Yesterday, I said that when I flesh out a new project I usually leave the due date line blank. That’s because most of my work these days doesn’t have any deadlines.
When you have clients waiting on you, statutes of limitations and court rules to abide, deadlines are a fact of life. I’ve tried making up due dates. Usually, they don’t work. As Douglas Adams said, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.â€
Without a due date or penalty for not finishing projects, you may ask how I’m able to get things done.
The first thing I do is to always have several projects going at once. That way, when I’m bored with one or stuck on something, I switch to another. When I come back to the first project, things have usually sorted themselves out. If not, I’ve got others to choose from.
The second thing I do is break up my projects into small parts or next actions. This keeps me from getting overwhelmed by the immensity of what I’ve set out to do. I look at the next step or, at most, the next two or three, and get to work.
It feels good ticking off the boxes as I complete those tasks, which inspires me to carry on and do more.
I also tend to make the initial steps easy ones, to help me get started.
The third thing I do is to keep the big picture in mind. I think about the goal–what I’m seeking to accomplish and how exciting or gratifying it will be when I do it. When I find myself second-guessing myself or getting frustrated by a problem, remembering “why” helps me get back on track.
In sum, I think big but act small. Thinking big supplies the motivation. Acting small allows me to make progress.
Okay, one more. And this might actually be the most important.
I also give myself permission to give up.
I don’t feel guilty about not finishing everything I start or starting everything I’ve planned.
One of the perks of not having a client waiting on me.
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