Many of us have several projects going on at one time or perhaps we are focusing in on one huge project. There is often a time that this project needs to be completed.
It’s not unusual for people to panic and feel stressed, especially as the due date is upon them. This does not have to be the case.
I recommend following these steps for completing a project nearly stress free:
Understand your motivation. Why is this project important now? Will it affect your job evaluation? Are family or friends counting on you?
Develop your vision. Picture the project completed. See yourself at the end of the job. How do you feel?
Brainstorm a list of all that must happen to make your vision come true. Write everything down as you think of it. No matter how grandiose or how small, put it all on the list. The list can be edited later.
Write out your goals. This will make it real. Have and end date as part of your goals. For example, “By June 27 I have made reservations for my visit to Virginia.”
Write down the time sequence everything that must be done to make the project complete. Then in your calendar plug in all the “do” dates. It is important that you give yourself some “wiggle room”. Don’t schedule so tightly that the project will be doomed if you miss one or two of these scheduled benchmark dates. Life happens and rarely if you are working on something big are you going to get everything to happen just as you planned. This is especially true if you are working with other people.
Celebrate and reward yourself for the project’s completion. Lock into your mind how good it feels to have this done and on time. The project might not be done perfectly but it is done on time and good enough.
Following these steps works for things as small as a summer party or as large as finishing a dissertation. For more information on how this works, buy my workbook, From Vision To Victory: A Workbook For Finding a Simple Path to an Organized Home.
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