Thinking flaws Tuesday: Getting challenging things done
Getting challenging things done was and still is, well, challenging for me. To make them a little less challenging, I needed to change the way I think about them. This was a major thinking flaw, but I think I’ve figured something out.
Here is how I used to think about getting things done:
Step 1: Define the goal.
Step 2: What do I need to do to achieve the goal?
Step 3: Do the things that are needed to achieve the goal.
Step 4: Achieve the goal.
This approach works for goals that are pretty straight forward and where the path to achieving them can be known with certainty. Now, once the goals are more situation and case specific, and the path for achieving them can’t be known with certainty in advance, this approach doesn’t work anymore.
So here is how I’m thinking about it now:
Step 1: Define the goal.
Step 2: How do I achieve the goal?
Step 3: Hypothetical: What do I need to do to achieve the goal?
Step 4: Do the things that are needed to achieve the goal.
Step 5: Constantly re-evaluate and refine Step 3 and change Step 4 accordingly.
Step 6: Achieve the goal.
Step 2 is so simple yet so important and I believe most of us don’t do it. At least, I didn’t. Step 2 implies that the state in which the goal is achieved can be defined, however, the things that need to get done might change over time.
I will follow up with some examples in the post tomorrow/today. It’s getting late…