The Steps to Planning a Creative Project

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It is very important in any task to have a plan before jumping on a project. A person will only be confident that the technique or conclusion is at its best when he had a thorough planning. He must be relaxed to be able to express his creativity and be a rational and logical thinker. Following carefully the steps to planning a creative project can lead to a successful project and can avoid any adjustments. Before starting a plan, the person must be mentally and physically prepared, so that he can think and act promptly. This can guide people engaged in creative projects.

The planner must be able to use the two sides of his brain. He must know how to balance the left and right brain's function when decisions are needed. The steps to planning a creative project are usually consisting of 4 steps. A person can follow a lesser step to make it more practical. Lesser steps mean he can reserve all the time on research and decision making or labor. The steps to planning a creative project can vary from project to project. Some require trial and error, while some can produce a concrete and precise solution.

The first thing a person must do is to know the project and have a vision on it. This is the most important step because this can affect the whole plan. He must be able to internalize what he wants to do and what he wants to happen. This stage can eat all the time needed for a project. Creating objectives can guide the person to know what he needs to do. A thorough research and conceptualization is required on this stage.

After the conceptualization, he must set a goal for the project. He could either create a plan for a shorter term and work on it later or create a longer term and save it up to the future. The planner must also consider his status before creating any project. He cannot make an extravagant project if he is short in resources. Most of the time a person must know his capabilities and inadequacy in doing such project.

The third stage is to make an action. This is the most crucial part and can take a lot of time. The planner must relate the first step to the second step. He can create lists of procedures to be able to reach his vision on the project. Creating a list can foresee the small details of the project. Creating a map of ideas is also can help the planner to make a precise action. This plan can generate new ideas and plans. He can create a diagram and put all the actions and see what the possible effects are. On this way, the planner can have multiple steps and multiple actions. The best tip in idea mapping is that the planner can be creative in arranging the ideas. He can put colors and pictures for him to easily see and categorize the steps. Other way to jot the actions is to create a blueprint. Similar to architectural blueprint, the person will write all the possible action in a spatial form. He will box all the ideas and arrange it to the most important to the least important. Bigger box will serve as the most important idea. The advantage of blueprint is that the person can update his work from time to time. Another step is the story telling. It is similar in creating a theater play wherein the person will write the most important details first before the procedures.

The last stage is to keep it going. This is similar in creating a Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) Analysis. The planner will list all the urgent action and not, and the important and not. In this way, the creative planner can have a guidance that there are actions that needs to avoid and to delay.

It always depends on the person how he will manage his project. As a standard procedure, it is a better idea to know the steps to planning a creative project. This is not just a procedure but also a guide to have a successful project.