The benefit of working on projects in incremental stages
Whenever I’ve worked on large projects, I’ve always approached them in increments. Some people will wait until the last minute to get big projects done, but the pressure in those situations can really sink a project. Last week I was putting together the webinar that I’m offering this week on social media, and one of the biggest advantages of working on it incrementally was that I could gradually put it together at a slower, but more methodical pace.
When people work on projects at the last minute, they may claim that the pressure helps them work better, but what the real issue is, is that they likely aren’t really organized in their thinking about the project. They wait until the last minute to force them to get organized, but that pressure can ultimately result in projects that are put together haphazardly, without any real clarity in the message or expression of the concept. Trying to work on a project straight through can be exhaustive and ultimately waste a lot more time and energy.
An incremental approach to projects tends to be an organized approach. It break the project down into manageable chunks that can be worked on and developed fully, before moving onto the next chunk. An incremental process can be as simple as setting a goal of putting together two pages of a presentation, or as complex as writing a chapter of a book.
It can be useful to create an outline with deadlines associated with each increment, or you can take my own approach and simply decide to do a specific amount of work on a given project and then stop after that goal has been reached.
Another benefit is that taking some time away from a project can give you a different perspective on it, allow you to see some weaknesses in it that you might otherwise miss, and also let you come back to it with a renewed focus on getting the project done.
Take time to work on your business projects incrementally. It will help you organize what you are doing in your mind, as well as on paper. The sense of accomplishment you’ll feel will also boost your confidence and self-esteem and not put you in a state of feeling overwhelmed by what you think you need to do.
What you think is what you manifest
What you think is what you manifest, or to put it a different way, where thought goes, the energy flows.
This concept has been around for a long time. You find it in metaphysical books, books on finance, books on psychology and even books on physics. And there is some truth to it. How you approach situations in life mentally can determine how those situations resolve. A person who sets out to accomplish a goal and imprints that goal in his or her mind will likely achieve that goal.
On the other hand, it’s easy to sabotage yourself with your thoughts. For a long time I sabotaged any sense of happiness I had with a belief that I had to struggle to achieve that happiness. It wasn’t until I spent time really looking at that belief that I was able to change it…and change my life. I spent a lot of time meditating and examining where that pattern had come from before I could change it, because I had to know where it came from in order to know how to let it go. Turns out my mom had always held the belief that life was a struggle. When I realized where I had gotten that belief from, I asked myself if I had to continue to hold to that belief and I realized that I didn’t have to anymore. I let it go, and embraced the belief that I don’t have to struggle for happiness. Since then my life has gotten a lot easier, because I’ve been able to look at situations differently and not create or embrace a struggle.
A current pattern of thought I’m working through is a tendency to generalize. I’ve caught myself in the last month making generalized statements which aren’t really representative of the people or situations they’ve been applied to. Instead of being specific or even admitting that perhaps the only person holding that view is me, it’s been easier to apply a general statement. A generalized statement avoids responsibility, however, because it passes the buck onto other people, without really accepting the responsibility for who is really making that statement (me!)
While the concept that thoughts can shape and create reality is a powerful concept, it’s important to acknowledge that this concept can be used for your own good or ill. Recognizing the patterns of thought that lead to unhealthy behavior can help you recognize changes that you may wish to make in your life. Recognizing patterns of thought that lead to healthy behaviors can help you reinforce and support those thoughts.
A good way to recognize how you think is to spend time meditating. The concept that meditation is about emptying the mind is only partially correct. In fact, sometimes meditation is about simply standing back and listening to what you think so that you can recognize what you think about and how you think about it. In meditation you might pick a specific area of life, such as finances, and meditate on your thoughts about finances in order to figure out what beliefs you hold about finances. To change a belief, meditate on the thought, ask it for its history, where it came from, and when you know what that is, dissolve it, let it go into the rhythm of your breath, so that it is formless energy returned to the wholeness of your being, to become something healthier.
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I just had an article publisher on DIYplanner.com on the importance of planning a day when you’re in between jobs.
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Taylor Ellwood
