Have you ever had that project that you just don't feel like doing, but you know it's critical to your success?
Let’s talk about three tips you can try to help you knock out those projects, and most importantly, have fun doing it.
#1 Work in short sprints.
Many times we have the idea in our mind that the project going to be overwhelming. But we can get over that scary notion by breaking it down into short work sprints.
Make these sprints short enough that you're very confident you will complete one in 20 minutes or a half hour, and then plow through it. Shut off the cell phone and rid yourself of distractions. Close your office door. When I do a sprint, I shut everything off. I get my music pumping and I don't stop working unless the building's burning down.
A few of these sprints later, we often realize everything is easier than we thought and we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.
#2 Reward short-term goals.
Secondly, to make a project more fun and more doable, you need to reward short term goals. I’m not talking about goals that your manager or your boss gives to you or the big goals pertaining to your own business. I'm talking about small ones.
For example, I will work for an hour on something that may be I don't really enjoy, but I know it needs to be done. And then I will be looking forward to that time that I can work on the next task that I really love to do or I will reward myself with a cup of coffee or a scone. And I tell myself, this is a reward for plowing through something that I did not want to do. Or I'll call up one of my close friends to have coffee or beer and toast my success along with me. It’s always fun to tell someone you care about that you completed this benchmark you set for yourself. Little triumphs like these keep us more motivated with positive reinforcement and inspire us to keep going.
#3 Don’t rely on technology to be productive.
Has this ever happened to you? Let’s say you’re sitting on an airplane, planning to work on a project during the flight (if you can get the other person’s arms out of your way, that is) and the internet is not working. And then you say to yourself, crap, I can’t get done what I was planning to get done.
What I should have realized, and what I recommend that you keep in mind, is that you need to have “backup tasks,” projects and things to work on that do not require the internet. These could be a book or magazine article that you’ve wanted to read and a legal pad to write things down on. Not only are these “offline” items going to jog a different part of your brain, you won’t feel like you’re sitting somewhere idle when you feel inspired to keep working and brainstorming and learning.
So let’s recap now. These are 3 simple tips that will help you enjoy a big project and tackle it more effectively: divide the work into small sprints; celebrate any small goals you reach and always be ready to work offline.
And if you want to discover more tips and tricks to knock your next project out of the park, then go to smart agents.com/productivity, where you'll find many proven techniques to help you enjoy your time at work and after work!