Are you a great starter but a not so great finisher?
Or, do you find yourself waiting until the last minute to get stuff done?
While stuck in traffic for hourssss yesterday I stumbled across a very helpful (since I can be guilty of the above!) podcast from The Life School’s Brooke Castillo.
I’m sharing four of my favorite tips for starting – and finishing! – your next project:
1. Plan before taking action. This can be tedious, time consuming work at the beginning but will be well worth the effort.
Know your target or due date, get clear on results desired and then reverse engineer.
2. Focus on producing results. Now that you have a plan, change gears to the action part. Don’t get stuck in the consumption … that never-ending planning stage loop.
TIP: Give yourself a set time frame for getting 80% of your project done. With plan in hand and distractions blocked, quickly power through.
Getting most of it done early vs. last minute will feel amazing and you’ll be left with (unpressured!) time to enhance if needed.
3. Done is better than perfect.
We need to be willing to put that rough draft into the world. Not a sloppy D or F, but a decent B-.
Brooke Castillo, The Life Coach School
According to Castillo, many of us are guilty of holding on to rough drafts way too long.
Why? Because most harsh judgement comes from within.
We may find ourselves putting off even the most important projects until the last minute so that we have an excuse if it’s not perfect (… if no one buys, if there’s a typo, if critics aren’t crazy about it, if it doesn’t work.)
Do your best during a specific time frame and then hit publish. Click send.
Changes made after putting it out there will be smarter because they’ll be based on actual feedback. You’re much more likely to get a better end result, while wasting a lot less time getting there.
4. Find outside accountability if you need it. Many high performers are stars when reporting to a boss (or a teacher) but find themselves struggling when that outside accountability or guidance isn’t there.
Our unfinished (personal or professional) tasks, projects and dreams turn into CLUTTER which crushes our energy, time and self worth.
Clear that clutter by TAKING ACTION!
Choose one project that would feel great to be on top of and use the steps above to make it happen.
xoxo,
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