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

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Excessive list-making! ::raises hand::

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.

[badlittlemonkey.livejournal.com]

Never too late! Thanks very much for your input, hon -- yes, a lot of it echoes stuff other people have said, but that's a good thing, but it still helps as it means they're techniques that work for lots of folks! I really seem to need to try to do the "breaking down the bigger into the smaller" thing (which, seekritly, I've known for a long time but have always had difficulty putting into practice).