Let’s say that you need to finish a business plan in 6 weeks. Just the thought of it may be overwhelming, but it’s a necessary task within a reasonable amount of time. Unless you are highly pressured and super motivated to crank it out within days, I suggest you Go Micro.
Here’s how. Pick the smallest chunk of time you know you could muster to devote to the task every day. Is it 10 minutes? 15 minutes? One hour? The duration of time doesn’t matter; you want consistency, so keep it on the short side.
For this example, let’s assume that you could easily carve out a half hour every day to work on the business plan which has 6-8 sections. Take that first day (just a half hour) and skim each section. You might use that half hour to mark the easy sections and double checkmark the sections that will take some research. Stop after a half hour. If you want to go longer, fine.
The next day, again hold yourself to just another half hour to focus on one section that is easy to complete. If you want to go longer, go ahead. If you can manage just a half hour every day, that’s 3.5 hours of work in one week and possibly two sections, or a quarter of the plan, completed! At that point, you may find that a half hour a day is just right; it is a pace you can sustain to easily meet the 6 week deadline, so stick with it. However, if you find a half hour a day to be too easy, add another 15 minutes to that half hour. Then, working at 45 minutes a day, you’ve got 5.25 more hours done by week’s end.
You can Go Micro with most any BHAG ( Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and make significant progress, often in less time than you imagined.
Not every task has an obvious step-by-step system for completion, and you may have many projects to complete simultaneously. You can still Go Micro, but you may need some coaching to get started. Happy to help − Rebecca@MindfulCommunication.com
Don’t think for a minute that motivation is available 24/7 to high achievers. Many successful entrepreneurs need to jump-start their day with morning rituals, strong coffee, prayer, lots more prayer etc. Others go to outrageous extents. For example, I met a couple who hired a former Navy Seal to burst into their house, yell and call them names until they finished their big projects… (I took his number, just in case!)
What make these jump-start activities effective is what they do for our brains. These activities release extra calming (serotonin) or energizing (dopamine, endorphins, BDNF,etc) brain chemicals. The release of these chemicals brings us to action. We love the Seals, but they can be rather loud and expensive. Instead, consider a simple, practical and self-driven method that creates just enough spark to get you started − called “A then B.”
1) Select a physical activity (Activity A) that will spark enough motivational juice needed for your must-do activity (Activity B). Activity A should be a desirable activity that puts you in a good mood and pushes you physically a bit beyond your comfort zone. Activity A should take no longer than 30 minutes.
2) Identify the task (Activity B) you need to complete or get started on. Today, for example, I have a boatload of writing that I love to do, but it means a few sets of two hour stints in a chair. It being a sunny and warmer Sunday, it’s the sitting for hours part that I’m not psyched about.
To get my brain’s chemistry working for me, I have elected a winter bike ride (Activity A). It is a physical and mental challenge greater than the mental challenge (Activity B) that awaits. So, today I suited up for a cold and windy 30 minute ride. I pumped up my tires (already uncomfortable) and chose the nastiest bunch of hills I could find (really uncomfortable). As I pushed up those hills, I could feel my brain’s juices ramping up, as I surpassed my comfort zone to the top. I said to myself with a big grin, “If I can do this, then I have the fortitude to sit for the rest of the afternoon and pull off some mighty good writing. It will be awesome!” My KITA (I’ll let you figure out what that stands for) bike ride, gave my brain enough of a boost to hunker down and meet my writing quota for the day.
You don’t need to go to those extremes. Just be sure to add some self-mentoring talk to Activity A as you take a fast walk around the block, or do 25 good pushups and 20 jumping jacks, or bicep curls with cans of tomatoes− something that gets your heart pumping and your mind in gear to execute Activity B.
Let me know how the “A then B” strategy works for you!
Need some help in getting things done well and on time? We can do this! Read more about my CoreFour Coaching for COREageous Entrepreneurs. Write to me at Rebecca@mindfulcommuication.com
Rebecca’s CoreFour Coaching
"It takes more than courage to be an Entrepreneur, it takes CORE." Find out more.
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Let’s say that you need to finish a business plan in 6 weeks. Just the thought of it may be overwhelming, but it’s a necessary task within a reasonable amount of time. Unless you are highly pressured and super motivated to crank it out within days, I suggest you Go Micro.
Don’t think for a minute that motivation is available 24/7 to high achievers. Many successful entrepreneurs need to jump-start their day with morning rituals, strong coffee, prayer, lots more prayer etc. Others go to outrageous extents. For example, I met a couple who hired a former Navy Seal to burst into their house, yell and call them names until they finished their big projects… (I took his number, just in case!)
"It takes more than courage to be an Entrepreneur, it takes CORE."