What do you do when it’s time to start a big project that you’ve been putting off? Well, if you’re like many of us, you get up and go get a cup of coffee! You go for a walk. You go visit other people close to your workspace, “Hi Joe! My morning sure is hectic. How about yours?”
When there’s a big project to tackle, like writing a proposal or preparing a schedule, many people put off starting it because they want the time to be right. You know, they wait for a perfect block of time so they can focus 100% without interruptions. More often what they’re looking for is to get in the mood first. They want to feel like tackling the work. And that makes me think of a quote from Nido Quiben: “If you only work when you feel like working, you won’t get much work done.” Regrettably they sometimes delay starting the project so long that when they finally resign themselves to start, their time is limited and they’re rushed to get it done.
So what’s a busy professional to do? Try this smart approach. When you face any project that feels overwhelming, break it into what I call “human-size” pieces that you can handle. And start tackling a few of those human-size pieces immediately. Each day schedule some of those pieces on your to do list. This way, your mind gets into the project, your resistance melts away, and your creativity opens up. And before you know it, you’ll finish the project.