Prep And Landing Part 2

A few days ago, my wife and I were planning some of the projects we’d like to do this year, starting with January. One of these is to paint my office. When our son left for his new home last year, the bonus room above the garage opened up. I moved my office from the smallest bedroom to the biggest one. Lots of room and a slight tax advantage.

This room was carpeted late last year, along with the rest of the second floor – a pending project since we moved in 16 years ago! Woohoo!? Before installing the new carpet, we gave our grandson Emmett the freedom to paint on the walls. Big fun for him.? I added to it as well. We have some really abstract stuff from Emmett and a few Bob Ross Happy Trees – not bad, I have to say. Plus, an exceptionally good log fire. Hate to see this stuff go!

But onto the project. Years ago, I read a book called Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracey. The frog is the challenging, difficult, big, and ugly task or project that must be done. The lesson from Brian is to prioritize the frog first, so it gets done and you don’t carry the anchor of its mental weight with you all day.

The room is a project. Big, high ceilings, lots of holes in the walls and the drywall tape is peeling off. That adds some flavor to this.

Thankfully my wife and I are ready. We have our plan. You see, when planning the project and looking at it as a whole big process, it’s intimidating.? With that perspective, you feel like everything must be done in one big commitment.

Here’s our plan, taken from Prep and Landing, the Christmas show that came out years ago with Lanny and Wayne. These two are part of the Prep and Landing team for Santa. They go ahead and prep the site so Santa can get in and get out quickly.

For us, Prep and Landing is perfect for a paint job like this. First day, buy the paint and supplies. Second day, prep the room. This might be pulling and replacing the drywall tape, sanding, and spackling. That’s a big job. Third day, paint and maybe get on a second coat, then clean up. Three days, each manageable. Maybe a 4th if the paint isn’t dry or we don’t feel like cleaning up. That’s it – 2 weekends and done.?

Some of you are experts, and you’ll pull this off in a day. Some of you are waiting to paint a room you planned to paint 10 years ago! We do this when mulch is delivered. When taxes need to be prepared. I do this when preparing a presentation. I have an SOP. Amy has SOPs for vacations, Super Bowl parties, and anything that is recurring.

If you struggle with major projects and priorities, chunk it down. Start small. Plan palatable steps.

That’s how you turn busy into productive.