Chipping away at a project

16 September 2013

Sometimes projects, big or small, feel too overwhelming to even start. Sometimes tasks are ongoing or recurring and we have a tendency to let them build up before starting to tackle them.

For either of those types of projects, one solution is to do a little. Just do something. Because a little effort on a regular basis will get the job done, eventually.

I’m experiencing that right now when it comes to getting caught up with my Quickbooks bookkeeping for my business. In the past, I’ve let it build up and tackled months’ worth at a time. I’m happy to say that that’s not been the case this year, but I still struggle to stay caught up with it. As of this afternoon, I was about three weeks behind and, despite some dueling priorities, I decided I had to get at least some done. So I’ve been working on it for the last hour or so and by the time I quit for the night, I’ll at least be caught up with August and I’ll have entered all September deposits and checks. That’s my vow to myself. Knowing I don’t have to do it all in one session allowed me to get started.

I received an email over the weekend from a woman who had attended a talk I gave this summer. In that talk, I encouraged people to just spend 15 minutes a day on organizing or decluttering. Much like my bookkeeping, I urged them to just do something even if the job wasn’t finished.

This woman was kind enough to share with me that she took my advice to heart and 15 minutes at a time, tackled 12 years’ worth of accumulated financial papers. These were papers she hadn’t been able to face after her husband died. Now they’re processed and, as necessary, shredded.

This was a task that was completely overwhelming and emotionally difficult for her. 15 minutes at a time (sometimes 30), she got it done.

So there you have it. Whether you’re looking at overwhelming backlog or just keeping on top of a task (like data entry or laundry) so that it doesn’t get overwhelming, you can chip away at it, doing a little bit at a time, can make it much easier.

Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, productivity, time management