Before the Horde Arrives
A project brief template for people with unpredictable schedules and finite energy • Focal Things \\ Sustainable Systems
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A Tested Template for Life’s Actual Complexity
“My concern is we’re going to hit December and I’m going to hate myself again.”
Rachel said this in August, looking ahead at three months of overlapping soccer schedules, cross country meets, birthdays, and holidays. She could see it coming—the moment when she’d need gifts and plans and mental space but wouldn’t have any capacity left to create them.
She’d been here before. We all have.
The question isn’t whether chaos arrives. It’s whether we planned for it when we still had the bandwidth to think.
Curious about working with me to become a zombie project master? Check out Systems Therapy: single-session productivity consulting that honors how you’re designed, not how machines work.
The Problem with Most Planning Systems
Here’s what typically happens: We identify something that needs doing. We add it to a list. We work on it when we have time. It stays on the list. We work on it more. Months pass. It’s still on the list. We feel vaguely guilty about it but also aren’t sure if it needs doing anymore. We keep working on it occasionally. It never quite finishes.
Welcome to zombie project management.
These undead projects consume mental energy without ever releasing you. They make you the person everyone asks about dinner plans or curriculum schedules or birthday logistics. They create decision fatigue at exactly the wrong moments—when you’re already maxed out and can’t think clearly.
Most planning systems fail because they assume consistent capacity. They give you elaborate workflows for ongoing project management. But if you’re reading this, you probably don’t need help managing projects—you need help deciding which projects to kill and which to actually finish.
You need a way to think through a project once, clearly, before you commit to it. And you need a way to recognize when a project has become a zombie so you can shoot it in the head and move on.
The Project Brief: Your Pre-Commitment Tool
I adapted this idea from professional creative briefs and Tara McMullin’s approach to goal-setting in What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting. It’s designed for one reason only: forcing the “can I actually do this?” conversation before you add another thing to your plate.
This isn’t project management. It’s project evaluation. You’re not maintaining this brief throughout the project—you’re using it to decide if the project deserves space in your life right now.
I’ve developed various versions of this template with clients like Rachel, and today I’d love to share it with you.
Part One: What and Why
Before anything else, get clear on the outcome and the why.
The Outcome: What does complete look like? Not “work on Sunday school curriculum” but “Have 12 weeks of curriculum planned, with discussion questions and activities ready to go.” Not “think about Christmas gifts” but “Purchase and wrap gifts for immediate family by December 15th.”
If you can’t articulate a concrete completion point, you’re creating a zombie project.
The Why: How does this connect to your actual commitments? Not your aspirational commitments—your real ones. The things you’ve already said yes to, the people you’re already responsible for, the work you’re already doing.
Some projects are just administrative reality: you have kids in soccer, so soccer logistics must be managed. That’s fine. Name it clearly.
Other projects need stronger justification: Why this curriculum approach? Why these specific birthday plans? What makes this worth your finite energy?
If you can’t answer the why convincingly, pause. Maybe it shouldn’t be a project.
What Makes it Complete: How will you know when you’re done? What does finished look like?
Sometimes it’s binary: “Birthday party happened.” Sometimes it’s qualitative: “Kids engaged meaningfully with the material.” Name your success criteria before you start so you know when to stop.
Part Two: Stages and Tasks
Break the project into phases. Not every task—just the major stages.
This is one example taken from Rachel’s Sunday school planning:
Stage 1: Research and reading (due: two weeks before teaching starts)
Stage 2: Map out 12-week arc (due: one week before teaching starts)
Stage 3: Weekly prep (30 minutes per week during teaching season)
Notice the due dates. You’re thinking ahead to when you’ll actually have capacity to do this work. If Rachel tried to plan curriculum in September when she’s driving 200 minutes a day, it wouldn’t happen. August is the window.
Within each stage, list the key tasks. Not everything—just enough to know what you’re committing to.
You can do this digitally or on paper. Don’t overthink it: we often make this too complicated.
Part Three: Resources
What do you need to complete this project?
Financial: Do you need to buy books, supplies, tools, software? What’s the budget?
For Christmas gifts, name the actual amount you can spend. For meal planning, what ingredients need purchasing? Get specific.
Time: How much time will each stage require? When do you actually have that time available?
Here’s where honest assessment matters. If you know September is chaos, don’t plan projects requiring deep focus for September. Slot them in August or October instead.
People: Do you need input from others? Do tasks depend on someone else’s availability? Name those dependencies now.
Tools: Do you need specific software, equipment, or materials? List them here so you’re not scrambling mid-project.
Part Four: Troubleshooting
There’s an old proverb about war strategy: no plan survives contact with the enemy. In this case, we are often our own worst enemy. But since we know this, we can also prepare ourselves for the low moments when fatigue, fear, and frustration hit.
Ask yourself:
Where might I self-sabotage?
What assumptions am I making that might not be true?
What happens if my circumstances change mid-project?
What’s the minimum viable version if I run out of capacity?
Rachel’s example: “What if my son gets invited to cross country the week I planned to work on this? What’s the smallest thing I can do then?”
Having a fallback plan means the project doesn’t become a zombie when life gets complicated. You just shift to Plan B instead of abandoning it halfway through and feeling guilty.
Part Five: Budget (if applicable)
For projects involving purchases, get specific about money.
Not “buy Christmas gifts” but:
Four kids: $X per child
Extended family: $X total
Teachers/coaches: $X total
Total budget: $X
Purchase deadline: December 15th
When December arrives and you’re tired, you’re not also trying to figure out what you can afford. You’re just executing a plan you made when you could think clearly.
Part Six: Check-In Schedule
This isn’t daily project management. It’s periodic reality-checking.
Set 2-3 check-in dates between now and the project deadline. At each check-in, ask:
Am I making actual progress?
Is this project still necessary?
Have my circumstances changed in ways that affect this project?
Is this project too complex? Can I simplify?
Should I shoot this zombie in the head and be done with it?
That last question is critical. Sometimes the best project management is recognizing a project should die.
Here’s a clip from a live coaching session with Rachel where I explain the project brief and zombie projects.
Your Three Projects
Here’s your implementation challenge:
Look ahead to your next big milestone–the event that you know will reroute your life for a time. Now, identify three projects that need doing.
Not ten. Not everything. Just three things that, if left unplanned, will make you hate yourself when that milestone arrives.
For each project:
Create a project brief from the template and fill it out
Schedule your stages based on actual capacity windows
Set your check-in dates in your calendar
Put the brief somewhere you’ll actually look at it during your check-ins
Then let everything else wait. These three projects get completed. Everything else either becomes a project next quarter or gets shot in the head as a zombie.
What This Honors
This system doesn’t assume you have consistent energy or predictable schedules. It assumes you’re human—with seasons of capacity and seasons of depletion.
It doesn’t demand daily project management. It asks for one clear thinking session per project, then simple evening or periodic check-ins.
It doesn’t optimize for doing more. It optimizes for finishing well.
And it gives you permission to shoot zombies instead of maintaining them indefinitely.
Let me know how it goes for you.
Think back to this month’s SloDo, where you reflected on the stories you tell about your capacity, energy, and organization. Think also about anything that resonated for you in reading this month’s Deep Dive. Use this worksheet to take notes!1
Let’s be hopeful, creative, and wise—together.
Shalom,
