big puzzle, but the more you communicate with your contractors, the easier to predict your timeline and the easier it is on you both. Collect all of your major tasks and start to assemble your project plan. If you can have more than one task going on at one time, be mindful of how everyone is going to work together.

Once your plan is set, review your timelines regularly. I look at mine daily so that I understand what was just done and what contractor is on deck. The earlier you discover that the electrical will not be completed will not be completed in time for the drywall contractors, the easier it will be to reschedule them. When your project is in jeopardy of not being on time, talk with your contractors and partners about how to get back on track. Without keeping track of your timeline, you could lose money.

Milestones

Next let’s talk about milestones. In general, a milestone is a point in time when you can say that something is complete. The “kitchen is complete” is a milestone. The “appliances are installed” is a milestone. “Start bathroom demo” is also a milestone. The reason milestones are important, is that they show progress. Progress is important to show your business partners that you are on track. Create a list of milestones that tell the story of your rehab. Be prepared to tell them that the kitchen will be completed on February 23, 2016. If you’re on top of your plan, when February 24th comes around, you’ve got a kitchen in working order.

Conclusion

Project management is a skill that you’ll hone over time, but a simple task list with due dates is essential on day one. Tell the story of your rehab as it goes along using your plan and milestones. After the project is complete, your ability to tell future business partners that you set a plan and stuck to it will go a long way in building confidence in your ability to save money through efficient time management. It also makes for some great stories to tell at the bar when you celebrate your latest victory. After all, time is money.

Next time, we’ll go into tools for keeping your plan in order. Today’s tools make it pretty easy on the administration, so don’t be too afraid.