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Sam's question:
"I can't seem to get started on big projects. I keep
looking for the right time, the right first step. I think I am
intimidated by the enormity of the challenge, so keep pushing it
off. What's wrong with me?"
Dear Sam,
Nothing is wrong with you. You feel overwhelmed by the first
steps you envision for yourself, and so you procrastinate because you
can't visualize yourself doing them. Consider chopping the first
step into smaller chunks, each one doable within a reasonable period
of time. Once any "big" project is whittled down to
size, you will be less intimidated to start it. It helps
to have a plan to execute your decisions. If you spend some time
thinking about what could go wrong and adjusting the plan to avoid
them, you gain extra confidence. Often, the best first step to
implement any decision is to plan how you're going to complete
it. Besides knowing what to do and when, planning is a great
confidence builder to get you started. After you start, you
begin to see even better ways to get through the maze of things you
must do to complete the project. Thus, the initial plan only
needs to be front-end loaded in the details, meaning the most
important contribution of the plan is to get you started. Once
you start the ball rolling, all you have to do is keep it moving -
momentum.. Once you build momentum, the project normally guides
itself. Maintaining momentum is key to completion...never lose
it.
