I get it.
Trust me, I’ve been there. And for certain new adventures I’m starting, I’m there now with you.
Starting something new is daunting. Maybe you feel overwhelmed because you don’t have experience managing projects yet, and you are trying to land project management roles so you can gain experience.
Perhaps you are stuck in a career rut and can’t see anyway to get out of it because the massive effort just seems to be too much.
Baby Steps
When I feel this way, I remind myself that no one becomes an expert on their first day.
Growing in any way is a process. Once you’ve asked yourself the right questions start executing. Take action, even if it’s just a little bit at a time.
It’s like getting in shape or any other worthy goal which requires a lot of time and effort. A great way to burn yourself out and fall off the wagon is to try and conquer the world in the first day. If your expectations are incorrect you will get discouraged and quit.
Instead, take baby steps.
I used to try to go to the gym and work out for a full hour or two. I figured if I was really going to get in shape, I had to go gung ho, right?
Here’s What Happened
The sheer time and effort I was putting into it made me less likely to actually do anything at all. I started missing days and rationalizing them by saying I didn’t have enough time, etc.
The same thing happened to me when I was studying for the PMP exam. I told myself I needed hours and hours of uninterrupted study time if I was to accomplish anything at all. It didn’t work so well in terms of actually getting any studying done. If you expect everything to be perfect before you start, you’ll never make progress.
Reasonable Expectations Result In Consistent Action
Today I swim laps for 10 minutes. The time commitment is small and so I no longer have the excuse of needing hours of time set aside to go work out at all. It’s easier to hold myself accountable and when I look back and think about the progress I’ve made doing this as compared to the ‘old’ method it’s very inspiring.
The same held true for my PMP studies. I did 20-40 minutes a day driving to and from work with the PrepCast instead of trying to wait until the weekends for a marathon study session. Half the time, something came up and I got no studying done for the week.
I’ve found this approach to be true in many areas of my life. If I set reasonable, baby step goals and actions I will do them. I can make them into a habit over time as long as they are bite-sized enough to not be so painful I avoid them.
What about you? Will you leave a comment with your thoughts on this topic?
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome picture! I’m not sure though what this has to do with the article
Hey, if you’re going to build a Death Star, you have to start somewhere…..
haha… oky. got it.
We all face that overwhelming feeling from time to time. I learned from my wife that if you can find one thing that you can control, exert your control on it. When you have established that point of control, find the next thing that you can control and repeat until you feel in control of your life again. Procrastinating will only put you deeper in the overwhelmed hole.
Ah yes, very good. I think I’ve heard that referred to as expanding your ‘locus of control’ over time, or I think Covey calls it the ‘circle of influence’. Thanks for the comment Chet!
One of the largest problems I have to face is that “Neither Rome nor the Death Star were built in a day.” I have changed careers and made this work. I’ve also let myself get caught up in what I expected of me and felt like a failure. Josh is right, start somewhere. Make it fun. Don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake. Keep in mind Dancoff’s law: “the greatest growth occurs when the greatest number of mistakes are made consistent with survival”.
Thanks Leam. I love the references to Dancoff’s law, I hadn’t come across that one before!
Great advice. I am trying to tackle the clutter around the house same way. Clean one messy drawer each weekend
I am also trying to prepare for PMP the same way – get up at 5am and study for 20 minutes every day.
Sweet. That’s the way to do it, IMO.
Love the picture – and the thoughts, similar to something else I read – “Just get started”, a lot of times just starting the task will generate energy to propel you forward and you end up getting much more accomplished. Many times I find that I have to go into stealth mode and sneak up on the day by starting something – anything! and I end up segueing into something else and eventually perhaps into that task that I have framed in such onerous and over-sized terms. I have discovered for those of us in “job transition” that this can be a daily effort, the trick is to take the baby steps and just get started!
Absolutely Bob. Love the “go into stealth mode and sneak up on the day” !!
My background has been in Supply Chain across three vary different industries. I did enough project management work to learn that I enjoyed it and I was actually pretty good at it. I earned my PMP but I found it challenging to get a PM job where I live without having IT or programming experience. I stayed in Supply Chain and did small sourcing projects and proved my abilities then a new concept came into place in our company- the PMO. A role was created for a Project Planning and Control Analysist. I am not leading projects directly but I am influencing project managers and enabling them to be more successful. This turned out even better.
Awesome Bill, that kind of role can be great for getting immersed in project management processes and even being able to influence them heavily too. Many people find they love doing the analyst role and stay there, and for others it’s great experience and exposure for moving into a project management role.
The journey of the thousand miles start with the first step!
Hi Josh ,
I have read your article and found it to be very realistic enough .Looking at the big picture and taking those baby steps towards our goal is a better way of achieving our goals .This way , we do not miss the small yet significant steps or processes that are as important as the bigger picture .
PMP examination could be taken as one such goal . While working towards all those 42 processes and the ITTOS’ , we might not be able to stick to our plans every single day . But we have to start with something initially . Maybe take up something that we have worked on a lot , something that makes things interesting for us .
For instance , I started working on time , scope , cost and risk management processes because these processes were something that I had worked on a lot , while handling my projects . Focussing on the benefits of being a PMP certified professional and talking to the passouts could also increase our interest in the certification .
I guess , like many other trainers , my experience in IT training helped me in dealing with the examination better . As trainers , we generally worked a lot in making the training as interesting as possible . If we are successful in raising the interest levels initially , it becomes easier for us to deal with the remaining part of the training because the participants get more involved in the training . The same is true with ourselves when we are working on a particular goal like PMP
certification . We could start with something that we have already worked on and raise our interest levels . Once that is done , the rest of the journey is easier .
Also , we need to ensure that we are able to maintain our interest levels till we achieve our goal . We could have a rewarding process for ourselves for each of those baby steps . For instance , if we are successful in completing scope management knowledge area while working on our PMP certification , we could give ourselves a treat the way we want it !!! This would give us the required zeal and energy to keep focussing on our smaller goals or baby steps . These steps are important . Focussing on these smaller goals help us in dealing with stress a lot . For instance we know that getting a PMP might be difficult , but completing scope management is a lot easier .once we complete the baby step of scope management knowledge area , we could then focus on the next goal of completing another knowledge area .
Another aspect of achieving our goals is being realistic and reasonable . For instance , if I think , I can get a long uniterrupted study time for myself amidst my professional and household responsibilities , I may not be able to get that time . We need to consider all our responsibilities , uncertainties of life , etc , while working on our plan .So it becomes very important for us to have a very realistic plan while working on our goals . We could keep changing our plans whenever we feel it needs a change , but we must plan realistically . I remember , while preparing for my PMP exam , I had to do a lot of domestic chores like cooking , maintaining my house , etc , since my family was away for some important priorities . I realized that there is no point in fretting and fuming over the issues that I faced because the reality was that my family was not with me . So I planned my preparation accordingly . Incidentally , it helped me a lot in my preparation for the exam including estimating the time that would be required for me to prepare for the exam .
Also , we need to be prepared for intermittent failures and dissapointments . They will be there . It makes us feel more humane . But , we need to keep looking for an opportunity to regain ourselves and start working towards our goals . For instance , if I am unable to study for a few days in a row , it is quite natural for me to feel negative about my preparation for the exam . But , as soon as we are able to get some time , we need to start working towards our goals .
Focussing on the baby steps while working towards the bigger picture does help us in a big way in achieving our goals .
Thanks & Regards
Sabyasachi Gupta , PMP