How long is your to-do list? You’re in business for yourself, so I’m sure it’s about a mile long.
Are you where you thought you’d be in business at this point? It’s probably the case that you thought you’d have some bigger projects completed and that you’d be further along at this point.
It’s no wonder it’s hard to get anything done and complete projects. There’s only so much you can handle in a day. It’s overwhelming and so it’s much easier to just put it off.
The problem with that, besides the obvious, is that it makes it impossible to make any progress. So then you get even more discouraged and unhappy with your work. It starts to feel even more doubtful that you’ll ever be able to make progress. This makes it even harder for you to feel motivated and work productively, and so the cycle continues.
I want you to know that hope is not lost. The first positive sign is that you’re actively trying to become more productive. You know there’s a problem with your levels of productivity and time management skills right now and you want to make a change.
The other piece of good news is that there are strategies that can help you get more done and feel like you’re making real progress with your pile of projects. These positive changes can happen almost immediately.
Chunking Is the Answer
We talked about the fact that one of the most difficult things about getting stuff done is having a looming, huge project in front of you. Unless you have an endless amount of time in front of you to work, it almost seems not worth it to even get started.
It’s also a mindset thing. You don’t even know where to start, so you don’t. It’s completely overwhelming and you go into shut down mode.
Another issue you might be dealing with is perfection. You want to do a good job on the project but it’s so big and overwhelming that you feel a great deal of anxiety surrounding it.
The answer for you might be to break your project down into easily managed chunks. You can work on your project a little bit at a time.
Chunking also helps to give you a sense of control over your projects that you might not feel otherwise. It’s a system that allows you to create ownership over your productivity—something that might feel lost on you right now.
Chunking also helps to organize the project in your mind. It’s there, ready for you to work on it in easily managed chunks.
I think you’ll find that chunking projects helps give you a sense of power and determination. It will help you become more productive. You’ll be able to get work done whether you have 15 minutes to work or hours to work. Every time you sit down to work on a project, you’ll be making measurable progress.
It’s that measurable progress that so many of us need to see. It’s frustrating to feel like we’re not making any progress at all, when the reality is that there’s just so much to do and complete that it never feels like you’re putting a dent into things. But when you break your projects down, you can easily see that you’re getting chunks of the project done at a time and making real, measurable progress.
Chunk and Organize Your Project
Hopefully, you’re really excited about this. The next step now that you know more about chunking your project is to organize it.
Break your tasks down into their smaller parts. Let’s say you have to write a book. What goes into doing that?
You might have to do some brainstorming, niche and market research, outlining, fact finding research, writing chapters, editing, proofreading, etc.
Now, break things down even further. What goes into the brainstorming and research steps? What does it mean to edit, write, proofread, etc.?
Successful businesses create systems for various tasks, especially when they have many people working for them. You can do this in your business, even if it’s just you completing the work.
Take McDonald’s, for example. There’s a system in place for everything those workers do in a day. Everything is broken down into chunks. Do this, then do that.
You can do that in your own business. Create systems for research and writing.
You can even break things down into time-based intervals. Let’s say your project overall is going to take you 10 hours to complete. Break your project down into 20-minute chunks of time.
So for the first set of 10 chunks, you might be researching and outlining. What are the exact steps that go into that?
Or, you can chunk based on activity.
The point is to break it all down. Then, organize what you’ve figured out.
Plan for When You Work On These Chunks
Once you’ve broken your tasks down into these smaller chunks, I think you’ll find that you have a total mindset shift. It’s so much easier to get things done now. It’s easier to stomach this larger project because it’s so much more manageable.
Make sure you work these chunks into your daily schedule. Maybe you’ll work on one or two or five project chunks a day. This is how you chip away at major projects and actually complete them, whether you’re working full time or part time or even if you only have a few minutes to work on your business here and there.
If you chunk it, schedule it, and stick to it, you’ll complete these big, important projects that seemed too scary and daunting before.
Break it All Down and Make it Happen
You can apply this system to anything in your life, really. You never have to be intimidated by large projects or feel like it’s hopeless and that you can never actually accomplish anything in your business. I assure you, you can. You can accomplish a whole lot.
It all starts with figuring out what you have to do and breaking it down into its smaller parts. Then, you have to make a commitment to actually do it. I’m sure you’ll be so much more productive now that you’re taking back your power in your business.
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