The best way to complete a large project is to tackle it the same way that you’d eat an elephant, one bite at a time.
It’s important to understand the scope of the entire project but break it into smaller more manageable pieces. This will help the project seem less daunting. Mentally prepare for the challenge, step aside enough time to get a good start at it and jump right in.
Step one: identify the big picture. What is the end result and what needs to be done to get there, and then divide this into sections or tasks.
Step two: Identify and tackle the easy stuff. Completing the easy items first not only makes your list smaller but it also provides momentum. Your brain gets to feel the win of checking off items and gets motivated to continue.
Step three: Discover the largest obstacles. By determining the largest obstacles you can look for solutions to overcome. Without knowing what individual obstacles are, the whole project can be delayed. If there are 5 large obstacles, you can consider each individually instead of looking for the solution to 5 problems all at once.
Step four: Set milestones. This will give realistic goals and similar to tackling the easy stuff first, you get to feel accomplished for reaching milestones and it will feel less daunting.
Step five: Be realistic with your expectations. Be honest with the time, effort, and energy that will go into completing the project and don’t over commit so that you can get it done before giving up because it is just too much to handle.
Once you start, bite off enough that you have a good base to ensure you have the motivation to get back at it the next day and keep going until you are done!
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