When it comes to size, the consensus is bigger is better—larger homes, bigger cars, fatter bank accounts, supersized meals—the list goes all the way to your dreams. I’m not going to rag on supersized possessions, attitudes or aspirations. What I would like to talk about today is the size of your action steps.

Is supersized action better than smaller  steps?

The short answer is no. If you would like to know why small actions and steps are better, keep reading for a small dose of inspiration.

Small makes up the fabric of most experiences. We tend to think of life as a big adventure with lots of wild rollercoaster rides. But in reality, our lives are made up of small steps that add up over time. The wild rides are no more than a blip on the radar of our lives. If you want to enjoy most of your life, you need to appreciate the small experiences from moments, hours, days, all the way to years and decades.

Small is the natural pulse of growth. Everything in life starts small and grows slowly over time. This also applies to intellectual endeavors. We learn and achieve by taking small action over an extended period of time. Nothing happens overnight.

Small is the road to big. No one climbs a mountain or creates an everlasting imprint in this short existence with one giant leap. What gets you there is consistent small action—one step at a time.

Small forms habits. Habits (good and not so good) are created and changed by taking small repetitive action.

Small maximizes learning. It takes short repetitive study sessions to learn a new skill or subject effectively.

Small is productivity’s best friend. If you want to kick your tasks’ ass, work in short periods of time by focusing on doing one simple small action at a time. You won’t only get things done, but you’ll do them well.

Small is doable. When you only think of the one small step you need to take, it is likely that you’ll do it right away. It would take you more energy to fret or procrastinate than to actually do it, so you get it done.

Small is memorable. Think of the experiences and memories that stand out in your mind right now. How many of them were from big adventures? For me, the most defining moments came from small daily experiences.

Small is manageable. When it comes to action, success and failure, it is easier to manage smaller steps, victories and setbacks than their larger overwhelming alternatives.

Small enhances mindfulness. When you’re focused on a single small action or experience, you give it your full attention and being—you become one with your action in this moment. Mindfulness is nothing but continued focus on the small now.

Small leads to excellence. This is a byproduct of short powerful focus and consistent mindful small actions.

Small is commitment friendly. You can commit to doing one simple task that takes you 10 to 20 minutes much easier than committing to something that takes you hours to do.

Small makes it easier to adapt. Gradual smaller steps are easier on the mind and body. They won’t fight back because the change is so small, you won’t abruptly break out of your normal routine. Instead, you’ll build up momentum over time. This is how lasting change takes effect.

Small is calmer. You’re not going to stress out over doing something for 15 minutes. You won’t feel overwhelmed by the size of any project.  You simply break it down to its core tasks, then you focus on the first small task without worrying about the rest.

Small is easier to navigate. When you’re taking small gradual steps, you can see where you’re stepping and where you’re going. You don’t need to look far, just this step and the one after. When you get there, you’ll know what to do next.

Small makes it easier to ask for help. You’ll be more inclined to ask for help when you need a small favor. If you need major help, break it down and ask for the smaller parts first.

Smaller steps can be your road to achieving anything.

A small number of projects and a few tasks done well are much better than an overload of tasks and projects that pile up and never get done.

One or two projects, one or two tasks and one or two hours a day is all you need to start acting on what gives you meaning and joy in your life.

To your success, one small step at a time!

Photo courtesy of James Emery

Let’s start right away. I want to eliminate anything that can distract you from finishing this post.

• Do you feel like you want to do a million and one things this instant?
• Do you lack the ability or desire to stay with your task till you complete it, including the simplest of tasks?
• Do you feel unmotivated to start on something that you really want to accomplish?
• Are you easily distracted and everything in the entire world seems more interesting than what you’re doing?
• Are there things you need to do that remain undone because there is no outside pressure/deadline to force completion?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions then you are a scattered brainer.  Welcome to the club . There is nothing wrong with being distracted every now and then, or not even getting anything done. But when it becomes a constant in your daily life, you can fall into a stressful trap of avoidance, or worse, trying to catch up and make up for lost time.

I have been implementing the tips below to deal with my scattered brain. I’m slowly regaining my focus and brain power. Hope you find these tips useful. Try to work with as many of them as you can.

1. Know what you want to do and prioritize.

This is the most obvious and probably one that is listed in every productivity book and article out there. The importance of this step cannot be overstated.

If you don’t know what you want and stuff is just floating in your head, you’ll never get the satisfaction of doing anything. So yes make a list of everything that is on your mind. Then Prioritize—with a capital P. This is where you get to tell your brain to stop fretting about the small stuff and focus on what is really important.

2. Break it down and keep it simple.

Once you have your list and you determine your top two or three tasks, choose one to start with and break it down to the simplest form of action. Every step should not take more than 15 to 30 minutes to complete. If it takes longer, break it down further.

The smaller the task, the less time it takes to get done, the more you’re likely to stick with it. This is a good way to tell your brain to just stay with it for 15 minutes.

3. Start and do it slowly—one task at a time.

Don’t try to speed thing up in an effort to save time. This triggers your brain to drift to what you want to do next instead of what you’re doing right now.  Your brain can focus on one thought at a time, so make it about what is right in front of you. Do things slowly and deliberately. You will feel much better once you complete your task.

4. Take breaks.

Don’t be tempted to work nonstop for hours on end. This will lead to burn out and you won’t have enough motivation to start again.

After completing a 15-30 minute task, take a break and do something fun. You can stretch, move, read an article or whatever you feel like doing. Just don’t take too long. I would suggest 5-10 minutes.

Once you complete 4 tasks, take a longer break—an hour or so. This is your free time to do whatever you like—guilt free.

5. Learn to focus.

If you want to have laser sharp focus, you need to learn how to meditate and do it.

Meditation is becoming more mainstream now and is really easy to do. You don’t need to spend an hour. Start with a few minutes and move up to 15 – 30 minutes.  Do a search and pick a breathing or mantra meditation. The most important thing is to train your brain to relax, and focus on one thing (the mantra or your breath).

6. Ditch your clock/watch. Work in intervals.

Forget about the clock and don’t obsess over time. It doesn’t matter when you start working on something. Use a timer and set it to the estimated time to complete your task (an interval of no more than 30 minutes). Start the timer and go for it. Don’t stop until your time is up. Take a break and repeat.

Focus on working and getting your tasks done, regardless of what time it is. This way you are guaranteed to work instead of finding excuses to postpone things till tomorrow, when you can work on them bright and early.

7. Don’t do anything else until your interval is done.

Don’t do anything else while your timer is running for a specific task. If it is something that requires inspiration (like writing) and you can’t seem to find any, just sit still and think about the task until your time is up.

Don’t be tempted to do something else because you can’t seem to get started on the task at hand. Sooner or later inspiration will come—you’ll be surprised by how effective five minutes of silence can be in sparking your genius.

8. Keep going.

If you fall off the wagon, just pick up and start again. There is no reason for you to give up. Review what you did and what went wrong, learn from it and move on to your next task or interval.

Remember: practice makes improvement.

9. Power down and reboot.

Give yourself free days to enjoy yourself away from tasks and to do’s. Keep it free and don’t commit to anything new. This is a time for you to relax, have fun and spend time with your loved ones.

Use your off days to unwind and empty your mental cache. Don’t try to squeeze in anything else. After a break, you’ll feel energized and motivated to get back to your tasks.

10. Make it fun.

Embrace your playful inner child and use your imagination to make the best out of every task. Even the most mundane thing can be fun and entertaining.

When you are working on a task, imagine that someone is watching you and commenting on how brilliantly you’re working. Or that you are trying to set a world record, or break your own. You can have a conversation with yourself as you work … you get the picture.

Your results depend on where you choose to put your focus and energy. So do what gives you the most effective results in the most enjoyable manner. Once you get going and you keep going, there is no turning back—things get easier and you start harnessing more of your mental power.

Photo courtesy of David Goehring

I have been quiet for the past 3 weeks. I only wrote one article and hardly visited my favorite blogs. It is because I had family visiting from Europe. In the beginning, I tried to play catch-up but it didn’t work. So I decided to just go with what was right in front of me—and what mattered the most—family.

Now that my visitors have left, I can start getting back into my normal way of doing things. It is tempting to want to do everything at once, or to feel overwhelmed and start avoiding and resisting. I have work to do, articles to write, financial reports to analyze and a ton of reading. Instead of trying to go back, I am moving forward—one step at a time.

When you get a break from your normal daily activities, the hardest part is to start again. How do you get back into the groove of your life without stress or resistance?

The simple answer is slowly and peacefully. Here is what I am doing to go back to my routine. Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. I’d love to know how you handle life’s interruptions.

1. Do a complete brain dump.

I am a big fan of a clear mind—and it shows in most of my writing. Write everything that comes to your mind either on paper, white board or on your computer. The moment you start writing, your to-do’s start to form and the mental noise begins to fade.

2. Choose 2 things you really want to get done.

Yes just two action steps. Highlight your items or write them on a separate piece of paper and scratch them out from your big list.

3. Start working on your items—slowly.

For example the most two important things for me are: (1) write one blog article and (2) read and analyze one report (as a possible investment option). That’s it.

You only have two things to do, so take your time and relax. Do it well and don’t think of anything else. Focus on the doing and forget about results.

4. Manage interruptions.

If you have to deal with emails or phone calls, designate a time slot to do so and stick to it. You can clear some of your messages after you complete your first task and before you move on to your second action item. Don’t allow the mundane to stand in your way. Use a timer if you have to. If you’re not done, you can get to it in the next break or the next day.

5. Start with the most recent communications.

If you are returning phone calls or responding to emails, start with the most recent messages. You’ll be amazed by how much stuff sorts itself out in your absence.

Again, do it slowly. You don’t have to respond to 50 emails. Just pick the top 5 and clear those out.

6. Spend time doing what you enjoy.

This may sound counterproductive but you do need a boost of energy and inspiration every now and then. So don’t forget to read your favorite blogs, listen to music, exercise, or do something fun.

Use step 5 and focus on the most recent publications, if what you read is updated frequently. Don’t stress yourself by trying to read 10 articles. Instead, pick two. Next day pick another two and so on.

What brings you joy keeps you connected to your interests and passions—to your truth.

7. Chart your progress.

Once you know what you want to do, follow through and mark it as done. Nothing will motivate you more than accomplishing what’s most important to you.

When you keep track of what you’re doing, you become more aware of how you use your time and energy. If you are getting good results, you keep going. If not, change course and refocus.

8. Let momentum take over.

If you continue to focus on just two items and getting them done, you will build momentum. Consistent action is the muscle of momentum. Once momentum builds, you become unstoppable. You will keep going without the need for motivation or outside pressure. All you have to do is just keep at it—two tasks at a time.

9. Don’t over-commit.

Once you’re back, demands start to pile and pressure starts to build. Don’t take on more than you have—unless you absolutely have to. In this case, push one or two things further down your list.

Commit less and do more and in no time you will be on top of your game.

10. Allow your mind and body to adjust.

At certain times, you will feel inner resistance or you may feel you’re moving at a slower pace than usual. Your mind got used to a new routine and now you’re trying to pull back. Your body may do the same.

Instead of forcing yourself by using will power to get back to normal, ease into it. When you feel resistance, stop for a minute, breathe and remind yourself that you are only working on two things and then you can take a break.

The best way to stay clear of the two extremes – overdoing and avoidance—is to start slowly, build momentum and ease back into your daily life. Before you know it, you’ll get back to your normal rhythm.

We often make a conscious effort to catch-up on our work and other aspects of our lives after time off. There is this burst of energy after a vacation or an unexpected interruption to speed things up and get things done.

But what if catching up becomes more than an occasional occurrence? What if it becomes part of your daily routine?

In today’s 24-7 connectivity, we’re inundated with numerous demands. It is very easy to keep adding more to your daily schedule—more communication, more demands, and way more expectations.

You feel stuck in a rut of doing more but getting less results.  You keep doing this day in and day out feeling anxious, tired and drained—barely coming to the surface to catch your breath. Eventually you fall into productivity oblivion; burnout sets in and avoidance becomes the main coping mechanism.

Avoidance is the number one action and motivation killer.  It comes with a hefty price tag: added mental and physical stress, and exacerbating self limiting beliefs.

Why don’t you stop trying to catch up and start over now?

Instead of continuing to struggle with balancing your past demands with your present abilities and time, try to do things a little bit differently. Make a conscious decision to stop chasing time and playing catch-up.

Today is a new beginning. Keep an open mind and realize that there is no magic formula that works for everyone or everything.  The guidelines below can be a good starting point.  Give them a try, use what works for you and ignore the rest.

1. Accept where you are now. You have fallen behind and feel overwhelmed; you’re struggling to catch-up. Go with the feeling and move from a place of acceptance. You are dealing with your life demands instead of avoiding them. Make a conscious decision to start over now. No rush, no pressure, no regrets.

2. Write things down. This is the most obvious step. It is worth mentioning because it is the the best way to start feeling calmer and putting things into perspective. Things do look much worse in our heads than on paper.

When you write everything down, you create space in your mind allowing creativity and insight to guide you.

3. Look at your list. Really look at it. Take time to think and reflect on each item on the list.

• How did it get there?
• Why do you need to do it?
• What would happen if you didn’t do it?

After answering the questions above, remove any items that won’t make a difference. If you feel uncomfortable taking something off your list, create a new list for the not so important things. At least it won’t be in your face nagging at you every day.

Remember it is a new start so don’t beat yourself up over what was not done—no judgments or blame.

4. Prioritize. The most important skill to learn is prioritization. When you prioritize you become aware of what is important and what’s not.  Rearrange your list or highlight the most important things that you want to get done.

5. Know your limits. You have a limited supply of time and energy.  You can’t get everything done at the same time. When you say yes to something, you say no to something else. There is always a trade-off. Keep this in mind every time you choose to do something. Think of what you’re giving up and determine if it’s worth it.

6. Do one thing at a time. Eliminate the word multitasking from your lexicon and life and try to avoid distractions. Consider the following:

• Disconnect if you can. Switch off your phone, smart phone, internet connection…etc.
• Determine your end result.  Think of what you want to accomplish. Don’t sacrifice quality for the sake of efficiency.
• Forget about everything else.
• Focus and give the task your best effort and attention. This is where quality meets efficiency.

7. Use your resources wisely. Maximize the use of your time and energy. The best way to fully utilize your resources is to do less and have more time off. Consider:

• Taking frequent breaks to renew your focus and energy,
• Spending time alone every day to reflect,
• Asking others for help when you need it,
• Leveraging your connections and talents, and
• Delegating what is not worth your time and effort.

8. Stay organized. When you create a messy environment, you add more mess to your mind. A clean uncluttered environment helps you stay connected and mindful of what matters to you the most.

9. Review and revise your approach on a regular basis. Take time to reflect and refine your process to keep your work and life flow manageable and enjoyable. Here are a few pointers:

• When you need to add a new activity or task, determine where it fits on your scale of priorities. Is it important or not?
• Is there anything in your daily activities that you can eliminate or replace with something more enjoyable?
• Think of your time wasters—surfing the net, chatting, email, twitter. Are you OK with how much time you spend on such actives, or can you reduce it a little?
• If something you want to get done is not, can you rearrange your schedule to allow for completion?
• Do you add more items to your list than what you accomplish? If so, why? Update your list and reprioritize. Take out anything that is at the bottom of your list.
• Look at the not so important list and eliminate a couple of items that have been listed for a while. Set your intention to eliminate more items without adding anything new. Eventually this list will disappear and you’ll be left with only one list of what is important to you.

With time your list will start to get shorter and more focused towards what you really want to accomplish. You will feel lighter and at ease.

And the best indication of success is when you get what you want done and still have some free time on your hands. You realize then that you have mastered your time and managed your priorities.

Photo courtesy of h.koppdelaney

Last week, Google replaced its logo with a playable Pac-Man game to celebrate the video game’s 30th anniversary. The little fun players had cost society an estimated $120 million in lost productivity.

If you’re wondering how much time did employees waste playing, the estimated average time spent per player was … drum roll:

37 seconds.

Yes seconds. How many of you played the game? Did you feel guilty playing instead of working? I did.

The cost of lost productivity is an estimate of the cost of time spent playing instead of working. What about the fun people had? Shouldn’t it account for something? If employees had fun, wouldn’t that reflect positively on their work?

The human machine

In modern society an employee’s contribution is based on the hours they work and the value (income) of what they produce. In other words, we replaced manufacturing equipment hours with human hours. We are the new machines.

Productivity numbers are misleading.

The focus on time spent as a metric for producing results is a simple way of calculating the cost of output, but it may not be accurate and realistic. Here a few limitations:

Standardizing human effort. Life is change. Everything varies from minute to minute let alone days and years. Standardizing human effort can be meaningless. People have good days and bad days. Their focus shifts with their energy level. They don’t perform at the same level consistently.

More is better. If we measure lost productivity in hours wasted, then the opposite should be true. The more hours you work, the more productive you are. The exact opposite is true; working long hours is counterproductive.

Value based on time. Your contribution is based on how many hours you spend working. The thing is: this method does not factor in that each individual can only work at their own pace. One can create great value in less hours. Another can take forever and produce mediocre results. Time is a factor but should not be the most important one.

The downside is ignored. This focus on effort in productivity comes with a price tag. Think of the items below.

1. Time wasting. It is estimated that employees waste 2 hours per work day. Why do people waste time? Is it possible it’s because they are saturated and tired but they are required to stay at work in the name of productivity?

2. Stress and illness. Employees are expected to do more work in fewer hours and to take on more responsibilities. They are racing against time every single day. This creates mental and physical stress that will manifest in illness, which in turn will reduce their productivity even more.

3. Joyless work. When a worker is supposed to spend every hour working and accounting for his or her time, the focus shifts to getting things done as fast as possible. How can anyone enjoy this process? If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, the quality of your work will suffer.

4. Guilt. Whenever we don’t do what we’re supposed to do (work and more work) we feel guilty. A lot of the people who played Pac-Man felt guilty because they should have been working. This guilt does not improve productivity. On the contrary, when you try to rush and make up for lost time, you end up making mistakes and producing mediocre results.

A better way to value work

I am no economist but if I were to come up with my own system of measuring value, it would be based on:

Results. I would trust people to do their work the way they choose to and focus on getting the best results possible. Quality always trumps quantity.

Joy. I would make fun part of work. And it’s not the corporate type of fun where everyone is expected to participate in an event or game regardless of how they feel about it. It is the type of fun that allows people to do what they enjoy—not what I think they should do for fun.

No guilt or stress. I would make sure the workplace stays guilt and anxiety free. This would energize people and get them excited about their work.

The big picture—life doesn’t stop

People stopped and played Pac-Man. The lost productivity did not make any difference in how people lived their life that day.

Life moves along with or without productivity. Why not make work more fun and trust that things will get done?

If you want to play Pac-Man go right ahead.  A little fun goes a long way.

In today’s world, technology and connectivity influence every part of our lives. We are bombarded with a constant stream of information, advertising, social networking, email, text messages and so on.

Most of the technology we use today is new, yet we view it as a necessity. What would life be without texting or Facebook?

In this Age of Distraction we fail to realize that very little of this connectivity is meaningful, the majority is just filler and noise.

When you can’t sit still for a few minutes without checking email or what’s trending on Twitter, how can you be able to focus on anything? And when you are not focused, your life turns into a fuzzy dream where everything moves at an overwhelming speed—you can barely catch your breath.

The power and impact of distractions

Today’s distractions are alluring. They are fun, cool and feed on our curiosity. They promise to give you something new: information, gadgets, trends, gossip. You feel you are connected and in the know.

If we pause for a minute to think about what does all this activity mean?  What does it produce? Are we fully immersed in our lives or do we let the distractions lead the way and we mindlessly follow?

How can you find clarity and peace of mind when your attention is divided and your life is nothing but a constant stream of disruptions?

The addictive element of every new advancement in technology seems to get stronger. So it becomes harder to break the pattern and allow for clarity and focus.

This addiction has long-term effects that are not felt as we go about our days. Take a look at the items below and see what you can identify with. I sure have experienced most (if not all) of them.

Never ending addictive cycle. Like every addiction, you build a certain level of resistance and you always need more. If it goes unchecked, your desire to be online will keep growing without any visible benefit.

Short attention. You hardly notice anything. You don’t stop to enjoy what is right in front of you. You are busy chasing the next thing.

Unrealistic expectations. Because everything moves so fast, we expect to get things done faster and faster. This increases our frustration and adds to our sense of urgency and feeling overwhelmed.

Lack of enjoyment. When you rush through your actions and get anxious to move on to the next thing, you don’t experience true joy. All you experience is the rush of feeding an addiction.

Mediocre results.  Multitasking and rushing produce mediocre results that reflect the effort and focus we put into our actions. When everything you read is skimmed, scanned or glanced at, you don’t gain real knowledge.

Tension. You can’t relax when you feed your addictions or rush through life.  The need to keep up creates constant struggle.

How can you break the cycle of distraction and find clarity?

I don’t think there is one magic solution that works for everyone. I use some of the guidelines below on a regular basis.

Once you become aware of your own behavior, you will have more ideas and develop your own methods as you go along.

1. Recognize you can’t know everything.   It is humanly impossible to be in the know of everything all the time. Give up as much as possible the things you already consider a waste of your time. Then cut some more.

2. Become aware of your thoughts and behavior. Observe your actions and thoughts for a while. What triggers the urge to go online to check your email or to read the latest news headlines when you are working? What are you trying to avoid? What is the benefit of the distraction?

3. Prioritize. If everything has the same weight, you wont’ be able to control your time and what you do with it. Learn to prioritize and focus. Spend some time thinking about what you enjoy and what matters to you most.

4. Do one thing at a time. Start with small important tasks. Focus on the quality of your work instead of quantity. Then move to the larger taking one action step at a time. Once you are done with your task, and you want to go online, do it and have fun.

5. Slow down. Allow yourself enough time to get things done or to be somewhere. Enjoy the process or the trip. Do everything deliberately.

6. Question your mind. Recognize your value outside all the noise of connectivity and distractions. What would happen if you don’t check Twitter for a couple of days? How many emails would matter the next day if you didn’t read or respond to them?  You have a lot to contribute,  and distractions take away from what you can offer the world.

7. Become more present. Being fully immersed in the present moment keeps you where you need to be. The rest just fades away. Pay close attention when you do anything (including your time online). Excess does not go well with presence. You will find your balance if you pay attention to everything you do.

8. Surrender and allow. Dealing with challenges is never easy. More challenges pop up or you slip into old habits. When things don’t workout or we don’t get the results we expect, we tend to get frustrated and eventually give up. This attitude does not help. If things don’t work out, pause and think about how you can do things differently. Allow yourself to be human and make mistakes. It is part of the journey. Have fun with your slip-ups and let them be.

A few words about focus

It is important to recognize that creating and producing results are completely separate from consuming and communicating. When this distinction is clear, it becomes easier to determine what course of action to take.

Focus is crucial to those who want to create and produce meaningful results. You can’t create something worthwhile if you don’t give it your focus and energy.

When thinking about focus consider the two elements below:

Intention: You have to be clear about what you want to focus on. Set your intention to do the best you can on a specific task.

Attention: Give your undivided attention to the task that is right in front of you at this moment. Shut down all the other distractions until your task is completed, or you can’t hold your attention any longer.

For more in depth discussion of focus please read the focus manifesto. It is what inspired this post.  You will find simple and practical advice on every aspect of focus.

Our lives are a work in progress.  We can’t rush into changing our habits. I hope you will be able to take a few steps at a time and enjoy the process.

Photo courtesy of qthomasbower

I have a tendency to let things linger. I feel the need to look at so many things before I’m ready to make a decision and get something going.

Being thorough and conscientious is a good thing, but within reason. The trick is find balance in your approach. You don’t want to be a perfectionist and definitely, you don’t want to do a half-assed job. Find the middle ground. It is the key to getting the best results.

An effective way to plan and work on a project is to create a process that works for you and keep using it. As you get better, you can refine and simplify your method.

Below is a process I use frequently. I hope you find it useful in creating your own. Most of these steps are common sense and have been recommended by others in one form or another. Feel free to use what works and ignore the rest.

1. Define your outcome and rewards

What is it that you want to accomplish?

You should be as clear as possible about what your results will look like.

If you don’t have a clear result in mind, reconsider the purpose of what you want to do. Why are you doing it? What is your reward for getting it done?

The reasons and rewards for completing a project are your biggest motivation to start and to keep going.

2. Determine what you need to do

What are the steps you need to take to get your project done from start to finish?

If you are not clear about the entire process, start with the most obvious steps that will lead you to figure things out.

Every step should represent one action that will yield results. Planning, considering and thinking about something won’t give results.

Action that produces results includes calling/contacting, writing, meeting, choosing, building, composing, practicing, programming and buying or selling.

With every action step, you get closer to completing your project.

3. Calculate your costs

The next step is to determine what your costs would be.  The two components of cost are money and time.

Determine how long something is going to take you to do and how much money it will cost you. Consider the trade off between the two.

Do you want to spend more money or more of your time? The answer to this question depends on your priorities and financial position.

Add a cushion to your estimates. Most projects consume more time and money than planned. I usually estimate 15% to 20% to be on the safe side.

4. Set a deadline

If you don’t have a time frame to work with, your project will fall by the wayside and keep nagging at you.

Your deadline is your guideline. If you have someone who will hold you accountable, share your deadline with him/her.

Keep your scheduling flexible. You don’t want to stress out because of unrealistic or rigid deadlines.

5. Take action

Start working on the steps you determined. If you are not much of a doer like me batch your tasks. It is easier to do something while you are in doing mode.

Make every action count. If your steps are well thought out, your action will be effective. Complete one step at a time and avoid multitasking and shortcuts to get the best results.

6. Review and evaluate

Your process may not go as smoothly as planned. Life sometimes throws in interesting obstacles.

Take time off to smooth out the wrinkles and refocus. At this stage, it is easy to get discouraged. Think of the rewards that you will reap when you are done. Keep the end result in mind and use what you have learned so far to improve your plan and continue.

7. Keep going until your project is done

If you stop in the middle, you’d better have a good reason for it. Otherwise, your mind is going to continue thinking about the project but with no favorable outcome.

If you have to stop, reschedule your tasks and make sure that the project stays on your list until it’s completed.

Bonus: Celebrate your success

Once you are done, give yourself a treat. Take time off; do something you like or just allow yourself to enjoy the peace of having one project done. Being at peace is the best gift you can give yourself.

Many people act as if everything is equally important. This is OK if you are capable of getting things done without feeling stressed or pressured. However, in most cases not being clear about your priorities creates more confusion and indecision.

The best way to get going and overcome feeling overwhelmed is to prioritize.

Prioritization is simple when you know what’s important to you. What can you do when you’re not clear about what’s important and want to do EVERYTHING?

You know you can’t do everything. So where do you start?

The two methods below can help you in prioritizing and making a decision.

I. Flip a coin

It may sound lame, but it works. You can do it with a short to-do list or if you are unsure about what projects to take on.

Let’s say you have four projects and you don’t know which one to start.  The projects are:

1. revamping your backyard,
2. cleaning up your garage and getting rid of junk,
3. taking a writing class and
4. learning Spanish.

All these projects are things you want to do but haven’t started on any of them yet.

Assume you chose heads.

• First coin flip (backyard vs. garage): heads backyard, tails garage. You choose backyard.
• Second coin flip (writing vs. Spanish): heads writing, tails Spanish. You choose writing.
• Third coin flip (selection from first coin flip vs. selection from second coin flip): heads writing, tails backyard.

Your top two priorities would be:

1. Writing
2. Backyard

How do you feel about your choices? Are you OK with these two priorities or do you feel like you want to start on something else?

If you feel that instead of writing you would like to start on learning Spanish, then go for it.

The whole point of the exercise is to help you make a decision.

Once you are clear about your projects, commit with all of your heart to the first one. Or two if you can manage, but no more.

Plan your project and break it down into actionable items. Commit to taking at least one action step each day.

II. Prioritizing Grid

Richard Bolles author of What Color Is Your Parachute? developed this method to help people in prioritizing their career choices. I think you can use it in any area of your life where you need to prioritize more than a few items.

There is an awesome free online version of the prioritizing grid that you can use. Click here to try it. The instructions for use are on the web page with a couple of examples.

The point of the grid is to go through the list of your items and choose between two things at a time. When you are done, the item you selected the most is your number one priority.

You can use this gird to prioritize your tasks or a list of projects. It can be an effective way in helping you make a decision.

A few reminders

Write things down. Regardless of what and how much you have to do, you need to have everything listed in one place.

It’s not the tool; it’s how you use it.  You can use one of the two tools above or any other method of your choice. The important thing is to keep using what works for you.

One or two max. Focus on the first priority you chose or the top two items max. Don’t get carried away and take on more than you can handle.

Keep prioritizing. Use your technique to prioritize whenever you have options and can’t seem to make a decision. Don’t let things linger.

Take action and keep going. After prioritizing start moving forward. If things are not working out, review your priorities and pick up where you left off or start over if you have to.

Being clear about your priorities is the first step in doing something meaningful. You don’t have to create a plan for your entire life or even for a year. Just think of what is in front of you NOW.

Photo courtesy of dpadua

Feeling overwhelmed is like drowning in a sea of things to do and expectations to meet. We can’t keep our head above water.

The natural impulse most of us have in response to feeling overwhelmed is to freeze.

We stop in our tracks. We can’t seem to do anything. It is the exact opposite of rushing. When we allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by all of life’s demands, we turn to procrastination.

More days go by and more things pile up. The overwhelming cycle never ends and we continue to struggle.

Why do we feel overwhelmed?

In order to move forward, we need to understand how we got there in the first place.  The feeling doesn’t happen overnight. It is a gradual process where things creep up on you until you feel you can’t handle it any more.

In my view, reaching this stage is the result of two factors.

1. Indecision. When you can’t decide what is important to you, you don’t know what you want to do and what you want to ignore. Everything is in your face all the time. This is where it all begins.

2. Resistance to what needs to be done. Postponing or ignoring something because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean it’s going away. The nagging adds more to your resistance and struggle.

How feeling overwhelmed affects us

Feeling overwhelmed is a sign of feeling that things are out of your control. You may experience the following:

• Feeling like a victim and not taking responsibility. If things are out of your control, then you must be a victim of something more powerful than you.  Once you are in victim mode, you strip yourself of any desire to create what you want in life.
• Inner struggle. The continued nagging and negativity eat away at you. You can’t feel peaceful when you struggle with a lot of stuff.
• Avoidance. This is a big one. When you don’t deal with your stressful feelings you tend to avoid the situations that cause the emotion. Avoidance usually spreads like wild fire and before you know it, you start avoiding life.
• Negative self image. When you don’t achieve results, you reinforce limiting beliefs of lack of self worth and not deserving success. You dig yourself deeper into self loathing and despair.
• Physical manifestations as a result of stress and frustration. Negativity generates more negativity that affects your mind and body. You feel worn out even without doing anything.

How can you move past the paralyzing situation?

If you recognize that you feel overwhelmed and are not moving forward you can start with the following:

Awareness. This is the first step towards any positive change in your life.

• Go with the feeling. What does your body tell you when you feel overwhelmed?
• Pick one thing that you want to do and say it out loud (e.g. I need to do my taxes). Are you feeling that you can’t do it?  Where do you feel it in your body?
• Close your eyes and let the feeling take you over for a moment. Allow the feeling to move through you. It will subside if you don’t resist it.
• Say it again: I need to do my taxes. Smile and tell yourself that it will get done just like you have done it every other year or that you will make a fresh start this year. Don’t think about the how you’re going to do it now.
• Repeat this step with all the things that come to mind.

Don’t worry about how long it will take. You were not doing anything anyway. You might as well spend time to neutralize the negative emotions. This is a HUGE step forward.

Prioritization. With awareness comes the recognition that you can’t do everything at the same time.  You have to start with ONE thing and one thing only.  When we can’t decide what to do it means we don’t know what is important to us at this moment.  Start with what is REALLY important to you.

Break it down. This is where you break down what you chose as your priority into small manageable portions. Write down all the steps you have to do. If your priority was to file your income taxes, your first step is: buying the software and installing it. The second step would be: gathering the receipts. Now you are rolling. Continue doing one thing at a time.

Commit to completion. Nothing is more painful than having something half done or unfinished. If you have to stop because you are waiting for something or someone, make sure that this shows up daily on your list until you complete it. Otherwise it will stay in your mind and nag at you.

Do not take on any new tasks or projects. Complete one thing before adding a new one so your list doesn’t grow. Even better: commit to getting two things done before allowing a new item to come in. This will gradually reduce the size of your list.

You always have a choice. In the larger scheme of things recognize that you always have a choice. You can do something and take it off  your mental and physical list or you can choose to ignore it and live with the consequences.  Either way, you need to make peace with your decision, otherwise, you will struggle.

I recently went to the movies to see Alice in Wonderland. What struck me was the sense of urgency with which adults and kids alike moved and interacted. There was a rush to buy the tickets, to find seats and to get popcorn and snacks. And finally the rush with which everyone left the theater. The credits barely started to roll when the masses flooded towards the exits.

The interesting thing is: the first part of the credits was in 3D and had a lot of cool effects. They were really fun to watch. People who left the theater missed out. But also they blocked the view of people like me who wanted to enjoy the last bit.

Why were people rushing to leave the theater?  Is there something more pressing?

When people rush, where are they going? What is more important than what they’re doing now? Are they going to rush through the next thing as well?

In all likelihood yes they are. Why? Because rushing through life is becoming part of their daily living. Like most habits rushing runs on automatic most of the time.

“One’s action ought to come out of an achieved stillness: not to be mere rushing on.”  ~D.H. Lawrence

The side effects of rushing

I can’t think of any good thing that comes out of rushing. When you rush, you don’t stop to think. There is an unhealthy obsession with time. The list below highlights some of the side effects.

You don’t enjoy what is right in front of you. When you rush you are focusing on the next step and the things to come so you miss out on experiencing the present moment.

It stresses you out. It is hard to rush without being stressed. Your body will tense and in all likelihood you will experience negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety.

You don’t do your best. Your work results are mediocre at best. In your effort to speed things up, you will not focus on what you are doing. The only thing that matters is moving to the next thing.

You mismanage your time. You think by rushing you are saving time and being efficient. But in reality you don’t give yourself enough time to do something deliberately in order to learn from it. True efficiency comes from doing something well in the least amount of time. If you don’t learn how to do something well, you will continue to do the same thing over and over without any improvement in your skills and that is a waste.

You may miss out on opportunities for inspiration and improvement. You can hardly notice anything when you’re rushing. Insight is born out of contemplation and deliberation.

It can become a dangerous habit. If you rush through traffic for example or through important work, the consequences can be devastating. This outcome may affect others as well. Can you live with that?

There is an ever growing need to feed the addiction. When you’re addicted to rushing, you will always feel that you need to speed things up even more.  It is a never ending cycle of racing against time.

How to slow down

Most of what we rush for is not really important or urgent. It is our own perception about the situation and this ingrained habit of moving fast that drive us. A simple change in attitude can be a good start. You can try any or a combination of the items below to start slowing down. Be gentle and don’t rush into changing.

Take your time. Allow more than enough time for anything you do. If you are going to the movies, assign enough time to enjoy yourself. Don’t squeeze in other things that you have to do while you’re at the theater. With experience you will get better at gauging how long it will take you to do something or be somewhere.

Do one thing at a time and do it well. Imagine that you are being watched and your performance evaluated. Do the smallest of acts as if you want to win a prize for being the best at it. When you do everything from a place of awareness, you will not only get better at it but you will enjoy it.

Breathe. Make a frequent habit of stopping and taking a few deep breaths. You will be surprised by the calm that accompanies breathing.

Relax. Take time to just be. Don’t do anything, or try a few minutes of meditation. Learning to relax can help you not only when you need to rush, but in coping with the demands of daily living.

Smile. A smile can brighten the moment and take away from the sense of urgency. It can serve as a reminder that nothing is really worth getting worked up about and rushing to or away from.

Have fun and enjoy life one minute at a time.

Photo courtesy of gagilas