Posted by Theresa Bradley-Banta
I was talking with a friend recently who had a great deal of enthusiasm for an article she wanted to write. However, the more we talked about the scope of the article, the more overwhelmed she became until she ultimately talked herself out of doing anything.
Has this ever happened to you?
You have one small tactic that is part of a larger strategy and you let the big picture stop you before you even begin!
For example:
My friend wanted to write an article — something that would probably take her 30-60 minutes max to complete. And, she loved the topic – she was passionate about it and she knew writing the article would be fun!
Then, as we spoke about it, we decided it was such a great topic she could write a series of articles. That one article could be combined with others on the same topic and then become an e-book she could offer to her clients as a gift!
But, and this is when it all started to come apart, she realized her website was not up to speed.
So how could she offer the e-book?
She didn’t want people visiting an unfinished website! And besides, she didn’t have her contact management software set up yet to capture names when people visited her site to download her free e-book.
OMG!
Screeeeech… this is the sound of everything falling to pieces — the sound of my friend stopping before she even began!
The solution for my friend and everyone who’s been there?
Pick a starting point and go!
In this case, take a minute to remember why you were excited to begin with. My friend was completely enthusiastic about writing her article because it was a topic she was passionate about and she knew it would motivate and help people, including her!
Start there!
Go back to the point where your heart was in it.
Take a minute to remember this one task will only take about 30-60 minutes to complete.
Plan it.
Write it down in your daily plan and do not deviate. If necessary, change your location to complete this one task. Go to another part of the house or office. Or take your laptop to the park or coffee shop. Quit worrying about the huge picture — this will only send you into overwhelm.
One small task, completed with dedication and regularity will get you to the larger goal. You dig a hole one shovel full at a time.
Theresa Bradley-Banta, co-creator of www.bigfishtopdogs.com, is a musician, award winning graphic artist, blogger, mentor, and owner of multiple businesses. You can follow her on twitter @bigfishtopdogs.
Related posts:
