Focus on projects — not tasks

Nope. You can't effectively complete a project without a granular breakdown of tasks IMO. Tasks should be the focus. And yeah, don't forget to look at the project as a whole from time to time... but you should be focusing most on every little step that you take.

Plus, that way you get the satisfaction of completing more tasks!

Why not both? You can focus on small chunk of tasks and get easy wins on day-to-day basis. On the other hand, once in a while you can focus on seeing the "forest for the trees" and zoom out.

On one hand if one is too focused on small tasks it’s easy to get abstracted from the whole picture, while on the other hand - too abstract picture can lead to not quite what was initially considered as desired outcome. So the balance probably somewhere in between

I appreciate when Scott writes,

"A goal is your desired outcome" and "A project is a plan of action" although "The line between goals and projects can be blurry."

If I'm understanding his point, it is a good task list when it is a planned project. The right tasks are crucial in making a difference when they are viciously curated.

Small parts are easier to complete

thanks for the information,

Anyone did software engineering in school probably took design patterns. We learned use case diagram, architectural design, design document… basically connects from top down and bottom up in a structured manner.

Couldn't agree more with this. Zooming out helps. Seeing the forest for the trees, and all that 😅

100% agreed. That is basically what https://notik.app is all about. What I learnt working at large tech companies is that the day to day doesn't really matter. But all project management tools focus on that because it is easy.

But it is the larger picture, the long term thinking, which makes or breaks a company.

So if anyone is starting a business, give Notik a spin. Would love to know your feedback.

Daniel Vassallo (https://twitter.com/dvassallo) would disagree. His whole theory of small bets is around starting many small things, instead of investing time in one large initiative that might not pay off

IMO what matters is having an ultimate goal/purpose for "doing stuff"

Tasks are nothing if not driving you in the direction of an ultimate goal, projects is a sane way to "frame" that ultimate goal but not the only way. I was a senior project manager for years, now a founder so unlike some other topics, I am qualified to talk on this ;)

In our opinion, tasks are equally important, and without properly completing a task one can never properly complete a project.

how about seeing the progress of the project while chasing the task?

I’d say if you can oscillate between top down and bottom up deliberately and easily throughout the SDLC you’re in a strong position relative to say, the dev that’s only bottom up focused, or the PM that’s only top down focused. I’d also suggest it’s pretty important to recognise when one is more appropriate than other.
As it is with the distinction between the problem space and the solution space and being aware which one you’re inhabiting at any given time.
Having an acute awareness of these things will help make you a very valuable employee, and/or a formidable founder. 🙂

This is a very interesting aspect of productivity that isn't baked into tools very well. Most apps just allow you to create a folder of tasks, but I wonder what else we could add to put tasks into the perspective of the projects that they're in service of.

I am more of big thinker so I find it much easier to focus on projects as whole than the individual tasks themselves that make up the project. So a part of it really just depends on the type of person that you are.

I think balance is the key thing. If you look at tasks in a granular way, it's hard to assess whether what you're doing serves your overall project effectively.