Break your research project into a number of specific goals you will need to reach that will add up to the material you need to definitively finish your research. These can be qualitative and not directly related to discoveries, like "finish literature review." They can also take the form of specific discoveries or accomplishments, such as "derive valid statistical model" or "get cell to perform specific action."
Set dates by which you would like to complete each of your goals. You should find a happy medium between what would look good to your funding organization and the businessmen who will be reviewing your proposal and tracking your progress, and what you feel is realistic given your previous research experience. This happy medium will have to be optimistic enough so as to actually get your funding, yet realistic enough that you are not completely misleading your backers.
Sub-divide your goals into the steps you will need to take to accomplish them. Set further dates by which you would like to accomplish these sub-goals, and modify them as your research progresses. These will be useful if you do not make the deadline you had set for yourself for a given goal; you will still be able to demonstrate progress toward the goal, and show how the progress relates to the entire project.
Journal time spent on your research. If you chart this, you will readily see trends that will tell you if you are devoting enough time to your objectives and if the time is being efficiently used. If your time is spiking, but the objective remains elusive, then you will need to adjust your approach. This log can also be useful if your use of funds is audited.
Choose a given time interval, and assess your goals. Revise them in light of what you have and have not accomplished, and what you have and have not discovered.