Just Get Started

“Wow,” the worker said, looking around my crammed apartment. “I’ve never seen so many boxes for a two-bedroom move before…I’m going to have to charge you more.” Fair enough; he also had to take the miserable sleeper sofa vertically down tricky stairs. Sure, I should’ve started earlier/downsized/been more deliberate in labeling boxes. Too late now.

Remember the vow you made not take junk with you to your next residence? And how that promise went right out the window when you were frantically throwing things into trash bags to load into the van instead of the dumpster? Unfortunately, completing a large work project can be eerily similar. You find refuse where it shouldn’t be because you waited too long—clearly not your best work.

Few of us produce well under the pressure of a fast-approaching deadline. You may be thinking, “Hang on, that’s when I excel because I need the adrenalin!” If you do this often, how’s your health? Go ahead and put yourself through eighteen-hour days but please have the decency to leave others off your manic treadmill. If you insist on that pace, you may very well find yourself handing off an error-ridden product. And then get sick.

The opposite does exist, through awe-inspiring planful creatures who create a schedule. They put the final deadline on the calendar then work backwards to insert the many dates by which certain elements need to be started or completed to assure an on-time delivery. They scrupulously stick to it—I’m sure they are paragons in other aspects of their lives and probably clean their teeth to perfection. But most of us aren’t that person. So, if you’re not the flawless flosser, here are some things to consider:  

• Chronic procrastination isn’t a helpful character trait. If that’s your thing, ask yourself why you persist, because you’re paying a price. Are you afraid of something? Do you regularly underestimate the time or effort required? Do you hope someone will bail you out if you act helpless? Are you nervous about the potential results or having to make a presentation? Stare the issue straight in the eye and name it to get it out in the open. Now you can deal with it and there are tons of resources out there to help you.

• Quiet the fretful chatter in your head to size up the task. Is it as daunting as you imagined? What have you done before that’s similar? Do you need to ask for help or gain expertise? Who could give you hints about a process to use?

• When packing an overflowing room, you start with a corner, right? With a big project, look at each corner and make a list of what you need to do to complete the work, i.e., research, others’ input, finding files, etc. Choose one thing and begin.

• If the thing you chose is too big, take the part you’d most enjoy doing and start. But get going now.

• At the risk of becoming that perfect dental hygiene candidate, put a few critical benchmarks on your calendar—what needs to be done by that date. Daily distractions can pull your attention so far away that you literally forget that big task is still there.

Process improvement projects are often thrown to the side because of current, brightly burning fires that need attention this minute. Folks will moan for years about necessary upgrades and how workflow could be better only to ignore that mess for “more important priorities.”

Holding a vision of a deliverable that no one is waiting for, that will be complete at an indeterminate date is a recipe for it never getting done. Of course, the same dynamic exists with our personal goals. If that thing that never gets attention is important to you, give yourself a timeframe even if no one else cares about its completion. Stop waiting for the perfect moment, being hit with inspiration or having the stars line up just right because that may never happen. Just get started.