How to Achieve Goals Step by Step

Question: “Barnsley, I’ve got several huge projects to tackle at home and work and I’m overwhelmed! Where do I start?? Arggghhh!”
(This question comes from a reader who prefers to remain anonymous–We’ll call her “Overwhelmed Ophelia.” Hang in there, girl and don’t you dare let yourself DROWN in all those projects! Okay, I just had to allude to the bard, forgive me dear reader. )

Answer: For this solution, you’ll need to invest 15 minutes upfront but you”ll save HOURS of work! First, choose just ONE big project to tackle first, the one with the closest deadline. Then take a stack of small index cards (or post it notes) and put one small step you need to take to get this project done on each card. One card, step by step.

Arrange the cards in the order in which you THINK you need to take the steps and then do what is on the top card. Then the next. Set yourself a smart goal of “X” number of cards per day. ( I think 1-3 is reasonable but it depends on your deadline.)

Check off each card as you complete it. (Tip: You can always use the backs of these cards for another project.) If you need to rearrange your cards, you can do so easily without a mess like on a written list.

Now, look ONLY at your top card and get that done. You won’t get overwhelmed and you’ll make sure, steady progress towards your goal.
Hey, is it worth 15 minutes of planning to save yourself HOURS of confusion and disorganized work?

Onwards!