I find myself needing to refer back to Getting Unstuck Now more than I would like. Having observed other successful people, perhaps this is just what happens as you begin to take on more success-related projects. The project “to-do” list grows longer and longer. To get unstuck this time I took a look at the bottom of the list.
Project to-do list defined.
I’m not talking about your daily to-do list. You know the one that reminds you to, call business partner A about contract B, file your expense report, and then stop for a gallon of milk on the way home. Instead, I am referring to the list of all the projects that will take you from where you are now to where you envision yourself being.
What’s on your project list? At the moment mine contains lots of work on web properties. Projects like building the ColorMetrix support community and redesigning several other properties. These are activities that will move me forward towards the personal and business life I envision in my head. We are talking big picture here, not daily activities.
Look at the bottom of the list.
At the bottom of the list was a the project I never seemed to get to and quite frankly, that was driving me nuts. It occurred to me that one of two things was going on. Either the item did not need to be on the list, or it was at the bottom because I was avoiding completing it for whatever reason. Take a look at your list – do you have items like that? Since this item only involved about a single day of solid work I decided to just complete the project and see how I felt about it afterward.
Energized and relieved. I learned a couple things from this experience. The item stayed at the bottom of the list for months because I still needed to develop some additional skills to complete it properly. My subconscious kept putting the project at the bottom of the list until I was ready to complete it quickly and without frustration. When the project was complete I was relieved to have it done and my partners in the project expressed gratitude for the work being done as well.
How’s the bottom of your list look?
One of my approaches, when I can’t seem to come up with a solution that meets my standards goes like this:
Remember that idiot you used to work with once upon a time? You know, the space-heater/oxygen thief who’s mess you always seemed to be stuck cleaning up?
What would their solution be?
Ok, now improve it.
Sometimes I can’t improve it, but there are times when a bad solution is all there is, and facing that reality is the actual challenge.
I’d like to go on record and let everyone know Steve and I never actually worked together…..but I do know what he’s taking about 😉