Ten Tips for Managing DIY Projects As a Couple

Updated on September 29th, 2020

Managing DIY projects can really make or break how smoothly a project goes. We have used a variety of project management systems over the years and have finally settled on something that works really well for us. We both have used agile boards in our day jobs and thought it may translate well for our projects at home too. Turns out it does! Below you will find our best tips for managing DIY projects.

We made a video just on how we use a board to manage DIY projects.

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1. Use a Physical Board

Originally we started out trying to use spreadsheets or Trello boards to manage our DIY projects. We quickly found that an app that can be closed and forgotten does not work well for us. We have switched to foam board (which we reuse from project to project), and post-it notes. There is a certain satisfaction of moving a post-it note into the “done” column you just don’t get from pushing a button on your phone.

2. Use Color Coding When It Is Helpful

We often use different colored post-its for different reasons. Previously we have used different colors to designate who is responsible for a particular part of a project. We’ve also used it to designate time frames. Like all the purple has to be done before we can start the green. Or pink must be done before the boat is launched versus orange can be done after. It makes great visuals.

3. Use Erasable Pens

I love erasable pens. They allow me to use as few post-its as possible since I already have a lot of guilt about using paper. If you make a mistake while writing you can just erase but the ink lasts much longer and doesn’t fade like pencil.

4. Use a “Supplies Needed” Column

We used to use a more traditional scrum board format with four columns:

• To Do or Backlog
• In Progress
• Complete
• Blockers (or things you can’t move forward with)

We’ve found that with DIY projects, unlike with traditional project management, it is rarely people we are waiting on and more likely materials. So we now break out columns into:

• To Buy or Supplies Needed
• To Do or Backlog
• In Progress
• Complete

Sometimes things go directly from supplies needed to in progress but if we have all the materials and it’s been sitting in “to do” for a while we know we probably need to get started on it. It also helps us to manage project expenses.

5. Brainstorm Then Prioritize

We also have a big brainstorm session and get all of the pieces onto a post-it note before we start prioritizing pieces of the project. Once you can see all the pieces required it is much easier to decide the order they should happen in. We’ve saved ourselves a lot of backtracking by just brain dumping everything that needs to happen and then creating the order.

6. Pick a Priority System and Stick To It

When you start putting things in order, you’ll need a system. Once you pick that system we recommend sticking with it for the whole project. You can always reevaluate later if it didn’t work. Our “to do” and “to buy” columns usually read like a book. The top left corner being the first thing and the bottom right is last. As mentioned above we have also color-coded in the past to designate phases of a project.

7. Include Everyone In The Planning

We always hold our initial planning sessions as a team. It may primarily be one person’s project but we have different strengths when it comes to managing DIY projects. Andy is really good at the big picture and seeing the final product before we start. Gwen is good at finding missing small details and potential hang-ups. You’ll likely find that you have a friend or loved one that is a good balance to your project planning strengths.

8. Reevaluate

As the project goes along reevaluate. Do you need to add any tasks? Remove any? Move them around? Project management isn’t set it and forget it. We have a quick reevaluation every week. Sundays are planning days in our house and DIY projects don’t escape the routine. We update the board(s) we have going at the same time we meal plan, figure out commuting (one car requires planning!), and look at blog tasks for the week ahead. You don’t have to do it our way but we recommend evaluating your progress at least monthly but it really depends on the project scope.

9. Celebrate

When we initially set up a project board we build in major milestones to celebrate. This is especially important with really long projects. We were about 4 months into our van build before realizing that we were feeling a little burned out. The biggest reason? We hadn’t taken time to celebrate how far we’d come. The grind of a long drawn out project is hard. Take breaks, but make sure you find ways to celebrate your progress!

10. Retrospectives

We are both very analytical by nature and are always looking for ways to improve processes. We usually sit down after a big project and talk about what went well and what didn’t. We’re big fans of KISS (Keep, Improve, Start, Stop) and if we do any sort of formal retro it is usually focused around this, but many times it is just a general conversation that goes something like “I think next time we should….” or “Let’s not do _____ again…”. If you’ve never done this with a partner before we recommend make it formal the first couple of times, you’ll get more out of it. This mindset has made us more efficient as the years have gone by, and helped us not to repeat mistakes. Some things that have come out of our retros:

• We do not start a task without all of the materials to complete it. We used to spend hours going back and forth to the hardware store. This alone saves us so much time and money in gas.
• We instituted a pause button. Andy has so much more technical knowledge, but Gwen is intuitive about potential problems with an idea or plan. We are both allowed to say “wait a minute…..” or “before you start can you explain…” and talk it through without hard feelings before we continue.
• We stopped using Trello and went back to paper boards.
• We implemented a $100 rule, you can make any project purchase under $100 without the other’s involvement. Anything over $100 requires agreement from both of us.
• We’ve also set up some guidelines around filming projects when that became a thing.

It has taken us years to get good at this part. We used to argue, and point fingers, but it’s much easier to have a civilized discussion with a focus on getting better than it is to dwell on why things went bad.

When you are finished with one project it is easy to start the next one. Take a minute a breath! Take a vacation or staycation, refresh yourselves before jumping headfirst into the next thing!

Do you have any tips for managing DIY projects? We’d love to hear them in the comments below!