8 Tips for Getting a Stalled Project Moving Again

If you are reading this, I assume you have a stalled project and you want to get it moving again. Here are some tools you can try, developed over the course of my work with hundreds of clients. Review them all, and then try one. If that works, great, you’re going! If not, ask yourself what you learned. Perhaps you learned that a particular system or technique didn’t work. That may sound like failure, but it’s not, it’s success, and through experimentation you will find what works and what doesn’t. Edison had to try hundred of materials before he had a light bulb that worked, and each attempt was a success, he learned one more thing that didn’t work, until he found the one that did. That said, here are the tools:

1. Establish routines (and eliminate distractions)

OK, I actually hate the word “routine,” I prefer to think of it as a “groove.” The point is, you set aside predictable work time at frequent intervals that work well with your personal rhythms, and you tune out all distractions. So, maybe you come to work early and spend from 7 – 8 am with your office door closed. Maybe you hide in a Starbucks across the street or in a conference room from 3 – 5. You turn off, or at least ignore, your BlackBerry and let people know you want to concentrate. You need to protect this time, make sure you don’t get sucked into meetings, emergencies, or water-cooler chat. Also, find a place that works for you. When I was first working on my dissertation, I was in my home office in the basement with no people around. Perfect, right? Wrong, I am a people-person, I went nuts, and I got distracted by laundry and the cats. When I started working at a café, my productivity shot up. That’s me. What works for you? Maybe music helps, bring your iPod, maybe you need sunlight, or quiet, whatever works for you, make it pleasant!

Make some notes here about your ideal time, place and work environment: _____________________________________________________________________________________
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2. Making explicit the PAIN and GAIN

Sometimes we avoid working on the project because we are afraid of failure, because we feel guilty that we aren’t getting more done, because we feel overwhelmed, because we hate the project, so we don’t do it…and in that moment, not doing it feels great, compared to doing it, but…there are unpleasant consequences for failing to get this project done. Let’s make the consequences explicit and visceral. What will happen if you fail to complete this project? Get fired? Budget cut? Negative Performance review? Promotion goes to someone else? Feel like a loser? When you sit down to work, then find your mind wandering to procrastination, remember those consequences, and let it motivate you to get back to work. Similarly, what will you get if the project succeeds? Promotion? Raise? Recognition? Feel like a million bucks? Let that motivate you too. Perhaps you want something in your office to remind you of the pleasant and unpleasant consequences.

What are the consequences if you succeed at this project? What if you fail? Make notes here:
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Another spin on this idea is to set up rewards and punishments for completing tasks and for hitting milestones. I once finished a report only because I promised myself I would buy a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots as a reward. I knew I had to do it, but it wasn’t getting done, until I set up a reward for myself. Perhaps you set up a reward for each section you finish (then you need to make sure you wait until you finish, then give yourself the reward). Timing is key, you need to associate the reward with completing the section. If you get the reward before it’s done, or if you deny yourself the reward, then there is no incentive to finish. Conversely, you can set up a punishment for failing to complete a task. If you don’t get the section done, you have to buy lunch for the departmental meeting. Whatever works for you.

What are rewards and punishments you can set for yourself for hitting intermediate goals? _____________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Accountability buddy

Have you noticed that marathon training, weight-loss programs, and 12 step programs will match you up with a buddy and / or a sponsor? Why? Because it works! Having another human being to check in with and to pick you up when you are struggling is extremely helpful. Get an accountability buddy, someone supportive who wants to see you succeed, who will encourage you when you are down, and will be honest and tell you when you are slacking. Your spouse, significant other, boss or parents can’t do this, they are too close. Find a peer and make commitments to him or her, then report your progress on a regular basis. That will help keep you moving.

Who would be a good accountability buddy for you? Go ask him or her or support!
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4. Planning work and tracking progress

Long term projects can be hard because we can’t see the finish line, but we have to keep moving if we want to get there. Imagine what it was like for the craftsmen who built cathedrals in the middle ages, they knew they wouldn’t live long enough to see the project finished! So, we break down our project into discrete tasks that can be (realistically) done in the time available, and we track our work. If you are writing a new sales training module that will have 40 parts, break the parts down and assign them to specific days / sessions, and track your progress. That way, when you are feeling like you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere, you can review your tracking sheet and see that you have completed three modules in the last ten days, and you know what your next task is so you can sit down and do it. For that matter don’t wait until you feel bad to review your progress, look at it fairly often so you can see that each day you are getting closer to the finish line, that feels great. When all else fails, just think of the one next concrete task you can get done, then do that.

List out five - ten tasks that will move your project forward
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Now give each one a due date and work towards hitting it. Put it in your planer or calendar or to-do list or whatever you use. Be sure to mark it off when it is complete. Review as needed!

5. Pacing and self-care

This isn’t college anymore. You don’t want to stay up all night writing the report and pulling together the sales presentation. The stakes are too high, you want a first-rate product with no glaring errors, your body won’t let you get away with this anymore, and your family will miss you. No. Red Bull and coffee are no longer essential ingredients to finishing the project. Chunk it down and complete a few pieces every day. In the process, make sure you eat well, get sleep, spend time with people you love, and rest. Race car drivers take time to replace their tires during a race in order to prevent a blowout, you can too, it will actually help you finish faster!

What will you do to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, administratively? How will these help you stay on track? _____________________________________________________________________________________
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6. Connecting actions with values and beliefs

In your core, who are you? Are you smart, capable, driven, creative, what?

Jot down a few words that describe your best self here:
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Now remember that when you get down. Remind yourself that you are the guy or gal who tripled sales with a new approach, who never gives up, who loves to present to clients, whatever works for you.
Similarly, think about who benefits from your work, be that clients, family, team, the community, people who need your product, etc. Who is that?
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When you get discouraged, think about them, remember that there are people out there whose lives will benefit from the completion of your project. They need you! It’s important!

7. Identifying options at key junctures

When you are really stuck, consider your options, using this two stage process: First, think of as many options as you can, and don’t filter for quality. Don’t worry about thinking of good ideas, just come up with ideas and trust that some of them will be good ideas. When all else fails, try to come up with bad ideas, that will get you moving. Have fun with it, you will evaluate them later, that’s the second step. Some of your ideas need to be outrageous to get your mind going. For example, another department told you they won’t get you the data you need in time and you feel like you are out of luck, so your thought process could look like this: “hmmm, what are my options? I could buy the data from an outside vendor, I could go over their heads and talk to the SVP, I could scrap the whole project, I could find a journal article that provides estimates, I could bribe the other department with Scotch, I could quit and sell Amway, I could use last year’s figures, I could work on another section and come back later, I could sit here and cry, I could ask for an extension, I could…” You get the idea, first you generate as many options as possible and think big and outrageous, then you evaluate them and choose the one(s) that would provide the best results.

8. Removing perfectionism by allowing incremental improvement

A colleague once told me that the key to writing productively is to be able to write “a shitty first draft.” Why? Because creating something that is already perfect takes a lot of energy, and it’s slow and painful, when it works at all. Getting interesting but imperfect ideas out, modifying the content, then revising for flow, editing for style and punctuation, and tweaking it one last time, actually goes a lot faster because you are only focusing on one aspect at a time. When we read, we only see the finished product, and it is usually quite good. We don’t see the numerous revisions that brought the product from “interesting” to “good” to “amazing.” We don’t see the overflowing wastepaper basket that made it possible. Whether we are writing a report, designing a process flow, creating a marketing program or whatever, we get much more done if we allow ourselves to let go of perfect and create great stuff which we will rework later.

Conclusion

Hopefully these ideas will help you to get your project out of the mud and back on the road to completion. Remember, if you try one and it doesn’t give the results you want, that’s great! You discovered what doesn’t work, keep modifying and trying new approaches until you find what works, then notice what made your good work possible, so you can do it again. If you need additional help with your project, reach out to us at Dave@DarkMatterConsulting.com for a complimentary strategy session in which we identify what’s holding you back and how to get through it.