Getting Motivated to Get Things Done – Part 5

Just do it.

Well – – you knew it was coming.  Sometimes we just need to suck it up and get ‘er done.  As much as we hate to do it, as boring, gross, hard, exhausting, and just plain yucky – there are some tasks that we just need to hunker down and do.  I loathe the grocery store experience.  Clipping coupons, walking the isles, checking out, loading and then unloading the car, then putting everything away after I get home – YUCK with a capital YUCK!   But…we eat and many times I put off the grocery store too long and we end of practically running out of food.  Then I end up making one giant trip which ends up being excruciatingly long and way too time consuming.

And I know this is the case with my DVD project.  One day soon I am going to just sit down and do it.  I might need to get some help so I can learn how to work the program and then I will start scheduling some times on my calendar and just get it done!

Thanks for reading this week.  Hope you found this series helpful.

Have a great weekend.

Amy

http://www.amymunns

PS – Of course you know, if you are struggling to get motivated on how to tackle a project, I can help.  I help with goal setting and time management and can help you get your projects checked off your to-do list.

And if you did find this series helpful, I would be very grateful if you shared my blog and invited your friends to “like” my consulting page on Facebook.  Thanks for your support.

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Getting Motivated to Get Things Done – Part 4

Let it go

Not probably the answer you were expecting, but let’s be honest; somethings just need to released and never thought of again.  If you are sitting on a project that you have absolutely no motivation to get done, you can’t imagine ever getting it done and the fact that you haven’t done it – haunts you…it might be time to face the fact that it will probably never get done.   Not to mention, you have survived this long without completing it, does it really need to be done?  And releasing the guilt or nagging feeling of it hanging over your head, might actually feel good and freeing.

In my DVD example – I am not ready to “let it go”.  These are my kids and my memories and I can’t imagine not documenting them in some way other than being stored on my hard drive.  I want them to have something to show their children.  But, I did recently let go of a big project I hadn’t touched in years.  About twelve or thirteen years ago I started a huge sewing project that I intended to give to my parents for a gift.  But it was so huge, I lost interest.  A couple of years ago, my sister-in-law and I were talking about it and she offered to work on it.  It felt so good to hand it over to her.  I don’t see it anymore when I work in my sewing area.  Quite frankly, I don’t even think about it.  Very freeing indeed!

Hope you are finding my “Getting Motivated to Get Things Done” helpful.  Final tip, tomorrow.

Amy

http://www.amymunns.com

PS.  On this Veteran’s Day and everyday – Thank you to all our Veterans for all you have sacrificed for us and our country.

Getting Motivated to Get Things Done – Part 3

Break a project into small parts

Sometimes a project is so huge or so mundane getting started is just so hard.  But breaking into smaller parts might help.  This can be done with two different approaches:

1. Break the project up into small and obvious sections.  In the case of my DVD project, one way to break this project into smaller pieces would be to tackle a couple of months at a time.  I can set mini-goals of working on only three months in one sitting.  When I am done with three months, I quit for that time that I am working and tackle another three months the next time.

and/or

2. Set time limits.  If I work on the DVD project each night for 25 minutes – no more – no less, over time I will start to see results.  It is important however to set realistic time limits.  Twenty-five minutes might not work if you are grouting the tile in your bathroom.  But you will be amazed at how many weeds you can pull in an eight minute chunk if you do it every afternoon.

Hope your week is going well.

Amy

http://www.amymunns.com

Getting Motivated to Get Things Done – Part 2

Get help when help is needed.

So I have this huge DVD making project that I discussed yesterday that is five years and counting in the making.  My first suggestion how to get motivated to get projects done would be – get help.  This could be in a couple forms.

1. Hire it out.

2. Ask a friend or friends.

No matter the “why” you don’t want to do something – hiring it out is always an option.  And sometimes it is the better option.  Especially in the case when you don’t know how to do something.  And by hiring someone else to do certain projects or tasks, it also frees you up to do the things you do know how to do and the things you really want to do.

But I realize that hiring it out isn’t always an option.  If that is the case, enlist the help of friends.  Maybe you have a friend that can teach you how to do something.  Hosting an old fashion barn raising is “many hands make light work” in the true sense of the word.

Back to my DVD project.  I know there are companies and individuals that I can hire to compile all my videos and photos.  But for whatever reason, I feel compelled to do this myself.  To me, it feels less personal if I don’t do it.  And I get pleasure out of looking at all the old video and photos of my sons.  However, I do know a few friends who have done similar projects and could probably teach me how to use the program to get started.  And I can always hire a babysitter or trade babysitting with friends to allow me some time to work on this project.

Hope you are having a good day.

Amy

http://www.amymunns.com

Getting Motivated to Get Things Done – Part 1

Ask yourself – WHY?

A couple of weeks ago I invited everyone to send me questions on any time-saving issues.  The first question that came in was “How do I get motivated to do things I don’t want but still need to do?”

I think it is important to start with asking yourself why don’t you want to do these things.  Is it because:

• You don’t really know how to do it.
• The project is just so huge, you don’t know where to start.
• The tasks are so mundane, boring, routine and just plain gross to even think about doing.

Understanding why you don’t want to do something will help you figure out the next steps on how to get it done.

I am going to give a personal example to use this week for this topic.  For a keepsake measure as well as a way to stay in touch with our families, I have a goal to compile all the videos and photos that Tim and I have taken of the boys and put them onto a DVD.  I am about FIVE YEARS behind on this project.   Here are the reasons why I haven’t accomplished this project.

1. I don’t really know how to do it.  Because I haven’t really done anything like this, I need to learn the program first before I can make any progress on the actual project.

2. Did I mention it is FIVE YEARS worth of video and photos I need to sort through?  And with every passing day and passing event, the project gets bigger and bigger.

3. The idea of sitting at a computer in the evenings or on a weekend, when I sit at my computer all day long isn’t very appealing to me.

Over the course of this week, I will address my project by offering ways to tackle it and get it done!

Thanks for reading.  Hope you are having a good day.

Amy

http://www.amymunns.com