So I know I can be a serial procrastinator, for personal projects, I’ll at whatever costs avoid the daunting or significant thing that needs doing.
Are you the person that will happily get tied up in data queries and problem solving from the service desk to avoid that painful project?
I know in the past I’ve lost several weeks in this cycle of quick wins and I’ve had team members do this too.
My husband had exactly this when we decided to purchase a renovation project with a 2-year-old in tow. We’d stretched to the highest mortgage we could afford to create a dream family home.
Dave’s in the trade which means he would either be doing or organising most of the work himself. And I’d done my usual trick of wanting more, with an elaborate wrap around extension.
It wasn’t long before we did what any ‘grand design’ couple do and we had another baby. And we noticed we weren’t progressing the build.
Like most of us when we’re overwhelmed with the scale of something, and there’s a mounting to-do list somewhere else. We find it hard to focus on the thing that matters.
He was kept busy enough with the little things and unable to get traction. We found with a few tricks we were able to make progress & I’m pleased to say it’s almost complete.
This podcast episode is all about reminding you to make the Priority or Big thing, the Big thing in your life or work.
I talk a lot here about work projects, I watched as colleagues learnt the hard way how failing to devote enough resource or failure to even recognise the big focus will damage your reputation.
I know how delivering on the ‘big projects’ can really propel your career.
Sue Parker
Key Steps to Focusing on the Big Work Priority
It’s to help you prioritise, control your time and is so simple that it’s a reminder you can use at work, but also in any goals in your personal life.
- Get clarity on the number #1 key priority
- Schedule the time – make sure you’re spending the bulk of your time on this project.
- Manage interruptions – take back control of the day or you’ll continue to work to someone else’s agenda
- Get clear on the ROI, the value added by this project or work – why? Because they may need challenging, next week they may not be important, but you need to read the situation and invest your effort in the right place.
Take back control of the day or you’ll continue to work to someone else’s agenda
Finally, grab your calendar and block out your schedule to work on the ‘big priority’.
Listen for more and do me a favour, if you like it, drop me a 5-star rating, I would really appreciate it.
