I guess that I'm too late in weighing in to be of much help, and other people have said all the good stuff. But since you asked, this is wot I done in the past:
- I write down what needs doing. Writing things down is important; it makes it real and not so nebulous. By 'writing' I mean 'typing'. Finger-painting and cuniform are acceptable variations. Just get it down somewhere where you can refer to it.
- I break the Big Project down into steps, then break it down further and further until it's in manageable bite-sized pieces. Yes, one needs to do this. DO IT. Otherwise, it's too easy to get overwhelmed and you'll wonder how in heck it will all get done.
- If there is a deadline at all, I work backwards from it. Week by week, if possible. I'll allot work on the project to 6 days out of the week and rest on the 7th day. Like God.
- I decide how many bites I need to do per day (or want to do per day, if there isn't a hard deadline). If the bites end up being the wrong size to get done comfortably in a day, then I adjust them.
- The Big Secret: I focus ONLY on what needs to be done that day or the next few days. NO MORE. Once a week or so, I re-evaluate and see if I'm still on track. I do not allow myself the luxury of wallowing in helpless frustrated feelings from thinking about how it will get done. That is counterproductive. If I am staying more or less on my schedule, then it will get done. Simple as that. This works. When I look at everything I've done in the past 2 years, I'm almost not believing it. But I did it. All of it. And I'll do so much more.
If it turns out that I am not going to be able to keep up with my scheduling, then I re-evaluate everything and reconfigure for the time I have left. If the Project is something that doesn't strictly *need* to be done for survival of me or mine, then I examine my motivations for wanting to do it. Is it for education? Bragging rights? Usually, the result is that I let it go and find something more manageable to play with. Because no matter how fun something might seem in the beginning, it won't be by the end if I'm not able to keep up with it. I don't need that extra stress. No guilt or shoulda's.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-05-15 07:03 pm (UTC)I guess that I'm too late in weighing in to be of much help, and other people have said all the good stuff. But since you asked, this is wot I done in the past:
- I write down what needs doing. Writing things down is important; it makes it real and not so nebulous. By 'writing' I mean 'typing'. Finger-painting and cuniform are acceptable variations. Just get it down somewhere where you can refer to it.
- I break the Big Project down into steps, then break it down further and further until it's in manageable bite-sized pieces. Yes, one needs to do this. DO IT. Otherwise, it's too easy to get overwhelmed and you'll wonder how in heck it will all get done.
- If there is a deadline at all, I work backwards from it. Week by week, if possible. I'll allot work on the project to 6 days out of the week and rest on the 7th day. Like God.
- I decide how many bites I need to do per day (or want to do per day, if there isn't a hard deadline). If the bites end up being the wrong size to get done comfortably in a day, then I adjust them.
- The Big Secret: I focus ONLY on what needs to be done that day or the next few days. NO MORE. Once a week or so, I re-evaluate and see if I'm still on track. I do not allow myself the luxury of wallowing in helpless frustrated feelings from thinking about how it will get done. That is counterproductive. If I am staying more or less on my schedule, then it will get done. Simple as that. This works. When I look at everything I've done in the past 2 years, I'm almost not believing it. But I did it. All of it. And I'll do so much more.
If it turns out that I am not going to be able to keep up with my scheduling, then I re-evaluate everything and reconfigure for the time I have left. If the Project is something that doesn't strictly *need* to be done for survival of me or mine, then I examine my motivations for wanting to do it. Is it for education? Bragging rights? Usually, the result is that I let it go and find something more manageable to play with. Because no matter how fun something might seem in the beginning, it won't be by the end if I'm not able to keep up with it. I don't need that extra stress. No guilt or shoulda's.
YMMV, of course. But I hope that helps.