Make Your Projects Bite-Size

Caterina Rando, MCC; www.caterinar.com

“Finding space in your busy life for a big project like developing a website can be a challenge,” points out Caterina Rando, speaker, success coach, and author of the bestselling Learn to Power Think and seven other books for entrepreneurs. She advises,

Sometimes we have so much to do that we feel paralyzed. When that happens, write down everything you think you need to do. Decide what is urgent, and what you can put off. Ask yourself if there is anything you can forget about doing, and if there’s anything that someone else can do.

Try working in increments. Tell yourself you will give yourself a break in an hour. Psychologically, you will feel more at ease with the situation. At the end of the hour, take a break, even if it is just a walk down the hall. This is also good for the creative process; it gives your conscious mind an opportunity to wander and come up with some new ideas.

If you are really dreading doing something, find a way to make it fun. I always pay my bills while watching a Star Trek rerun; that makes it tolerable. I have a client who returns all possible phone calls from her Jacuzzi early in the morning. Play upbeat music when working in your office.

Break down your project into bite-size chunks. I used to tell myself that I would take a whole day and do nothing else but clean my office. I never did it because the idea was too dreadful. Instead, what I do now is work on it in 15 minute segments.

I often procrastinate when I need to do some writing. The mental block that is in my way is that I believe or feel that I don’t know how to say what I want to say. But if I sit down and start tapping on the keyboard, it will work itself out. So don’t sit around wondering how you might get it done, simply start to do it and see what happens.