Three Powerful Steps To "getting It Done
When I think of getting it done, the truth is it's just a lot of small (baby) steps that are on the way to making something happen. To look at a big task all at once is so daunting. We would never get started. So many of us are stuck in the brilliance of our big ideas because we're overwhelmed...
Break Through the Overwhelm
I want to share part of a phone call I received from a woman who was interested in signing up for my new pilot coaching program.
She wanted to know how I could help her since she had so much on her plate and was very overwhelmed. (Sound familiar?)
My first question was "what are you looking to get done?" "Well I'd like to build my list, make more money and write my book."
"No wonder you're overwhelmed", I said, "what you're looking to accomplish is huge and each one of those goals has hundreds of steps involved. Without breaking them down there's no way to tackle goals like that, and not go crazy."
Of all of the components of list building, she was most interested in tackling social networking. "Okay", I said, "do you want to focus on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or blogging?" Her response was Twitter.
Well, now we were drilling down to a much more manageable task. We discussed a handful of actions she could begin doing right away to support her use on Twitter and begin building her list using just this one tool. I could hear the tension in her body relax just after a few moments, and in the three days since we've spoken, she's already taking action.
So what helped this woman take action?
1. Identifying her primary goal or objective. This is where you concentrate on the outcome you desire. This woman decided that the most important outcome for her was to build her list.
2. Chunking the goal out. Once you have a goal, break it down into chunks. What do I mean by chunks? Break things down into smaller manageable pieces. For example we determined the different chunks related to list building - social networking, search engine optimization, speaking engagements, joint ventures etc. The single larger goal is more achievable as you work through one chunk at a time.
3. Breaking it into easy steps. Now you have chunked your goal it's time to work out the steps you need to accomplish. Break it down into small tasks that are very doable. For example, I recommended specific things this woman could do to get going on Twitter. For example, she could set-up Tweet Deck (an application that makes your Twitter experience more manageable), create a small list of people to connect with in her industry or as colleagues, and then begin interacting with this list (by reading their posts, following their links and sharing interesting information with them). These were very specific, doable tasks.
These three powerful steps will help you meet your goals too - whether it's the 10 pounds you want to lose or the huge information product you want to write, it's all about one pound at a time or one chapter a time. Once you have your goal clearly in mind and have it chunked down into manageable pieces, you can start moving through the necessary steps with speed and grace.
Break Through the Overwhelm
I want to share part of a phone call I received from a woman who was interested in signing up for my new pilot coaching program.
She wanted to know how I could help her since she had so much on her plate and was very overwhelmed. (Sound familiar?)
My first question was "what are you looking to get done?" "Well I'd like to build my list, make more money and write my book."
"No wonder you're overwhelmed", I said, "what you're looking to accomplish is huge and each one of those goals has hundreds of steps involved. Without breaking them down there's no way to tackle goals like that, and not go crazy."
Of all of the components of list building, she was most interested in tackling social networking. "Okay", I said, "do you want to focus on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or blogging?" Her response was Twitter.
Well, now we were drilling down to a much more manageable task. We discussed a handful of actions she could begin doing right away to support her use on Twitter and begin building her list using just this one tool. I could hear the tension in her body relax just after a few moments, and in the three days since we've spoken, she's already taking action.
So what helped this woman take action?
1. Identifying her primary goal or objective. This is where you concentrate on the outcome you desire. This woman decided that the most important outcome for her was to build her list.
2. Chunking the goal out. Once you have a goal, break it down into chunks. What do I mean by chunks? Break things down into smaller manageable pieces. For example we determined the different chunks related to list building - social networking, search engine optimization, speaking engagements, joint ventures etc. The single larger goal is more achievable as you work through one chunk at a time.
3. Breaking it into easy steps. Now you have chunked your goal it's time to work out the steps you need to accomplish. Break it down into small tasks that are very doable. For example, I recommended specific things this woman could do to get going on Twitter. For example, she could set-up Tweet Deck (an application that makes your Twitter experience more manageable), create a small list of people to connect with in her industry or as colleagues, and then begin interacting with this list (by reading their posts, following their links and sharing interesting information with them). These were very specific, doable tasks.
These three powerful steps will help you meet your goals too - whether it's the 10 pounds you want to lose or the huge information product you want to write, it's all about one pound at a time or one chapter a time. Once you have your goal clearly in mind and have it chunked down into manageable pieces, you can start moving through the necessary steps with speed and grace.
