Overwhelm is one challenge many of us face at one time or another, and it often happens when we’re faced with a large project. It is even more likely to occur when the timeframe to complete the project is short. We start identifying all the things we need to get done, causing us to feel overwhelmed. Once we’re overwhelmed our path forward seems impossible and beyond reach. This is where baby steps come in.
By breaking down our project into high-level steps, then taking those steps and identifying tasks, and breaking those tasks into sub-tasks, we can focus on small chunks of the project without getting buried under the weight of the larger picture. We may not identify all steps, tasks, and sub-tasks the first time we run this exercise, and that’s okay. We can fill in the missing information as we identify it. Taking the time to complete this exercise might seem wasteful, but ultimately we’ll benefit from it.
The creation of baby steps allows us to move forward on a clear path with quick wins, keeping us motivated and on track.
Action steps:
- Identify all the high-level steps needed to complete your project.
- Break those steps into mid-level tasks.
- Break tasks into sub-tasks, single items to complete.
- Identify any steps, tasks, or sub-tasks that rely on another being completed prior to it being started.
- Schedule each high-level step on your calendar backward from the project’s completion date. Account for any steps that rely on another step’s completion.
- Schedule all tasks related to a step backward from the step’s completion date. Account for tasks that rely on another task’s completion.
- Schedule all sub-tasks related to a task backward from the task’s completion date. Account for sub-tasks that rely on another sub-task’s completion. For more information check out Scheduling baby steps.
- Start working on the first sub-task of the first task of the first step.