3 Out of the Box Ideas for Doing That Thing You’ve Been Putting Off
None of us are exempt from the all too common experience of being unable to start a task.
There’s typically two major reasons for this.
1. The task is incredibly boring or time/focus intensive, and therefore has zero appeal. Bonus points if it’s not urgent (but will, someday, become urgent).
2. You are inherently confused by the task. Maybe it’s been so long since you were assigned the task that you feel it is too late to ask questions. Maybe you know that somewhere you have the resources to understand and complete the task, but the process of figuring that out is a massive barrier to starting the project altogether.
Below, we share three somewhat out of the box ideas for getting out of your own way - and finally getting that thing done.
STRATEGY ONE
If the task is boring and complicated, break it up into very small pieces. Very, very small pieces over the course of several days. This will allow you to, at some point, better complete the task while multi tasking with something you enjoy. But this can’t happen until you really, really have everything organized and have a complete understanding of the task. Here’s an example.
Consolidate all of the components you need to complete the project into one Word document. Put all of the files in one folder on your desktop. Maybe that’s all you do today.
Tomorrow, you make a point to spend 15 minutes truly reviewing all of these things to try and gain a fundamental understanding of the best way to most efficiently complete the task.
On day 3, you take what you’ve gleaned and organized, and actually complete the task - maybe with a podcast on in the background, or some other passive activity you enjoy that allows you to successfully complete the task while listening or watching something else that makes the whole thing a little less insufferable.
STRATEGY TWO
For tasks that are particularly confusing, pretend you’re educating someone else on how to complete the task. Document the steps you do understand, to reveal those you don’t. You may find that by more firmly identifying where your gaps in knowledge are, you can better identify which resources are already at your disposal to answer those outstanding questions. Sometimes, when I’m really having a hard time just biting the proverbial bullet and getting something done, I’ll use a screen recording app to talk through my own understanding of the project as if I am creating an online lesson. Something about the aspect of recording has a way of making us a little more concise and focused. This may not be true for everyone - but I’ve found it incredibly helpful when I need to articulate my plan for a task from start to finish.
STRATEGY THREE
Body doubling. This isn’t that novel of an idea - but if you haven’t yet tried it, you definitely should. This can be super helpful for those of us who work alone from home everyday (unless your dog has an affinity for making spreadsheets). If you don’t have someone to do this with, you can try out a free trial of an online body doubling service, like Caveday or Deepwrk.
