Conquer Your Big Projects

The box sat in my closet for over a year. I had high hopes for the scanner when I purchased it, envisioning the complete freedom of going paperless by converting everything to neat, easily organized, environmentally friendly digital files. 

But as the months passed and the box remained unopened, I realized it wasn’t just taking up space in my closet – it was taking up space in my mind. I was so overwhelmed at the prospect of figuring out how to operate the scanner that I forgot the most important rule for tackling any task in life or business: break it up into manageable steps and take them one at a time. 

Open the box

The day of reckoning arrived when a looming deadline for a mortgage application made scanning a necessity. I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I decided instead to break the task up into the smallest possible steps, down to the point where it became comical. 

Step 1 - Open the box. Still alive!

Step 2 - Take the scanner out of the box. Doing great! 

Step 3 - Read the instructions, one paragraph at a time. Now I’m really on a roll!

Step 4 - Plug it in. Mere child’s play!

 Step 5 - Turn it on. This is so much easier than I imagined!

You get the idea. I was scanning documents in less than 30 minutes. And – just as important – that giant monster weighing on me evaporated, and I was left with a feeling of accomplishment to accompany my new digital files. 

Busting business overwhelm

The tasks we face as business leaders and entrepreneurs work the same way. As a business leadership and positioning coach, I see overwhelm all the time – and all too often, it’s the result of thinking of the items on your to-do list as big projects rather than a series of small, manageable steps.

This is exactly what was holding back one of my private corporate clients. Alice had been buried under a mountain of overdue projects. With each passing day the work seemed to grow more daunting, until she was paralyzed with overwhelm. 

I told her the scanner story, and we got to work. Together we identified the top three prioritized projects and broke them down into easy to achieve steps. Not only did Alice complete all three projects with an ease she never thought possible – but she did it in two days! That’s the power of focusing on one step at a time.

Easy steps create momentum

Business is about making and fulfilling commitments, one after the other. But it’s hard to do that when every commitment takes on Mount Everest proportions in our minds. If we had to scale a mountain in one big push of effort, very few of us would start the climb. The good news is, we don’t have to reach the top in a single bound – all we need to do is take the first step. And then the next.

This allows you to break free of the paralyzing overwhelm and start to experience the ease, joy, and momentum of forward progress. Projects will no longer seem as difficult as you had imagined them to be, and when you complete them, the reward will be trading that awful “I’m so behind I’ll never be able to catch up” feeling for one of lightness and elation. You’ll regain control of your to-do list and your time, and you’ll be able to relax knowing the next project can be handled the same way – one step at a time.

Making time for progress 

Of course, breaking larger tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps only works when you give yourself the time and space to focus on your work. My clients are able to  concentrate on the steps at hand by clearing their schedule of all distractions. All phone calls can be routed  to a secretary or voice mail, your email and social media notifications can be temporarily turned off, and tasks not related to your top priority projects can be eliminated, delegated, or pushed out to a later date.

I love seeing my clients not only achieve their goals, but gain a sense of pride and happiness in their accomplishments. When I help business leaders prioritize, break things down into smaller tasks, and clear the space to complete their work, the result is always the same – confidence, forward momentum, profitability, and ease. 

Interested in learning more about how I help my clients go from overwhelmed to done? Visit me HERE.