Trouble “Getting It Done?” Awareness Of These Four Elements Will Help!

Bottom Line Up Front: Four elements to be aware of that will enable you to get it done are:?why, getting started, getting on track, and getting it done!

One of the biggest problems we all face is completing projects, goals, or tasks. So what can you do to get it done? This is the million-dollar question.

As you know, I close my emails and blog posts with "To Getting It Done!" That's my mantra to you. It's my way of assisting you every day, both in your personal and professional lives. But this is not about me. This is about your story and how you can get it done no matter who you are or the task at hand. So let me help by sharing four elements to be aware of that can assist you in "getting it done!"

Although they may seem obvious, just understanding the elements will go a long way in helping you identify what holds you back. Sure, Captain Obvious, but I've learned that what could seem obvious to me may not be obvious to you.

Why?

The why is the most important question that you can ask yourself. It's more about the why than anything else. Why is what drives us, inspires us, and motivates us to go for it and complete the task. Once you know the why you can do many things to guide yourself in the right direction. Maybe it's to make money, achieve success in your business, buy a house in the Hollywood hills, write a book, do 50 push-ups to improve your fitness or impress your future soulmate.?Believe in your why once you've figured it out! You deserve it and should have it. Have faith and confidence in it! Be excited about receiving it or doing it! See the vision of you having it or doing it. Once you have determined the why and have convinced yourself you can do it or receive it and deserve it, you'll have conquered the most important aspect of the battle and can do anything!

Getting Started

It's been said many times that half the battle is showing up. Since you know the "why" determine what you can do to get started. This seems like the perfect opportunity for a sea story.

How do thousands of young people from all backgrounds of life achieve a successful daily start while onboard an aircraft carrier? Here's a method I used in my department to ensure they had a successful start each morning. I used to tell all the Sailors that worked for me, many of them 18-year-old men and women, onboard the aircraft carrier, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72), this simple process for getting their day started, either in port or at sea in a challenging environment. 1. Show up every day, on time. 2. Be in a clean uniform. 3. Have a positive attitude, ready to get to work on your duties for the day. I told them that if they just started their day by doing these three simple things, they would be successful for the rest of the day!

That's it; just get started with the right frame of mine. Of note, most of them succeeded by following this simple process to start their day. By following this process, you can also succeed each morning; just substitute the uniform piece with attire that is required for your job, or if you stay at home, that makes you feel happy and comfortable.

Getting On Track

You've done the hard part, which was getting started. But what if you've already started, know where you want to go and why, but don't seem to be making any progress. What can you do? Answer: Keep moving forward! My dear old daddy, a very colorful character in his days from the rolling hills of Kentucky, used to tell me when I got stuck or wasn't making any progress to simply "Don't worry about all the other stuff, just move on down the canyon!" Maybe he watched too many spaghetti westerns, but he was spot-on with his advice to just keep moving on!?

There is a term I like to use when I'm in the middle of a project, and I call it the "frozen middle." The term "frozen middle" is more closely associated with the middle management in a company that keeps things from moving forward. However, I also associate it with when we are stuck on a project or task between the start and completion. It's more fun to say frozen middle and have fun with it, like a game. You'll find a dozen ways to unfreeze the frozen middle whenever you can make it fun and play it like a game. Your action of having fun and moving on provides heat. The heat is the action that allows you to take that one next step to thaw it out and get you moving in a positive direction.?

It's fun to add one step to your daily plan. It's any step to get you motivated and back on track, no matter how small. Just take the next smallest, easiest step. Then the next, and the next, and so on. Find something that will take you less than 2 minutes to accomplish — do that. For example, you can think of one more line for that hit song you're working on, review one of your long-term plans to see if you're tracking with your business strategy, or stop and clean out that little section of your garage that you have been putting off. It will feel good, motivate you and give you some much-needed momentum to keep going and not stop or quit. It's also a path to creating a habit of successfully completing tasks. Once you get into this habit of accomplishing the next piece, there is no stopping you!?

Getting It Done

You are closing in on completing your project, goal, or task! You have gotten this far with your why, by getting started, and keeping it on track. Now finish it and finish strong! Sprint through the finish line and don't look for perfection. One of my favorite quotes by General George S. Patton, Jr. is, "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week."?

Along the same lines as General Patton's quote, just finish – – you can always go back and make changes if needed. Don't look for perfection; look for successful completion. Things can always change, but it's much more efficient if you're working on changes to a completed goal, project, or task instead of one that you're still trying to get done!?

Change is a tremendous key to success. Look at it another way. How many songs or TV shows have you seen change just a little bit or done by using a different person as the singer or actor over the years? Many right! Well, imagine if they never even finished it and just made changes to the product, year after year, trying to make it perfect. Don't deprive the world of your gift because you didn't finish!

It’s done! You’ve completed that project, goal, or task. Doesn't that feel amazing! The feeling never gets old, that's for sure.

So the next time you can't figure out why you are not accomplishing a goal, project, or task, you'll at least be aware of four key elements that you can use to get it done!

To Getting It Done!