A couple of months ago, my wife and I faced a difficult task. Over the past couple of years, the number of responsibilities in our lives seemed to be growing constantly. Our son, our home, some difficult and time consuming health issues, a part-time business turned full-time, school, a new dog and more while we both worked full-time jobs.
Keeping our house organized was nearly impossible. Our mail in-box was overflowing, our laundry room and den became dumping grounds for things we had no time to deal with and our clean laundry would sit in baskets on the floor in our bedroom. The only things we found time for were the essentials: dishes and keeping our house sanitized.
Every once in a while, I would start picking at the pile of unopened mail and set it aside after feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes I would float from room to room cleaning up a few things here and there, but would accomplish very little before my motivation was drained from feeling overwhelmed.
Our Solution
Finally, we decided to start with one room, our bedroom. We cleaned it thoroughly and re-organized it to make it easier to maintain. We accomplished this in one afternoon and were so motivated by the result that we have since tackled nearly every room in our house one-by-one. Last week, we emptied our mail in-box and are now finding it easier to process it as it comes.
What We Learned
By breaking the project down into small tasks and focusing on one task at a time, we were able to check items off quickly and see progress, thus boosting our confidence and motivation.
Daily Action – Complete a Small Task
Do you have an overwhelming project that you have trouble finding motivation to complete? Think of one small task you can do to take it one step closer to completion. Complete that step and celebrate. Then, decide what the next step will be.
This post is part 4 of a series: Motivation to Complete Your Goals.
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