My Life Project Canvas

Dream projects stall without structure—whether you’re buying a property, crafting a leather bag, or planning a world trip. Too often, our biggest goals blur into busywork and enthusiasm fizzles. You can organise your projects in any format you like. People use note books, spreadsheets, docs. I like to keep mine organised in Notion. Ill show you what the looks like down below.

What Is the Life Project Canvas?

The Life Project Canvas is a distilled, four‑section worksheet that brings your entire initiative into focus at a glance. You fill in:

1. Vision & Scope

2. Planning & Prioritisation

3. Execution & Ownership

4. Risks & Retrospectives

By visualizing your project end‑to‑end, you lock in clarity, maintain momentum, and avoid the drift that kills so many personal initiatives.

Deep Dive into Each Step

Step 1: The Objective

Why It Matters: Without a clear “why,” you’ll lose direction when setbacks arrive. Defining what you want to achieve anchors your purpose, aligns with your core values, and sets measurable success criteria.

• Prompts:

  • What outcome do I want? Why?

  • How does this feed into my long‑term aspirations?

  • What does success look like?

Step 2: Milestones

Why It Matters: Big goals become achievable when broken into milestones. Sequencing your milestones—along with dates, costs, and required resources—prevents overwhelm and keeps progress visible.

• Prompts:

  • List 3–5 key milestones with target dates.

  • Identify dependencies: what must happen first?

  • Estimate costs and resources (people, tools, materials).

Step 3: The Plan

Why It Matters: A milestone without clear tasks and owners gets stuck. Translating each milestone into 3–5 concrete tasks—complete with durations and assigned individuals—ensures accountability and realistic time management.

• Prompts:

  • Think of the big things that need to be done - write them down (Tasks)

  • Now break up those big things into smaller tasks (Sub-Tasks)

  • Assign who’s responsible.

  • Check if the time demand fits existing commitments.

  • As you go along, not down any concerns you may have. You’ll address this in Step 4.

Step 4: Risks, Issues, Dependencies & Assumptions

Why It Matters: Ignoring what can go wrong is planning to fail. Cataloguing risks, issues, dependencies, and underlying assumptions up front lets you build fallback plans and adjust before you’re derailed.

• Prompts:

  • What risks could block progress?

  • Do you already have issues or blockers in the way?

  • Which dependencies must be secured?

  • What assumptions underlie your plan?

Step 5: Review & Retrospective

Why It Matters: Regular check‑ins turn projects into learning machines. Reflecting on what worked and what stalled—then capturing lessons learned and tweaks—keeps your approach agile and drives continuous improvement.

• Prompts:

  • When is your sprint review?

  • What went well, what didn’t?

  • Two lessons learned, one adjustment for next time.

Media: Example “Lessons Learned” table sketched on the canvas.

Example Walk‑Through

Let’s apply the Canvas to planning our family trip to South America:

1. Vision: “Experience a two‑week adventure in Bolivia with the kids. Rekindle with my place of brith and cultural roots”

2. Milestones:

   • Plan itinerary (by May 15)

   • Book flights & accommodations (by June 1)

   • Arrange leave & pet care (by June 10)

   • Finalise packing list & health prep (by July 1)

3. Tasks: Research sites, compare flight prices, schedule vaccinations, organize gear.

4. Risks & Assumptions: Visa processing delays; assume flights stay under budget; dependency on vaccination appointments.

5. Review: Monthly family check‑in to celebrate progress, troubleshoot snags, and adjust planning.

Media: GIF of the filled‑out Canvas in Notion, showing real data.

What’s next?

Reach out to on LinkedIn and tell me which life project you’re plotting on your Canvas—I’ll share feedback!

Next week: Charting your top life initiatives, which ones do you focus on?

Master Your Life Projects with Alex Zarate

Plan your life. Execute with discipline. Leave a legacy.