Clear the Deck Before You Deck the Halls
Managing yourself, your business, and the holidays can be a tricky balancing act. There’s only so much of you, at the same time that there are a lot of places you need to be.
With all this going on, I’ve got a challenge for you: find the 1--3 projects that would feel the best to get done and go at them like a rabid spider monkey. Remember, focusing and completing one major objective is better than half-finishing three or more; ship it.
Make it S.M.A.R.T. and doable, but clear the deck. This is especially true if it’s one of those projects that are much like trash that needs to go out - it’s rotting, smelly, and corrupting the whole place. Projects that need to go can do the same thing to your workflow and clarity.
You might consider taking one of those massive, world-changing projects and chunking it down to something you can complete in a few weeks. What’s the minimally viable release for the project?
Some ideas:
Finish a chapter or two of the book rather than getting swallowed by the whole book.
Build the 5-page website rather than trying to have 30 pillar pieces ready to go before you can do anything else.
Work on coding one killer feature rather than a major release.
Get a solid plan for Q1 and Q2 to scaffold your annual biz plan.
Compile the materials you need for either your revenue or your expenses for 2011 now rather than waiting until March to do so. (Oh yes, I went there!)
Evaluate one of your teammates per week or for the month rather than getting overwhelmed and doing none.
Clean out one closet rather than trying to clean out all of them and the garage.
You get the point. Just get it done, one piece at a time.
This is an excerpt from one of our recent newsletters. If you'd like it to go right to your inbox, sign up below.
First name:
Email: