I’ve had a few coaching sessions recently with clients that felt overwhelmed by everything that they have going on. For some, the seasonal nature of their work is ratcheting up. For others, the pace of work is not slowing down and the need to better manage their productivity is clear.
I have found that making progress on projects is one of the things that suffers as we get busy. The urgent day-to-day matters and fires demand so much of our time and attention that it feels impossible to also grapple with bigger projects. I know the feeling all too well. And the thing that helps me get past that is breaking down the tasks involved in completing each project.
I will go to a blank page in my journal and write Current Projects at the top. Then I will list out all of my projects, leaving room between each to write out more specific ideas, like my next steps, deadlines and what complete looks like. From there I will plug in specific actions into my weekly planning pages. I’ll continue to reference and update my Current Project page as I prioritize and plan how to use my time.
So, instead of berating yourself about, say, getting that new website design done and launched, break it down.
This technique helps because I am able to identify smaller tasks that often only take me a few minutes instead of trying to tackle it all at once, which is how many big-picture thinkers approach projects. It’s amazing how much progress you can make on a project by investing just 15 minutes, or 1% of your time, a day.
So, instead of berating yourself about, say, getting that new website design done and launched, break it down. Identify a specific task to tackle first like researching web designers or WordPress templates. And plan to make a little progress daily instead of waiting until you have 4+ hours to dedicate to getting it all done at once.
Here are four reflection questions to help you get started on a Current Project Page in your journal!
What are all of my current projects? What’s the very next thing I need to do to keep each project moving forward? What does it look like for me to complete each project? What’s my timeline for completing each project?
What’s Rosabella Consulting Up To?
Last week, I enjoyed some time away and unplugged completely. I took the family with me to Shadowcliff in Grand Lake, CO for our board meeting, and volunteer weekend. I also brought some copies of A Misfit Entreprenuer’s Guide, one for the library there and one for the silent auction….it’s a tough job spending time in the mountains like this to distribute copies of the book, but someone has to do it!