What Could Help You Get Started? (Side Bar)

You have something overwhelming to do. You look at the whole thing and your brain offers one extremely helpful thought: Where do I even start? Right now, the project is one overwhelming giant job. What if…

What if the job feels too big?

There is an old saying about eating an elephant one mouthful at a time. Nobody is suggesting elephants for supper. The point is that a huge job becomes more manageable when you turn it into smaller bite-size jobs. Your project might become: First break it apart what are the small things to do. That is, look at it as pieces that make it a whole.

Which needs to happen first? Which might take the longest? Does one have to happen before another? Those are priorities. There is no rule saying the hardest job must always go first. The useful question is: What deserves my attention first, and why?

Try it: Take a big job, say painting your classroom. Break it into four or several smaller jobs. Which one should come first? How much work involved in each part. You are starting form right where you are, at your desk - how to get the classroom painted, what is involved?

Why is “later” not much of a plan?

“I’ll work on it later” sounds reasonable. Unfortunately, later has a strange habit of getting crowded by everything else. A stronger plan gives the work a real place in your day. “After supper, I’ll work at the kitchen table and gather the materials” tells you when to start and what to do first. A schedule does not magically make the work happen. It does make the start less fuzzy.

Time management also means learning how long things really take. Guess that something will take 20 minutes and then discover it took 35? Useful information. Your next plan just got better.

Try it: Choose one small job. Decide when you will start and what your first move will be. Estimate how long it will take.

How do you stop things disappearing from your head?

Trying to remember every deadline, instruction and next step gets messy quickly. Organization means putting useful information where it will help you. A calendar makes future jobs visible. A checklist keeps the steps from disappearing. A reminder tells you when something needs your attention. A folder means Tuesday does not begin with a search party for your science notes.

Routines help in another way. Maybe you come home, check what is due, gather what you need and choose where to start. When that order becomes familiar, you do not have to invent a new starting plan every afternoon. The best system is not the fanciest. It is the one that helps you.

Try it: What is one thing you keep forgetting or losing track of? Choose one tool or routine that might help.

G6 CD3:2