Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed with too much to do, in not enough time, with little to know motivation to do it? Yea, that’s what I thought. Me too.
Well, I have some good news. In the last couple of weeks I’ve actually managed to tick a few things off my list that had been hanging over my head for months. I’d spent countless hours fretting and worrying in my head about how I was going to get them done or when. I kept putting them off and putting them off, until they were at priority ‘hair on fire’ and I had to get them done. And I did it! In hindsight I think it was two key things that allowed me to get them done and with embarrassingly little effort compared to what I had anticipated it would take.
- Just start. Just pick the smallest possible step that will bring you even just a fraction closer to being done – then do it. And I do mean tiny. It could be as simple as opening your email client or word processor with the intention of getting started. It could be looking up the phone number of the person you need to call. Or looking up an answer to a question you aren’t sure about. The key is to just get started. Then let the momentum of that first step carry you onward. Even if you can’t get it all done in one go, just having started can quickly give you a clear picture of the road to completion. Now with those next steps clearly in front of you it will be easier to pick those guys off and you will be done in no time.
- The other was being ok with doing a good enough job, instead of waiting for things to come together so that I could achieve some unnecessary example of perfection that even my unborn grandchildren would be proud of. There is absolutely an acceptable and obtainable bar below perfection we can all strive for.
Sadly, these weren’t new lessons for me. I’ve learned both of these first hand many times before. This time around I think because it happened in such quick succession and on multiple projects the pattern became clearer.
If there is something you need or want to get done and you just can’t manage to get any traction on it, give one or both of the above a try. I think you will find it is just the trick to get you on your way.
Lunch update
Well, I successfully packed my lunch in a little Tupperware box this morning, and brought along the chopsticks as well. LOVE – IT. I think I have the beginnings of a winner on my hands here. As it turns out I’m not as terrible with chopsticks as I thought, but it was still enough to slow me down and eat my meal one slow bite at a time. Also, not dropping each thing in its own individual bag actually made my lunch packing faster, as well as being nicer on the eyes when it was time to eat.