[PODCAST 266]: Never Have Time for Projects?

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[PODCAST 266]: Never Have Time for Projects?

3d ago 30:20

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I wanted to start out today’s podcast by sharing a couple amazing testimonials from our STEPpers. This first one is from Dianna:

And this next one is from Laura!

And now onto the podcast!

If you currently feel like you have SO much to do during the day that you never have time for “projects,” today’s podcast is for you!

I recently received a message from one of our viewers who watched our video about the 4 criteria (where to start on our to-do lists) and said this:

“Just after the 8 minute mark, you used a phrase I haven’t heard before. You said that you have ‘project time each day.’ This is where I struggle…. Could you explain that more? I can’t figure out how to fit in projects. You’ve mentioned having 8 projects going in one month and I can’t even figure out how to use time to work on one single project. I know there is a solution. I just can’t figure it out. Do you schedule a certain amount of time every day? Work on one project each day? Multiple projects each day for 10 minutes? I’m so interested in learning more about your daily project time. Thanks for all you share. Your videos are so encouraging and uplifting.”

I LOVED this question, and I’m excited to dive in today–because if you’re in the same boat, at home or at work or out in the community, I want you to know that there is HOPE!

Having the ability to identify and complete projects is one of the best ways to improve your life. (Do you want to move? Get a new job? Prepare for a family? Strengthen your family? Create systems so that you have more free time? Travel? Serve? Get healthier?) These all can be done through effective projects.

(1) The number of Current Projects you have is related to how many routines you have and what is on your calendar.

Picture a pie chart. The big circle represents your available time/energy to work on things. ½ might be routines (personal and family care), ⅓ of what is left is calendar/appointments, the final ⅔ of the ½ is project time. So I only choose the number of projects that will fit in that time. And I err on the low side. (You also might want to consider the amount of help, health and energy, skills, etc. that you have in the areas that you’re wanting to move forward.)

(2) These projects need to be organized and put on a Current Projects List so you can actually know what you’re focusing on that month.

Sometimes I might fold in extra things that could technically be called “Projects,” like making some new Indian food recipes or hanging up our family photos on the wall. Those are multiple steps, but they were fun and easy to manage with my regular calendar/next actions list, so I didn’t write them down. What you DON’T want is to have a bunch of big “secret” projects that weigh on your mind, but don’t get acknowledged.

Here’s an example of one of my past Current Projects Lists:

(3) At the beginning of the week, I look at what I want to accomplish that month, and I ask myself what makes sense for THIS week.

If I am traveling, I can do a digital course and planning, but I won’t be doing some of the deeper computer work or home projects that I’d planned for the month.

(4) For ANY project, you need to break it down into clear Next Actions. 10-minute microbursts are key.

Holiday plans, for example, can sound really nebulous. But I figured out super specific tasks to move me forward:

Talking with Eric about our holiday budget
Talking with our kids about their hopes and dreams for the holidays
Researching local events for 10 minutes online
Researching new traditions, etc.

(5) DEEP WORK: I keep a few hours of “project time” open each day.

For me, 11am-2pm is ideal for that. I do morning scripture study, prayer, and journaling, get Spencer off to school, exercise with Eric, walk Sunny, do a morning tidy, take a shower, etc.

Then my deep work as an entrepreneur is 11-2, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, and sometimes, depending on what I’m working on, I might get up earlier and get quite a bit of work done in the morning–or if we have a lot of meetings/events during the day, I work in the evenings for a few hours.

I didn’t always have this kind of time available during my days. We are about to be empty nesters and I have a lot more flexibility each day than I did when we had 4 young children at home. When all of our children were little, I would do most of this deep work during the early morning or evening hours.

(6) The best skill is knowing how to “bookmark” a project and get back to it.

For example, we have been updating our sales page and emails and it felt pretty overwhelming to me because there are a lot of moving parts to this project.

So I outline the related tasks in order in Asana, and I make sure they are super simple, and then I work on them in order. Last week, for example, I made a Google Sheet with edits I need to make on our sales page and emails–multiple locations.

Now THIS week, I’m going to actually start making the edits. But I don’t want the project to feel hard or to forget where I wrote out all the details. So I include the link to the Google Sheet in the description of my project. That way, when it’s time to do the work, I just sit down and click, and I can pick up where I left off.

I hope that this is helpful to you! I love your questions, and a lot of our podcasts and videos can help you, if you’re just getting started! Please comment below and let me know what you thought of this podcast and if you have any follow-up questions!

And now I want to end this podcast with a couple more amazing testimonials! This first one is from Jodi:

And this final testimonial comes from Lynette. She shared some pictures of a recent, completed project and they are fantastic!