Free printable passion-project worksheet
Side Project Planner Template
Give a personal software, writing, creative, community, or small experimental project a finish line that fits around the rest of life. Keep ideas without letting every idea expand the current scope.
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What you will get
- Define a small, observable first finish line
- Name the audience and value of the project
- Protect the scope with a not-now list
- Choose milestones and an easy restart action
Copy or print this template
Practical starting checklist
Outcome and audience
- Side project: ____________________
- Who it is for: ____________________
- Useful finished outcome: ____________________
- I will know version one is done when: ____________________
Scope guardrails
- Must include: ____________________
- Explicitly not included yet: ____________________
- Assumption to test: ____________________
- Current constraint: ____________________
Milestones and actions
- Milestone 1: ____________________
- Milestone 2: ____________________
- Backlog ideas: ____________________
- Next three actions: ____________________
Review and restart
- Completed or learned: ____________________
- Feedback or decision: ____________________
- Work to remove or defer: ____________________
- Next session starts with: ____________________
Choose a finish line that survives limited time
A side project needs a smaller first outcome than a full-time initiative. Describe the useful result someone can see, read, use, attend, or respond to.
Keep good ideas out of the current scope
Put expansions and polish ideas in Backlog. A clear not-now list protects the next milestone while preserving ideas for a later version.
- Name one audience
- Test one assumption
- Keep milestones observable
- Choose actions that fit one session
Create a board when the plan starts changing
Use a Turnboards board for the live backlog, Active work, and completed progress. Keep long research, source files, finances, and formal business records in appropriate tools.
What Turnboards does—and does not do
Turnboards is a fast shared work list with boards, assignments, notes, due dates, offline updates, and Backlog, Active, and Complete statuses. It does not provide automated recurring checklists, photo-proof reports, invoicing, employee scheduling, GPS tracking, or formal inspection records.
Put the next job on one clear board
Try Turnboards free. Create a board, add three real work items, and invite the person who needs the list next.
Get Turnboards free