Nobody ever plans to get sick or injured, but unfortunately, that often happens without warning.  A good health insurance plan will help you cover the cost of illnesses and many other difficulties that might affect your financial security over the course of your life.

This insurance helps people pay for their health car, making it easier by not putting the entire financial burden on them. When you have health insurance and get hurt or sick then your policy will be a blessing since a certain percentage of the medical and care bills will be paid by your insurance company.

A good health insurance policy is often one of the most crucial parts of a well-planned retirement portfolio since healthcare costs become higher as you get older.

What are the Benefits of Health Insurance?

Like any other type of insurance, you need to choose a plan and pay a set rate or premium each month. Health insurance companies do have various policies and rates but at the end of the day, they all offer the same basic benefits like these below:

• Health insurance can pay for some of your medical costs.
• It helps you keep your health strong because insurance companies often recommend preventive care services and include wellness tools that they suggest you use.
• It can help you get tax credit so you have financial help in paying for your health insurance premium.

While those are just the basics, there is much more that health insurance can help you with. Some of the more detailed benefits of a good health insurance policy include:

Protection Against Unexpected Medical Costs

Health insurance provides you with important financial help and protects your savings when you have a serious accident, illness or injury.

Medical care for a broken leg can cost $700-$8000, a three-day stay at the hospital can go up to $30,000, and for terminal illnesses like cancer, the expenses can go into the hundreds of thousands. With proper health insurance, you can protect yourself from a portion of these costs.

Coverage of Essential Health Benefits

A good health insurance policy covers the following services:

• Ambulatory Care

Services that give you Outpatient care without having to admit you into the hospital.

• Emergency Services

In the case of an accident or lethal injury, you will be taken care of from the moment you arrive at the hospital till you depart.

• Hospitalization

Expenses in case you require surgery or have to stay in the hospital for a few days.

• Childbirth

Care during your pregnancy as well as before and after birth, both for the mother and the child.

• Mental Health Care and Substance Use

Care for someone who has mental health disorders or need behavioral health treatment. It also includes physiotherapy.

• Rehabilitative and Facilitative Services

Services and methods designed to help those with physical disabilities or chronic illnesses and mental health problems.

• Prescription Drugs

The medicines you need for treating everything from a minor to the serious ailment.

• Lab Services

Tests and diagnostic services at any stage of your treatment.

• Preventive and Wellness Services

Services to help you achieve better health.

• Pediatric Health Services

Health care for children, ranging from injury/illness treatment to preventative checkups.

Free Preventive Care

Most health insurance policies have a set of preventive care plans which cover essential shots and screening tests with no cost expected from you. It takes into account all adults and children and includes everything from regular general examinations to cancer screening.

See Also: Win The Life Insurance Game: Do These 4 Things Before Getting Your Physical

What Happens If You Have No Health Insurance?

The biggest problem for people without a good health insurance plan is that they end up paying the full amount for their healthcare when they need it. This can deplete your savings, leaving you in debt and struggling to meet the costs which could have been avoided through a good healthcare plan.

See Also: Eat Amazing (and Healthy) for $50/Month

Without health insurance, you’re open to the high costs associated with health care, which is dangerous because these may lead to being trapped in heavy debt or even bankruptcy.

The post What To Look For In A Good Health Insurance Plan appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Ready to hear some amazing dream facts?

Raise your hand if you have found your nose stuck between books trying to understand Freud’s theories or various other interpretations to try to decipher some wild dream. Well, no shame there!

Dreams are intriguing realms of our brains. These manifestations are sometime inspired by our imagination and often by our lived experiences. In any case, they have continued to interest scientists, doctors, psychologists and laity for decades now.

Whether you know, what your dreams exactly mean or not, knowing some lesser-known facts about them is sure to satiate some of your curiosity:

1. Do I know you?

You can never meet ‘new’ people in your dreams. When you see a person in your dream, regardless of whether you recognise them or not, they are cannot be a figment of your imagination.

This means that our brain is incapable of conjuring up faces on its own. The faces that you see in your dreams are those that your brain has registered, consciously or sub-consciously, at some point.

2. Lucid Dreaming

An interesting manifestation of dreaming is lucid dreaming. As the name suggests, a person is aware that they are dreaming in such a state. They are able to interact with and control their surroundings in contrast to passive dreaming, where they are mere observers.

This psychological phenomenon has amused scientists for a long time who have developed certain techniques to train the mind to lucid dream.

3. I Knew It!

People often report that they had a premonition about a future event in a dream and have attached several superstitions to this belief. Scientists call this precognitive dreaming.

Credulity aside, this can be explained simply by the fact that a large number of events happen every day and for some dream of yours to corroborate with a recent event is not improbable. The most quoted example of precognitive dreaming is of Abraham Lincoln having dreamt of his own assassination!

4. The Science Of It

Scientist have been enchanted with how varied our dreams can be in terms of imagery and brain function. This has led to the development of the specialized science of Oneirology, which insists on understanding how our brain functions when we are dreaming.

The results of such research can lead to a better understanding of how dreams help in memory building and also give us a deeper insight into certain mental disorders.

5. Somnambulism

Yes, there is a fancy word for sleepwalking. It literally breaks down as- ‘somn’ from Latin Somnus, meaning sleep and ‘amble’, the Latin word for ‘to walk’. It is an extreme form of sleep disorder where people become capable of walking around, while still asleep. Not just that, people are known to have performed activities during sleepwalking, which they have neither skill for nor recollection of when they wake up!

A rather interesting example of such somnambulism is from London, where a 15-year girl climbed a 130-foot construction crane, all while sleepwalking!

See Also: 7 Sleeping Tips to Boost the Quality of Your Sleep

6. Dreaming Blind

The imagery in our dreams in based on what we see every day in real life. But due to their lack of the sense of sight, blind people experience reality and hence dreaming, differently from those who can see.

Congenitally blind people have heightened auditory, olfactory and tactile senses when they are dreaming. They also report of more nightmares, which scientists have linked to the difficulties they face in getting by in real life.

7. Game On!

Dr. Jayne Gackenbach of the MacEwan University led an extensive research programme to conclude that video game players tend to exercise more control over their dreams. This also makes gamers excellent candidates for lucid dreaming as they are attuned to responding to virtual reality.

Another conclusion she drew from a 2008 study was that gamers cope better with nightmares in comparison to non-gamers. This is because they are used to problem-solving and fighting back when faced with a scary or sticky situation, as they do when playing a game.

You now have the perfect excuse for the next time your parents ask you to turn off that Xbox!

8. Boost Creativity

Researchers at Harvard Medical School suggest that dreaming is an essential process to boost creativity and learning. Through dreams, the brain processes newly acquired information and integrates it.

This is one of the reasons why people with serious REM disorders, which render them incapable of dreaming, face serious creative retardation. So, listen to your mother the next time she asks you to have a good night’s sleep before an exam.

9. So Many Dreams, So Little Time

In the course of their lifetime, an average person can have as many as 100,000 dreams. You can have as many as seven different dreams on a single night.

This number is quite large considering that we can dream for only the duration of the REM cycle of our sleep which tends to last not more than 2 hours.

10. Oh Baby!

Women with children are more prone to nightmares than pregnant women or women who have no children. Understandably, these nightmares pertain to bad things that can happen to their children.

 

The post 10 Terrific Dream Facts That Will Make You Awestruck appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Bubble wrap – a vessel that carries delicate items from one point to another. A saving grace in the packing world. A toy to some, a piece of scientific equipment to others.

What is it about bubble wrap that appeals to us so much?

Discover what makes popping bubble wrap so therapeutic, as well as some not-so-typical uses for the inexpensive packing phenomenon.

Humble beginnings: Sealed Air

In 1951, two engineers, Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes, sought to create a wallpaper that would provide greenhouse insulation. Their solution was two shower curtains bonded together, which created pockets of trapped air that could be used as heat traps.

Despite a major lack of interest, the Sealed Air Company launched in 1960. A few years later, just prior to the launch of IBM, Frederick Bowers, a friend to Fielding and Chavannes, inquired about protecting his delicate computer components. The need for Sealed Air became clear, thanks to the development of IBM Computers.

See Also: Protect Your Breakable Items By Following These Packing Tips

The surprising uses of Bubble Wrap

In addition to serving as a calming sensory object, bubble wrap is one of the cheapest, most popular packing protection methods in the world. Because air bubbles absorb shock better than any other material, this makes bubble wrap highly desirable for packing breakable and delicate components like computers, television, and more.

Science has even found applications for bubble wrap. In underdeveloped countries, scientists are using bubble wrap as test tubes.

According to Scientists at Harvard University, bubble wrap is easy to come by, particularly in a science lab. Fluids like blood and urine have been easily injected into the packing material and transported for testing making bubble wrap ideal for labs in poor countries.

Scientists also discovered that the air inside the bubbles was completely sterile, opening the doors of opportunity to labs in poor countries to test their water supply amongst other things.

See Also: 5 Playfully Crazy Tips That Can Unleash Your Creative Potential and Boost Your Creativity

Why popping Bubble Wrap is so soothing

The Inquiring Minds at New York Magazine discussed a study done in the 1990s done by Western New England College. The study, published in the Psychological Reports journal, quoted a 1970’s tome that discussed the calming powers of touch.

In ancient times in countries like Greece and Asia, people carried smooth stones they would rub to calm themselves. These “worry beads” or “fingering pieces” gave people something to do with their hands during stressful situations, proving that keeping your hands busy is a great method of relaxation. This would explain why popping bubble wrap is so soothing.

Popping bubble wrap not only helps take the mind off of a stressful situation, but it has also been proven to release muscle tension. Part of the draw is compulsion — that instinct to be destructive.

Max Beerbohm was quoted as stating “To destroy is still the strongest instinct in nature.” Popping bubble wrap is a safe, harmless way of destroying something, appealing to the most basic of human instincts.

Bubble wrap, deemed useless in the early 1950’s, is now one of the cheapest, most therapeutic tools available to mankind. Its reputation in the packing industry, as well as it’s capabilities amongst the sciences make it one of the most versatile materials on the planet. Only time will tell what the next bubble wrap phenomenon will be.

 

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Trying to achieve your goals without organization is similar to getting into an automobile without a steering wheel and expecting to reach your desired destination. Unfortunately, too many people do not embrace organization and the many benefits that it can bring. Instead, they rely upon chance and luck.

To be truly able to maximize your potential and accomplish all that you can, organization is a necessity. Organizing your life requires that you adopt a process that you embrace in every facet of your day and adhering to it to create habits that will encourage order.

This organizational process includes analysis, allotment and action. These three A’s can help you to structure your activities and increase your production through increased efficiency.

The First A: Analysis

Before you can truly become organized, you first have to understand what you have to do, and what must be done in order to do it. This requires that you devise categories for your responsibilities such as work, school and home.

Part of a successful organizational plan is applying it universally to everything that you do. Structuring a part of your life and leaving the rest a chaotic jumble will not enable you to maximize your potential.

So, begin your list by writing down everything that you must do on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. While it may seem counterintuitive to look at something that you only have to do once a year, such as your tax return, this will pay dividends by making the task easier and decreasing the amount of time that you have to spend doing it.

Breaking a task into a series of smaller actions that are completed as they occur, such as storing financial documents and receipts in a designated file, is the key to efficiently completing large projects. By doing so, you will save time when it is necessary to compile all of this information. Instead of first having to locate all of the necessary materials, they will be waiting for you.

As you write your list, it is helpful to think about how you might be able to be able to accomplish several tasks at once. For example, combining a trip to the grocery store with your daily commute, or using time spent waiting for a meeting to start to answer emails.

The analysis portion of organization is primarily about all of the things that you must do, and seeing how these tasks might be combined into a single action, rather than separate ones.

See Also: The Dos And Don’ts Of Planning Your Day

The Second A: Allotment

Allotment is the process of determining how much time to devote to each activity and when you will do it. This allows a “big picture” approach that enables you to decide how important each task is.

This way, you avoid spending too much time on the “little picture” activities, and concentrate your efforts on crucial actions. Answering every email instantly, for example, can waste a large portion of your day.

It is also important to allow yourself scheduled breaks. Noone is a machine, and we all need some down time. Allot periods of time throughout the day to review your social media, read and to recharge your batteries.

Your time allotment needs to be realistic. If you schedule fifteen minute blocks of time for projects that require an hour, you will not be able to finish what you have started and your plan will not help you to accomplish anything.

Using your analysis, determine what needs to be done and how long it will take. Be realistic about deciding how much time to allow for your various tasks.

See Also: Top 5 Time Management Hacks To Get You Ahead

The Third A: Action

Action may be the most important of the three As. Even the best plan is worthless if it is not put into motion.

That is why it is important to get into the habit of following your plans and learning to say “no” when others make requests of you for nonessential items. Staying committed to your organizational plan needs to be your top priority. With time, it will become second nature.

Action also requires that you get into the habit of writing lists, either hard copy or digital, to help to keep track of details and tasks that need to be accomplished in the short term. Decide what format you are most comfortable with and begin to make a list at the beginning of each day.

Mark off tasks as you complete them, to mark your progress and enjoy the sense of satisfaction that comes from being efficient and productive.

Organizational formats, storage and other tools are invaluable in accomplishing your goals. If your closet is cluttered, look for storage systems that will help you to keep it clean. If you have a difficult time keeping track of documents, incorporate a new filing system.

There are vast resources available to help. It is up to you to find them and take advantage of what you need.

As well, get in the habit of diminishing clutter by recycling or giving away things that you do not need or use. This can be clothes, magazines or even office documents that have lost their purpose, if they ever had one to begin with.

By working to devise a plan to organize your life, you increase your efficiency by spending more time on the things that are most important. Applying this strategy to every area of your life will help you find more time to spend on the activities that you enjoy as well as helping you to accomplish more. By using the three As you will be able to realize these benefits and reap the rewards of an organized life.

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We’re always being told that home replacement windows are a wise decision especially when retiring any window older than 10 years for a new Energy Star-rated window. Anyone would expect a window salesman to tell us that, but we didn’t invite the window pitchman into the conversation.

Ok, we know mom would say, “Did you run out of glass cleaner?” and then go to the kitchen to make refreshments whether anyone wanted a snack or not.

If the windows were the topic of conversation with the other three guests, what would they say?

The home economist has taken a moment to compliment you on not having multiple copies of the same electronic devices (not 2, just 1 flat screen display; not 2, just 1 play station; etc.). But when it comes to the 14-year-old windows, she begins interrogating you about your energy bills and the single glazed aluminum double hung foggy panes she’s having to try to look through to see the front yard.

She gives her best over the glasses lecture about the certainty that home utility bills can significantly impact the household budget for good or for bad. She wastes no time lining out the costs of the electricity bill in the average American home:

• 44% HVAC systems (heating and cooling)
• 33% Lighting and other appliances
• 14% Water heating
• 9% Refrigeration (refrigerator and freezer)

“Replacing a set of 5 single glazed windows with Energy Star-rated insulated window replacements will reduce a 2,000 square foot home utility bill by 18%,“ she smugly states as she reaches for the lemon zinger cookies your mother set out for the curious guests. (Of course, you know that the average American 2,000 square foot home expends a minimum between $1,400 and $2,000 for utilities annually).

See Also: 15 Budget Worthy Smart Home Improvements

That prompts the environmentalist to chime. “You know that each American home produces more harm for the environment than their gas guzzling vehicles do, right?”

The HVAC systems have to work harder when home windows are like slotted spoons letting outside air through crevices and cracks, instead of having sealed casement frames to keep the conditioned air inside. Overworked HVAC systems leak refrigerants that damage the environment and contribute to global warming.

This is not even mentioning the increased load to produce the energy, send it through overworked channels and deliver it through weakened grids to every household in your neighborhood and throughout the United States. Does rolling brownouts or direct blackouts mean anything to anyone?

He doesn’t stop there. The older windows can be recycled for their glass and framing materials while the newer windows are constructed from cast off materials already manufactured and redesigned. The additional foam insulation and batted insulation along with putty, caulk and paint all can come from recycled materials and landfills can be used less and less.

As the environmentalists reaches for his third cookie (but who’s counting), the Allergist coughs and wheezes to accentuate her remarks. “There is no barrier to the allergens, pollutants, and insects that gain entry through these loose and cracked window frames. If I had an aromatic incense stick, I could show you the smoke trail conning behind as the wind comes seeping by the panes” (if you’re not from Oklahoma you may not know their state song lyrics, but the lady was trying to be funny).

Over 50 million Americans suffer from airborne allergens and the most common indoor/outdoor triggers are cat, dog and rodent dander; cockroach and dust mite allergens; mold spores; grass, tree, and weed pollen according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation (AAF).

The University of Iowa Department of Environmental Health study found that traditional room side blinds collected indoor airborne allergens 200 times more than between-the-glass window shades.

The air quality is further hampered due to the moisture collecting from condensation differences between the moist air on the inside and the dryer air on the outside. Some folks even over-compensate with humidifiers in the home to offset the warmer dryer air of the summer months and to their own peril introduce more damage to their health.

With a sharp cough, she’s done.

What a home visit!

Here’s what we know will be of importance to all your guests:

Replacement windows will pay for themselves within five years of installation. Any homeowner can calculate within a few dollars the actual savings for their specific home even before they purchase replacement windows.

Interestingly, there are free programs like RESFEN that allow users to identify and pick the most energy-efficient and cost-effective window.

A homeowner or builder can describe his climate, the specific square footage of the entire home or just a specific room, the heating and air conditioning system being used, and utility usage. It even gets so precise as to include the window dimension, the orientation as to which point on the compass the window faces, and any environmental factors such as shade trees or vegetation affecting the window site.

Once the homeowner adds in the specifics of the window replacement, such as U-factor or light transfer ratio (easily provided by the manufacturer), an accurate annual heating and cooling cost is calculated allowing for seasonal spikes unique to the homeowner’s geo-tract neighborhood.

Energy Star replacement windows may provide you with a state or federal tax credit and you can know with just a quick little call to 1-800-TAX-FORM or your state tax people. In many cases the credit is 10% of the purchase price and in some cases includes the labor costs.

The value of the home is increased by 5 to 7% on average with the windows upgraded to Energy Star standards. When up for sale, new buyers look for every angle of perpetual savings they can find.

See Also: 5 Practical Home Improvements To Sell A House

Imagine being able to provide a print out of low utility costs for a house your size! Even if you don’t move, the enjoyment of savings is still yours.

So, once the guests leave and mom has taken to using the glass cleaner on those windows of yours, it’s time to contact a home window replacement professional in your area to provide you an official quote for home window replacement installation just for you.

Who invited all those people over, anyway? Mom, if you’re still here, where are those lemon zingers?

The post What Would a Home Economist, an Environmentalist, an Allergist, and Your Mother Say About Your Home Windows? appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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How much pain are you willing to endure to move forward and make progress?

How much pain are you willing to go through to accomplish something?

And how much pain are you willing to deal with to come out on top?

The brutal truth is, most of us will do whatever it takes to avoid pain. I know I have.

Out of all the things in life that people avoid, pain is high on the list. Why? Because we’d rather life be easy and comforting, not hurtful and painful.

But I’m here to tell you that pain is necessary to help you progress. And it’s the basis of all accomplishments, achievements and successes, no matter how big or small.

Here’s why that is…

1. Pain makes you wiser

Getting into a deep relationship only to find out your partner has cheated on you.

Being in a job for X amount of years only to lose it to redundancy.

Having a successful, profitable business only to lose it due to unfortunate circumstances. Then having to pay off all the debt.

All the the 3 examples above are painful experiences but in return these experiences make you wiser. You have to go through the pain of loss, betrayal, and bad decisions to end up being wiser than you was.

If you play it safe and do your best to avoid pain, not only will it hurt more when you experience it, you’ll have a harder time getting over it. But If you see pain as a tool to make you wiser, you’ll have an easier time dealing and getting over it. It’s all about perspective.

2. Pain can make you a stronger person

Being comfortable and taking the easy route doesn’t make you stronger, pain does. The pain of setbacks, struggles, mishaps and being down and out makes you stronger. And the more you overcome these obstacles, the stronger you become.

Just take a look at those who have experienced physical/sexual abuse in their childhood. Yet, they still manage to come out on top and become winners in the game of life.

Take a look at Oprah Winfrey’s upbringing for example. She was molested by her own family members when she was just 9 years old.

The abuse continued for another 2 – 3 years before she ran away from home. Now look where she is!

She’s a powerful example of someone who’s become stronger, inside and out, as a result of pain.

If pain should do anything, it should make you stronger. It’s a necessity to progress one way or another.

3. Pain can be a good motivator

We’ve all made painful mistakes, painful choices, and painful decisions. But instead of letting it break you and hinder you, let it motivate you.

Instead of backing up and going into your shell, stand up and tell yourself “I’m better than this” and let your pain push you.

What’s happened has happened, and there’s nothing you can do to reverse it. Focus on what you can do, and what you can do is use it as fuel to motivate you.

4. Pain can push you into action

When I was made redundant for the first time for no fault of my own, I didn’t let it stop me.

I used the pain of that experience to push me into action and make drastic changes in my life.

Instead of wallowing in anger and upset, I used that as fuel to push me into action. And nowadays I’m way more action orientated than I ever was before.

Don’t let pain push you backwards, let it push you into action so you can move forward. Forward is the only direction you should be headed in.

See Also: How to Appreciate the Pain of Financial Problems

5. Pain pushes you to make changes

After dealing with a painful experiences, all sorts of thoughts and emotions are swirling through your body. And one of the common thoughts is – “something needs to change”.

Experiencing it once is enough to want to make the change. And even if it doesn’t push you into change the first time, it will eventually. When something needs to change in our lives we’re more driven, motivated, focused and determined than ever before.

This goes back to the time I was made redundant. I was more adamant than ever to make real changes in my life, and I didn’t hesitate to do so.

6. Pain can be inspirational

Back to Oprah, when you read stories like that you can’t help but be inspired and motivated by it. It’s inspirational to the core.

And that’s why stories like Oprah’s never grow old or go out of fashion so to speak. Reading about someone who’s gone through traumatic, hurtful, brutal experiences and then seeing that they’ve overcome them is special.

See Also: A Ballerina’s Story: How I Learned To Love My Body After Years Of Hating It

Sometimes it isn’t me or you who has to go through a painful experience that pushes us to make progress. Sometimes reading stories that are born out of painful experiences are enough to give us that push we need!

Pain can be inspirational.

Got something to add to this post? Speak your mind and leave a comment.

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Do you want to know how to plan a project that will get actually get things done?

Improvisation is great for comedy, but getting a project done on time and within budget is no laughing matter. If you want to accomplish something, you have to set a course of action that ends with the successful completion of that project.

There are 12 steps that you need to take to plan a project, and most take place before you even begin the work on your project. Project planning takes work! If you don’t do the due diligence and proper preparation to start your next project off right, then you’ve already put a huge obstacle on your path.

Let’s get down to how to plan a project.

1. Know What Needs to Be Done

This sounds so obvious as to be silly to point out, but it’s usually the most overlooked step in project planning. You can’t accomplish a project if you don’t know what steps are required.

The scope of a project can change over time, but start by defining your goals and the general tasks that need to be done to accomplish those goals. This will keep you on target and not veering off on time-wasting tangents.

2. Who Are the Key Decision Makers?

You need to know where the buck stops, so to speak. Who are the important decision-makers, and the one who initiated the project? Do you know for sure what they want from the project?

You need to communicate with all relevant parties at the outset of your project to get their input so you can set your project up for success.

3. Set Up a Team

You know what you want to accomplish in the project, and now you have to figure out which people are able to help you complete all your tasks. Be sure you’ve defined key roles and identified people for every step of your project before you even start.

4. What’s Your Timeline?

It’s important to define a timeline at the very beginning of any project otherwise you have literally infinite amounts of time to complete it. Rarely is that the case in reality. Most of us have deadlines, and even if we don’t, we can’t afford to pay people indefinitely for their services.

Define a clear deadline based on the tasks you outlined and the people you’ve assembled. Get them to estimate how long they think their part of the work will take. If you can’t finish the project in the time you have scheduled, then you’re going to need to go back and reevaluate your resources and other items to ensure your project will be done on time.

5. Create Milestones

You’ve got your goals, your task lists and your team’s estimates. Now which of those tasks, when completed, might mark a major milestone in the overall project? Are there different phases of your project, like construction starting or QA or launch parties, that could be considered major milestones?

Mark these dates on a calendar or in project management software so you can always keep the big picture into focus and track progress over time.

6. Break Down Major Tasks

Look at those milestones and your starting task list and see if any of those tasks can be broken down into smaller steps. The reason is you want to make sure you’ve defined all the relevant steps in order to control the production of your project, and you haven’t overlooked anything. These tasks can then be assigned to your team.

7. Create a Schedule

Congratulations, you’re finally at a point in the planning when you can actually draft a schedule!

This is the first time you’re going to try and coordinate all the various pieces of the planning puzzle you’ve been working on. This is when you take all your tasks and assign to people with clear due dates.

Remember, as plans move along, things will change. That’s okay. The goal of a schedule is to help you and your team stay focused on delivering each task.

See Also: 10 Strategies for Solving Workplace Problems with a Culture of Creativity 

8. Track Your Progress

You can’t make a plan and set it in concrete. The refinement process is never really over until the project is complete. But you can’t refine what you can’t see, so it’s crucial to monitor the progress of the plan. There are several ways to do this.

If you use project management software, you can track the plan in real time with your team. Or there are project templates you can download and use to plug in your plan. These help you compare where you are in the project against where you thought you’d be at this time in the project, according to your plan.

See Also: How to Focus Your Mind on the Project

9. Always Be Documenting

The only way to keep up with the constant change that always occurs in the process of production is by having clear and steady documentation of that process. This saves you from making mistakes based on miscommunication or misunderstandings, and it helps you document anything that might go wrong.

Keep track of emails and purchases, and ideally use one platform for project communications so you have only one source to reference, instead of emails and texts and spreadsheets all scattered around.

10. Communicate Progress & Successes

This is important for you, your team and your stakeholders. By keeping everyone on the same page, you insure that everyone is working together and not against one another, and you help remind people that you appreciate their input and help.

By taking the time to plan in detail, you do a great service to yourself, your team and your project. For one thing, you reduce the headaches you’ll have to deal with as project leader. You’ll also make it easier for your team to do their job. And stakeholders will feel more secure knowing that you’ve got a plan that you’re sharing so they can stay abreast of the project in real time. That’s a plan everyone can get behind.

The post 12 Ways A Project Plan That Will Get Things Done appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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