The single most common project-ending mistake is starting experimentation before approval. Work backwards from your fair date.
16 weeks out. Topic settled, background reading underway. Identify your adult sponsor.
14 weeks. Research plan drafted — question, hypothesis, procedure, risk assessment, analysis plan, bibliography.
12 weeks. Forms submitted for review. Nothing experimental happens yet. If your project involves human participants, vertebrates, hazardous agents, or regulated substances, this gate is absolute and there is no retroactive approval.
10 weeks. Approval received. Pilot run — a small dry run of the whole protocol to find what breaks. Almost everyone skips this and almost everyone regrets it.
9–5 weeks. Data collection. Notebook entry after every session, including the sessions where nothing worked.
4 weeks. Analysis complete. Figures drafted.
3 weeks. Paper and abstract drafted. Send for peer review.
2 weeks. Poster designed and printed. Print early — printers fail.
1 week. Rehearse. Mock interview with someone who will ask hard questions.
Two rules of thumb: everything takes about 1.5× longer than you estimate, and approval timelines are outside your control. Build slack in front of the gates, not after them.