Breaking out of the busy trap – steps on how to finish projects or achieve goals
Don’t just dream of acheiving your goals
Life gets in the way. We have goals that we want to accomplish, but never seem to get there. Even for those who are naturally task-oriented and project-minded, getting those wanna-do’s done is a challenge. Many of us are in the “busy trap,” and are cleaning house, cooking, shopping, surfing the web, watching TV, or working out for hours a day – staying busy but not really achieving what we really want to accomplish.
So, how do you break out of the busy trap and start working toward your goals and finish something you’ll be proud to accomplish? Here are a few tips
What does success feel like?
We all have a half dozen (or several dozen!) goals we’d like to accomplish, bucket lists we’d like to start on or actions that need to be done but seem to be put off. My suggestion is to pick one – a goal, bucket list item, or a task that is in the queue.
Just one.
Focus on that item and envision it complete. When this item is done, how is your life better, your career on a new road, or how does it feel to have those darn weeds out of the flower beds? Jump ahead in time and imagine the emotions or feelings of this one thing done. Feels good, right? If you can write down the feelings and emotions and put it somewhere you can find it.
Start right now
Take 5
Most of us aren’t sitting around thinking, “What am I going to do with all this time on my hands?” If you are, you’re probably not reading this! So, commit to moving ahead on your new project for just five minutes. Maybe you go into the yard and look at those darn weeds and estimate in your head about how long it’s going to take to get them pulled. Or brainstorm the job you really want for five uninterrupted minutes. Write down the estimate or the fantasy job description and then spend 10 seconds thinking how it’s going to feel to have this done.
In five minutes you can write down five tasks or make one phone call. For most of us, even if that is time spent drinking our morning coffee, we can make some progress.
What I’ve found is that once folks begin their new project, they often gather momentum and finish much quicker than they expect.
Commit some time every day
Stay the course
After the first surge of excitement about accomplishing our task, the feeling fades and those weeds are still in the garden. This is where many of us start rationalizing our inaction. “Those darn weeds will just grow right back. I should wait and pull them all at once!” At this point, go back and remember that feeling of accomplishment you created in the first step. Stop for a minute and feel that sense of achievement again. Put your time commitment on a calendar and set a reminder you’ll see or hear. Keep the momentum!
If the good feelings aren’t there, or you really can’t remember why you started this in the first place, maybe it is time to give it up. Just saying.
Don’t stop believing
Celebrate your accomplishment
Once you’ve completed your task, project, or goal, don’t forget to celebrate. Celebrations can be big and expensive or just a glass of wine or iced tea as you gaze at your weed-free garden. Spend a few minutes feeling that sense of accomplishment and success. Review the process in your mind or on paper – how did you get here? For many, the realization is that it took far less time that originally planned. Once you called the landscape guys, the job was done the next day. Brainstorm the qualities and tasks of your perfect job and suddenly the path to that position starts getting clearer. How wonderful it is to get this done.
Allow yourself to feel that sense of accomplishment
I’m a project manager by trade, and I still follow these guidelines. Even those of us who dive into the details of getting projects complete need to remember to set aside time to plan, do something every day, remember why we’re doing this when the memory fades, and celebrate when we have successful completion. Breaking out of the “busy trap” and actually achieving a personal goal or finishing an important task feels great and you’ll want to go back to the beginning and start on another.
Try our process and let us know how it worked for you.
How do you finish what you start, or decide to let it go? Let us know in the comments.
For more information on how to finish those projects, request our FREE tip sheet and resource guide “How to Finish Anything.”
Project Management Update
