Bite size projects

Too often, in the past, I’d try to tackle a full project in one sitting. Many of us have done that. Probably will occasionally do that in the future too. We take on so much that we either end up cutting corners to reach the finish line or we don’t get done at all. Sometimes, we even have to delay the results or push the deadline back. Either way you look at it, it’s not very good on the morale and quality of work.

Breaking the project into pieces is not only a wise way to ensure completion, but it’s also a great way to delegate and get help. MLK did not plan a single million man march on his own. He had help. He had supporters responsible for building their numbers and coordinating them to the location of the march. MLK lead the leaders of many groups so that they were all on the same page. He also led his own group of followers.

At the appointed time, all the pieces came together and there was a massive peaceful demonstration. Everyone was on the same plan… a peaceful non-violent demonstration.

Had there not been a collective goal, a collective plan, one could imagine a group came in ready to fight, another group came in ready for a sit-down meeting, another for a peaceful walk, etc. The chaos would have been intense. The lesson is this, the entirety of the program was with one purpose… just many parts that were well coordinated.

We often do not want to delegate because we believe we can do the whole project better than anyone else. Reality is simply this, we all need help. We can’t do it all. And worse, we can’t do it all better than everyone else. We have to get the right qualified help to support the completion of our goals.

Yes, even the tiny ones like sweeping the floor. If you live with someone else, you do have to let them know you’re about to sweep the floor… because… nothing is more infuriating than trying to sweep the floor while someone else is trying to learn to tango on that same floor at that same time (exaggeration for literary purposes).

yes, it is true that if you lived alone, the sweeping example would not apply… but the principle applies to most possible examples… even if you lived alone

Now, a note about breaking projects down to size. The popular thought is to tackle the hardest task first. While I will not dispute that, I will offer a slight tweak. Get that small victory under the belt first. That quick win. That boost of confidence to get your day going as you tackle the various small parts of the bigger project.

Why?

We all know the wonderful jolt of dopamine we get when we check our emails or social media or text messages first thing in the morning. It’s so good a jolt, it quickly becomes habit and we do it without thinking. The average person will check their phone over five hundred times a day (conservative numbers… I’ve seen some quote a thousand times a day).

That hit works. Some call it addiction. Whatever you call it, it works, we do it because that jolt feels good. Some feel weird when others don’t respond to their phone immediately.

When tackling a big project, even in bite sizes, get a short win first. Get that easy thing of the project handled quickly. Key is short quick win. Not something that’s relatively easy but takes hours. No. A short fifteen minute type step towards the finish line that results in a win for your project.

The reason being, it builds that momentum. It’s like in the last post… the setting up all the running gear in advance so that it’s easy to walk your way into running to keep your New Year’s Resolutions.

That small win will make the next hard project goal feel reachable because you’re already making progress. So, after that initial quick win, then tackle the hard challenging bite size of the project. While all fresh with energy and that jolt of that first win… go out like a champion and crush that hard goal of the day.

Once that is handled, the rest of the day will be easier and the momentum will already be in place. Albeit a bit more tired from all the efforts on the big goal, the smaller easier ones will be less daunting because of the excitement of that big huge win.

I think this is why some gurus tell you to have three goals for a day. One quick win to get the engine running, one big tough bite to move the ball farther down towards the goal line and one medium to wrap up the day feeling great. The rest is just gravy after that.

this implies not leaving the hardest for last… as that’s setting up oneself for failure… keep that in mind when planning a multi-day/week project… like studying for a final. Don’t leave the biggest study days for the end of the semester… like is the habit of many

So… what was this thing about working in silence again? How does that fit into working in peace and taking things in bite size? Sure… let’s elaborate on that a bit more.