A Little Bit at a Time
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you have a big project ahead of you or so much to do that you don’t know where to start. I experience this all the time, and I have found that the best solution is to take small steps toward your goal every day. It makes you feel better because you are slowly moving toward completing whatever needs to be done.
For example, at work, I have at least three big projects that are high priority and need to be done over the next several months. Instead of ignoring two of them and pushing toward the completion of one, I do a little of each one every day. This strategy allows me to have variety in my work and allows me to tell my supervisors that I am making progress toward the deadlines that they have given me.
I noticed that often my company works in emergency mode. When they are pushing to roll out a new product, they tell a team to drop everything else and just work on the roll out. The problem with that is that nothing else gets done. It just builds up to emergency proportions and becomes the next emergency. I find this way of working to be very stressful.
I would liken it to having a research project assigned that is due two months from now. With my strategy, you start on it immediately, giving yourself time to do the research and take the notes. Then you move on to outlining and organizing your notes. Then you move on to a rough draft. Then you give yourself time to let your writing sit for a couple of days before proofing and revising. Then you are ready to write the final draft and can present your best work, turning it in on time with very minimal stress. I think that this method is much better than waiting a day or two before it's due and trying to tackle the whole project. By staying up all night, then you are tired, and you miss things and probably aren’t doing your best job.
I know a lot of people swear that they still get good grades when they wait until the last minute and use the pressure of the deadline as adrenaline to get the job done. But when I have done this, I spent a lot of time over the course of the two months feeling guilty that I wasn’t getting anything done on the project.
As I write this post, I am visiting my daughter. She is currently looking for a new job but feels like she is really challenged to have the time to send out resumes as she is currently working and has several other commitments. I challenged her to just send out one resume and cover letter every day. Over the course of the week, she will have sent out seven resumes and over the course of the month, that’ll be at least thirty. I think looking for work is a numbers game. Eventually, if you persist, you will find a job that perfectly fits your skills set.
If, for some reason, you apply and don’t get a particular job, then it wasn’t for you. Don’t worry about it. You can easily move on, knowing that you have other irons in the fire. I do this with my writing submissions. I send them out, expecting nothing, and am always pleasantly surprised when somebody wants to publish something! My most recent acceptance was of one of my poems, which will be published in The Daily Word in the spring. I love writing, and it’s a joy when I get acknowledgement that other people appreciate my work because they want to give me money to publish it!
If you are feeling the stress of too much to do and not enough time to do it, consider doing it a little bit at a time and see how that works for you.
Joke: When you bite off more than you can chew, it’s really hard to swallow.
Quote: “True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice” - Saint Francis de Sales, former Bishop of Geneva
Advice: Great things are done a little bit at a time.