Hey, Creative LJ Peoples!

[allizon]

Maybe this is only an issue for those of us who are all ADD, maybe not, but:  

When you're thinking about/planning/even vaguely considering a Big Project, one which can't possibly be done in a week or less...how do you get started on something Big?  How do you know where/at what point to dive in -- how much planning or prep work is enough?  How do you measure your progress?  Or maintain your enthusiasm for the project and not let it just all...drift away?

I'm very curious here.  I want to do something Big but can't seem to keep my focus on any one project long enough, so I wonder if I'm just Doin It Wrong.  Help?

ETA:  So I successfully completed National Novel Writing Month -- I did just over 53,000 words in 30 days.  That was Big, right?  But it also had a very small window attached to it, and an external deadline (of a sort).  So I can sprint toward Big, but I think the kinds of Big Projects I'm vaguely thinking of here aren't so much sprints as marathons.  I clearly need marathon planning/training.  :)

ETA 2:  As I was responding to various comments below, a link to this post about discipline on Zen Habits popped up for me in Twitter.  Thanks, Universe!

Comments

[badlittlemonkey.livejournal.com]

If I think about the whole big thing I get distracted and overwhelmed.

YES. EXACTLY THIS. I get freaked out by the size of whatever I'm considering, and I just drop it and move on to some other project I won't finish. :)

And this "external accountability" thing seems to be a common refrain. I think that's going to have to be part of whatever it is I do.

Thanks!

[jacflash.livejournal.com]

There's a great book by Martha Beck that is supposedly about weight loss -- but is really more about how to get yourself rolling on huge scary undertakings in general. It's called The Four-Day Win and it's totally worth a read (as is pretty much everything else she's ever written, IMO).

[badlittlemonkey.livejournal.com]

I'll look into that book -- I know that I really enjoyed and got a lot out of Finding Your Own North Star (and it might be time to flip through that one again). Thanks for the link!

[jacflash.livejournal.com]

Oh, and: For some folks, "external accountability" can just mean an LJ post after every milestone. It's amazing how motivating that can be. (Of course, some others need a "boss", and many of us fall in between.)

[badlittlemonkey.livejournal.com]

I think I need the former more than the latter, but definitely somewhere in between.