The Big Bad Wolf — aka Big (and Scary!) Project

This week a friend told me about the stressful days and weeks he’s been having lately.
I asked what’s causing the stress.
He said it’s a big project with a fast-approaching deadline; and he hasn’t even started working on it.

Then he quickly added, “I did put it on my schedule…”

Too busy
Each week he wrote the name of the project on TO DO lists.
But he never managed to get around to it.
“Too busy”, he said.

Each Friday my friend would do what he did the Friday before.
Get out the schedule for the next week and write down the project.
Again.

This has been going on for three months now.

The project’s completion date is fast approaching — less than six months.

Putting out fires
Doing things at the last minute, or  “Putting out fires” is not a good thing.
We all know that, right?

Yes, I know some of you will say that’s how you function, “at your best”.
And it may be true for you. (Maybe  ;  )

I had a long talk with my friend. I reminded him about goal-attributes.

Smaller, attainable daily tasks
The more specific you are about a goal, the better your performance.
We also talked about the degree of difficulty. And commitment.
My friend knows the project is important.
Yet, he was too vague about where and how to start working on it.
A big project needs to be divided in smaller, attainable daily tasks.

Your most productive time
Analyze how you spend your day.
And know when it’s your most productive time.
Use it to work on your most important projects.
Don’t spend that time doing minutia.

Keep focused.
Evaluate your progress.
And keep taking “daily bites” out of the project.

Employ these strategies, and before you know it, that big, “scary” project is done.
And you can move on to bigger and better things : )

We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle

Sharing this blog with your friends is much appreciated.

Mariana Fieraru

Mariana Fieraru, an Eastern European transplant, fell in love with her new home shortly after landing in New York. She "discovered" pizza! Years later she still loves pizza. And so do her two feathered-kids, Sunny and Flipper

Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.

Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.

Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.

Learn More