If a project feels difficult, break it down into smaller components. Start with the easiest one. Gain momentum. Focus on one thing at a time. For example:
- Planning a trip? Decide on dates and budget, research travel options, book flights, reserve accommodations, and map out a rough itinerary
- Decluttering a closet? Pull out everything, sort each item into a keep or donate pile, bag the donate pile, research a place that accepts donation, drop off.
- Writing a document? Jot down ideas, do research, summarize research, draft*, revise, edit, send.
As Henry Ford said, “nothing is particularly hard if you break it down into small jobs.”
*My wife, who wrote a lot in her younger days as an eng. lit. major in college, advised me to separate ideation, drafting and editing more than five years ago. I never listened. I kept trying to perfect each sentence as I wrote. My output was dismal. Somehow I couldn’t figure out why.
In recent months I have come around and agree that she is right after all. Sometimes ideas just take time to sink in, right?
