Sunday, February 7, 2010

How to Overcome a Rut and Get Something Done

For the past week, I have been trying to get a single article out of my head and on to the computer screen.

What started off a simple idea, later morphed into another topic. The second topic, after brainstorming, changed into a third topic.

Here I sit, one week later, with nothing posted. Do I have ideas? Sure, I've written plenty of ideas down, but none of them has made it past my own fingers.

The situation had become so frustrating that I eventually stopped trying to finish the article.

Instead, I decided to write about my inability to just get stuff done. Have you ever felt like that?

As a manager, I have watched my own team struggle with finishing projects. The solution, as I saw it, was to ignore the urge to develop something huge and just finish. More specifically, I encouraged them to simplify the task and get it done. Instead of trying to develop multiple functions in a web application, complete just one.

Having something is better than nothing. Completed work has a positive effect on the mind; it creates momentum. Momentum breeds excitement and motivation to finish something else.

So, if you are in a rut, like I have been this past week, remember to take a step back and finish a simple task. Don't worry about cleaning the entire room, just make the bed. If you can't seem to write a single page of dissertation work, work on finishing just one paragraph.

Remember, life is a game of inches. When you add up all those inches, it can be the difference between winning and losing. ~ Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday

Image via Tjflex2

0 comments:

Post a Comment


Damond L. Nollan, M.B.A.

Toll-free: (919) 912-9121
E-mail: Contact Me

Newsletter

Powered by Blogger.