For 10 years as a construction engineer, I would plan any package of work like this…

1. Lay out a structure

Break down the scope into logical chunks. Usually, these are physical components (Pile cap, headstock, bridge deck etc.). But not always.

However YOU think about the scope is best for the rest of the steps to flow.

Planners would call this the WBS, but who needs the jargon. 

2. List the tasks

Virtually build the components in your mind and just list the steps. Don’t worry about relationships, durations, calendars or anything else - it will only break your flow. Get the steps down in order.

3. Add relationships

Link together the tasks to make sequences. Focus on physical constraints (what planners would call “hard logic”) rather than sequences of crews or equipment.

For example, the road surface needs to be done between the line marking… that kinda stuff.

4. Estimate durations

Give your best guesstimate of durations for all the tasks. It’ll be wrong approximately 100% of the time, but you need to start somewhere. If you are completely at a loss, grab a foreman or site supervisor, they love estimating durations 😉

5. Add constrained resources

Don’t bother adding every resource each task needs (you don’t have the time). But, most engineers know if their project has a limited concrete supply, struggles to get enough electricians or has space constraints on site.

Add this information to your tasks and check for conflicts.

6. Verify durations and optimise the sequence.

Ok, now you need help. 

Get the most experienced people in your team together (sure, get your manager but supervisors and leading hands are better) and walk through the sequences. 

Ask for validation of durations and search for ways to pull things forward. This will usually kick off a discussion about crew sizes and their flow.

Add this to your plan as you update the durations.

Ps. This resource step is super easy if you are doing this in Aphex.

7. Prepare the plan for communication.

You have a plan that the right people are bought into. Now, you need everyone to understand it.

If you have subcontracted teams, assign them.

If you need a QA inspector, assign them.

If you need… you get it.

8. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Host a briefing session to run through the plan, recap short-term sequences at pre-start meetings, consistently update the plan and reissue it to everyone.

Keep repeating the plans until you are sick of hearing your own voice.

For over a decade, I found this was the fastest way to build a workable plan. 

It works in Aphex, in a spreadsheet, on on a whiteboard, or using slate and chalk for that matter.

Abroad Degree with Indian Government Loan !!

The Student Who Took a ₹60 Lakh Loan for a Foreign Degree and Regretted It

In 2024, a middle-class student from India took an education loan of ₹60 lakhs to pursue a master’s degree in the US…

Everyone around him said it was a great investment. “Once you graduate, you’ll earn in dollars,” they said…

Two years later, reality hit hard.

The job market had slowed down, and visa restrictions made it tough to find high-paying employment. The only jobs available paid just enough to cover rent and food. His monthly loan EMI in India was ₹80,000, but he was barely saving ₹20,000 a month abroad…

Now, he’s stuck - returning to India means lower salaries, making loan repayment even harder. Staying in the US means living paycheck to paycheck for years…

The lesson?

A number of students blindly assume that any foreign degree guarantees high earnings. But the reality is that job markets fluctuate, visa rules change, and not every degree has an equal return on investment.

That’s why I recommend the following:

1/ Carefully calculate the ROI (Return on Investment) of your degree before taking a massive loan. A high-cost degree doesn’t always mean high earnings.

2/ Consider alternative paths - scholarships, assistantships, or even lower-cost universities with strong placement records.

3/ Don’t fall for the “foreign degree = automatic success” myth. Research job prospects, industry demand, and visa policies before making a decision.

A degree is an investment - make sure it’s one that actually pays off

This is really something that every aspiring international student in India must understand. Unless the masters is done from a very good university abroad, it is not at all worth it! The very sad part is that young students (especially those from non-finance/non-commerce backgrounds) are not in a position to understand all these calculations of ROI and parents do not want to discourage their children from studying abroad due to the fear of killing their dreams or opportunities. This, accompanied by herd mentality and the prospective false pride of a foreign degree, doesn't make them think twice before taking an education loan. The only people profiting out of this whole eco-system are unscrupulous education and VISA agents. 

Our guys have a lot of clarity about education.  We picked up a course only when there was a scholarship i.e., someone paid us to learn. But the aim in doing such a course was to be scholars;  and scholarship amount was a nudge, in that direction. 

Sometimes we earned the scholarship without actually becoming scholars and that was the paradox of our times. 

Now, you are investing borrowed money to gain scholarship, and your paradox arises, when the said scholarship does not raise up to the investment and lands you in balance of payments problem. 

So, you think you are wise enough to choose the kind of wisdom you'd like to buy, and eventually gain the wisdom that wasting money on wisdom was not really a great choice?

my opinion, spending your money on education will never go in vain. Actually with the education you get from one of the first world countries, the amount of experience and exposure that is gained will be vastly superior and it will be an eye opener of sorts. Hence it is imperative to look on the brighter side and devise a better strategy to make use of the experience and exposure to convert it into monetary gains.

I say, its worth it, and a life lesson! We never gained that wisdom back then, and assumed that the scholarship was all about knowing stuff. Apparently, it is not - it's all about wisdom!