Do You Know How To Get Unstuck?
Sometimes when working on a project, you might become overwhelmed or just can’t seem to make any progress. Maybe you have already employed the strategy of “chunking it down” to overcome the overwhelm. After awhile, you realize it’s one specific step that you’re stuck on and just can’t figure out how to finish that step before moving forward. What do you do? Perhaps, the strategy is to move around the block, rather than through it.
Chuck it!
When I get stuck on a project, I get really stuck. I have my head down just looking for a solution to the one step I’m on that seems so vital and insurmountable. All of a sudden, it dawns on me that I am inside a box; a box that tells me that this particular step is “vital” and nothing else can be accomplished without it. Perhaps, (I surmise with a bit of hopefulness) there is another way to look at it. Yes, there is a bigger picture here: looking at this step’s role in the project as a whole.
Many business owners have this same challenge. They get so focused on one particular step that they lose sight of the big picture. This is where the strategy of “Chuck it!” can come in handy.
When I am stuck on a single step, I ask myself 2 questions:
- Is it possible that this step is not so vital to the completion of this project after all?
- What will happen if I don’t complete this particular step?
Often, the answers to these questions show me that the overall success of the project does not hinge on my carrying out this step I have been stuck on. It was not really so important after all. So I “chuck it”, and move on to the next step in the project.
Now, I don’t suggest that this strategy of “chuck it” will work every time, and it is an option some of the time. So the next time you find yourself stuck on one step of a project, ask yourself these 2 questions to get yourself into action once again.
July 27th, 2009 at 10:09 PM
I find it necessary to set limits on just how much time and energy I can devote to something that isn’t working out. I give the project an honest shot at completion, but when that fails, it fails for a good reason, not because of me.
July 28th, 2009 at 6:34 AM
Hi, Sharon. You make a great point. It’s important to be aware when you are spending your time on something that’s not going anywhere. Even better, deciding beforehand how much time you want to spend on a project and watching when you go beyond that time, can be a good indicator that you are stuck in some way.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[...] my last post I offered a suggestion for what to do when you are stuck on a task in your business. I suggested [...]