If you wanted to take down the biggest tree in a forest, how would you do it? Steamroll it? Charge at it like a linebacker? Throw a grenade at it? Or use an axe? Of course you would say ‘use an axe.’ Taking down a big tree requires patience and hard work. A great thing about using an axe, is with every swing, you get stronger and better at it. With every swing you’re closer to your goal. And the tree will eventually fall.
My mind runs a thousand miles an hour, I have multiple interests, hobbies, ideas and a never ending projects wishlist. It is very easy to get lost in all that and push old projects an ideas aside to clear the way for the ones. But there are certain things that persist. No matter how many new ideas come up, some old ideas still make their way up and sit at the back of your mind. And the only two real reasons why things get pushed back is because there’s no sense of urgency to get them done and perceived the size of the project. But there is a lot of literature on this exact subject on how to get things done, including Scott Belsky’s Action Method, as outlined in his very influential book Making Ideas Happen and David Allen’s GTD Method. Both are aimed to help you stay organized and productive so that you could get things done and make your ideas happen. I’ve learned a great deal from both authors, and implemented some of their ideas to my daily routine. But the best way for me to get big projects done is to chip away at it.
What do I mean by ‘chip away at it’? It’s quite simple, do a little bit every day. You can’t take down a tree by steam rolling it, charging it or throwing grenades at it; unless you want to cause a lot of damage to the environment, your equipment or hurt yourself. For example, if you wanted to write a book, you’d write 1 page a day for the next year. By the end of the year, you’d have 365 pages. If you aimed to loose 1 lbs a week, by the end of the year you’d have lost 52 lbs.
Whatever the project is you need to find a manageable way to chip away at it. Do a little everyday, because the time will pass and you’ll reflect on that week, month or year and realize if only you did just a little everyday, you’d have it all done.
Image courtesy of Alexander Gude
