🧠 Part 1: Clarifying the Structure of Your Work
Let's reframe how you mentally organize your work first. Instead of rigid sprints or freeform brainstorming, use these flexible layers:
1. Projects
Your top-level initiatives. Examples:
- “Notion Template Storefront”
- “AI Prompt Pack for Writers”
- “Home Automation Blueprint eBook”
They have a clear end-point.
2. Phases (Milestones / Epics)
Break each project into phases or themes like:
- Planning / Research
- Creation / Writing / Design
- Development / Packaging
- Testing / Proofing
- Launch / Publish / Market
- Post-launch Maintenance
Each phase can span multiple tasks and even involve CI/CD if needed.
3. Work Units (Tasks)
Actual pieces of work with:
- Time estimate
- Deadline
- Priority tag (P1: Urgent, P2: Upcoming, etc.)
- Optional dependencies or blockers
Examples:
- Write landing page copy
- Design product logo
- Publish blog post announcing product
- Test checkout flow on mobile
4. Workflows (Optional)
For repeatable patterns, like:
- CI for product builds
- Website publishing with Git
- Template syncing to marketplaces
These could be linked to automation but are mostly background context unless you're actively working on them.
📅 Part 2: Visualizing the Process
You need visibility in a dual-layered way:
✅ Focus View
- What am I doing this week?
- What's due soon?
- What's blocked?
📈 Timeline View
- What's the big picture?
- When does this product hit launch?
- Can we overlap writing from Project A while finishing marketing for Project B?
This is where Gantt charts + calendar + task board together become powerful.
🛠️ Part 3: Better Tools for This Need
Since you want:
- Calendar + Gantt + Boards
- Visual flow
- Lightweight
- Self-hosted
You might want to seriously consider:
⚙️ OpenProject (best fit)
- Full Gantt, Calendar, Task board, and Work Package view
- Sprint/backlog support (Agile module)
- Milestones and dependencies
- Built-in time tracking, priorities, statuses
- Markdown support, discussions per task
- Visual and clean despite being powerful
- Active community and Docker support
🧭 Part 4: Planning Toward Product Delivery
You're trying to juggle:
- Task clarity
- Time budgeting
- Product outcome
- CI/CD readiness
Here's a suggested workflow template:
Weekly Sprint Rhythm (for 2-person team)
-
Monday Planning:
- Review calendar
- Choose 3-5 tasks each (est. total time ~20h max)
- Assign deadlines + priorities
-
Midweek Sync (or notes if async):
- Check for blockers
- Adjust priorities
-
Friday Review:
- What shipped?
- What slipped? Why?
- What phase are we moving to?
-
Reflect Monthly:
- What products did we finish?
- Were any steps missed or bloated?
- Is CI/CD helping or is it noise for this product?
💡 Optional Enhancements
-
Use tags or custom fields to denote:
- "Ready to Launch"
- "Blocked"
- "CI: Needed"
- "Static Product"
-
Use OpenProject time tracking or external tools like Kimai to compare planned vs actual effort — great for long-term improvement.