Setting Yourself Up for Success: Preparation Tips for Overwhelming Tasks

Dr. Christine Li [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to the Make Time for Success podcast. This is episode number 297. If you're currently on the verge of starting something big, or maybe even something daunting, but you're also on the verge of thinking about procrastinating on it or running away from it, this episode was designed for you. In this episode, we're going to run through 7 different strategies That can help you start much more quickly, much more easily, and much more successfully so that you can get the results of the big project so that you can complete it. And so that you can conserve your energy and good mood in the process. Let's go listen to these tips together now.

Dr. Christine Li [00:00:51]:
Hi, I'm Dr. Christine Li, and I'm a psychologist and a procrastination coach. I've helped thousands of people move past procrastination and overwhelm so they could begin working to their potential. In this podcast, you're going to learn powerful strategies for getting your mind, body, and energy to work together so that you can focus on what's really important and accomplish the goals you want to achieve. When you start living within your full power, you're going to see how being productive can be easy and how you can create success on demand. Welcome to the Make Time for Success podcast.

Dr. Christine Li [00:01:33]:
Today's topic is somewhat broad, I would say. We are going to talk about how to set the stage for starting a project that you might otherwise want to avoid. I'm thinking maybe decluttering a large amount of stuff or embarking on A big writing project, something that really is going to take a lot out of you. I'm doing air quotes when I say a lot because these projects can really differ. But I'm going to say that you might need to do a little bit of preparation work to get yourself ready to succeed. We're not just getting ready to fulfill the task and to just do the deed. We are getting ready To not only complete the task, but to finish with flying colors, really feel great at the end, and not wipe ourselves out in the process of getting this project or projects done. So how to set the stage for starting.

Dr. Christine Li [00:02:38]:
The first tip that I have for you is to clear your mental clutter. That's a big job unto itself sometimes, depending on The quality of the thoughts that are running through your head. So often we have a pile of negative thoughts and negative beliefs about ourselves, our ability to get things done, the current situation, and the project at hand. So the best thing to do to make a clear runway for you and your success is to clear all that mental clutter. If you're talking yourself into a frenzy, you need to clear up that mental and emotional clutter because let's face it, our words not only convey thoughts, but they also trigger feelings. Those thoughts trigger feelings that can also feel very cluttery in our minds. And those thoughts can prevent us from ever starting because Who's going to start if they're truly thinking to themselves, this is going to be literally impossible? So clean your language, clear the mental clutter, make sure you're speaking positively to yourself. I would say whether you're doing a project or not, I'm a huge believer in the power of positive thinking, positive language, the fact that our language really dictates how things go in large part.

Dr. Christine Li [00:04:13]:
So let's lean positive so that all of our processes and journeys and outcomes lean positive too. Wouldn't that be a great thing for everyone on the planet to do? That is actually my utmost wish for people, that they would really convert to positive thinking so that we could get away from feeling lack and feeling envy and feeling like nothing's going to work out because there's so much beauty to be had in this experience of life. So many wins that are just ready for us to take. All right. So clear out the mental clutter and infuse your words with positive language. It's really going to make a difference. The second idea for you is to decide that you're going to be Your biggest supporter. I tell this to my clients often because sometimes my clients don't sound like their biggest support.

Dr. Christine Li [00:05:13]:
They sound like their biggest critic. They sound like the biggest, most judgmental voice in the audience. They sound like someone who wants to shut everything down rather than open things up. And so what I do is I encourage them to just be kinder to themselves. I think we should encourage our children to be kind to ourselves. I think we should encourage each other to treat ourselves nicely because that is also positive. It's also positive energy in our neighborhoods, our homes, our lives. And that positive energy tends to be generative.

Dr. Christine Li [00:05:58]:
It generates Good feeling, goodwill, good opportunities, open arms, goodwill among neighbors. And you know what? It can never hurt to have you really being your biggest supporter, right? We're not talking about being obnoxious and thinking you're bigger than anybody or everybody. We're talking about Again, being kind to yourself, saying, oh, encouraging things like, oh, this really is looking good for you. I'm so proud of you for getting yourself to this point. You've grown so much over the past 16 months. Let's see you do more of this. And just enthusiasm and encouragement and, again, a positive view. on you, right? You're filled with potential, so much untapped potential that is ready to be released, unleashed.

Dr. Christine Li [00:07:03]:
And we're ready to see what you can do with that potential. No pressure, just joy, just ready and waiting for you to show up as your best, most vibrant, most joyful self. Third idea for you is to declutter. You know, if you've been listening to me for any length of time, that I'm a big proponent of clearing the clutter whenever you can. Clutter has a way of blocking our energy, blocking our clarity, blocking our focus, and blocking our joy. It blocks people from sometimes coming into your home. So when we're about to start something, and let's say you feel like you're not quite ready, you may wanna just take a half an hour and say, let me clean up a bit, right? Cleanliness tends to be associated with better productivity, better focus, greater ease, because we like to feel clean. It's just the truth.

Dr. Christine Li [00:08:10]:
I would say the majority of us like to feel like we're in a clean uncluttered environment. So take my advice here, try the decluttering route. You're gonna find that, yes, it takes some energy to do the decluttering, but then you start to recoup the energy when you realize, oh, I've really made a difference here and it only took half an hour or less. Let me continue on this journey and let's launch deep. Into the project. We're ready now because we have a clear space. We all of a sudden have a clearer mind and we're feeling positively about ourselves. Next idea for you is to get a friend.

Dr. Christine Li [00:08:55]:
I don't necessarily mean a brand new friend, but I mean call the friends that you have. Let them know what is up. Let them know that you're getting ready. Let them know That their help may be needed and then outline what you're anticipating or expecting from them or hoping from them. Let them know that you could use the support and maybe some accountability. So that's another way to use a friend. You can actually invite your friend over to your home in a little while and then use that time between the phone call and The person's arrival to actually finish that decluttering project that you have been itching to get done. With many, many hundreds of people on decluttering, I have seen that some of the best motivation moments for decluttering happen when there are guests about to come over.

Dr. Christine Li [00:10:00]:
So use your friends. You know, in a kind way, of course, but use them to help you stay the course, to help you get ready, to help you clear the runway for success, and to help you have more fun in the process as well. It's always a good idea, by the way, to inject fun when you're looking to have better productivity. I'm a big believer that the more fun you're having, The better the outcomes can be. Next strategy that I have for you is to work with time in different ways. Again, just like we worked with the friends, you're going to set a deadline. You're going to set a deadline for yourself for the completion of this project. Now, it can be a short deadline, like very soon.

Dr. Christine Li [00:10:52]:
I want to complete this in another couple of hours. Or it could be very long distance, like I'm going to give myself 3 months for this. But I do think it's important to situate your project or your goal in a framework of time. It is when these projects just sit in our hearts as wishes without a timeframe that they tend to not get attended to. Because guess what? We've got so many things in our regular straight-up daily lives that do require our presence, our timeliness, our being somewhere doing something. So how is your big wish supposed to stand a chance if you haven't situated it in your schedule? So pick a deadline, try to be reasonable with yourself, and then also do your best to stick with that deadline because I think time responds really well to us when we respect time, when we don't mess around with deadlines and we say, you know, if I'm saying 5 o'clock, I'm going to show up at 5 o'clock or a little bit before. Just try that out. I think it really helps to be really respectful of your time and other people's time.

Dr. Christine Li [00:12:11]:
Another way to use time to help you set yourself up For starting is you can say, I'm going to set a time limit for how long I'm going to see myself working on the project. I think time limits are fantastic. I'm a big fan of using timers. I'm a big fan of just saying I'm going to do a smidge. I'm a big fan of not overwhelming myself. By saying, I'm only going to work for X amount of minutes. I'm just going to be reasonable. Now, when I set a time limit, I'm also, again, using time on my side.

Dr. Christine Li [00:12:56]:
I'm deciding that I'm not going to pretend that I live in imaginary time. I'm no longer going to allow myself to procrastinate wildly and let weeks go by without accountability. Without staying accountable to myself and to my wishes and to what I thought I was going to do. When you set the deadline, when you hold to a time limit, you make progress, but you also conserve your energy and you're on a course of action. You're really taking the reins. You're not letting fate and the winds carry you away. You're just saying, I'm doing this. I'm sticking with it and it's going to happen.

Dr. Christine Li [00:13:39]:
Therefore, you start to feel hopeful. Now you're going to set a philosophy. That is the next strategy. You're going to say to yourself, I'm going to finish this task with this kind of effort. You could say, I'm going to do this joyfully. You can say, I'm going to do this faster than I ever did it before. You're going to say to yourself, I am going to do this with the help of my community. It does not matter to me what you choose, but I think it will matter to you how you set the stage for success.

Dr. Christine Li [00:14:19]:
And it all starts with your framework. What is your philosophy for getting this project done? How do you want to see it happen in the most ideal of ways? You get to think in the ideal way because you're the architect of this project in the first place. You're the big boss. I know sometimes we don't feel that way when we're trying to get things done, but the fact of the matter is you're really the boss. So act like it. Decide, I'm setting the stage, the framework, the philosophy, the tone, and it's going to go the way I decide. I think that can be really helpful. It's really kind of— Foreshadowing what you want to see happen.

Dr. Christine Li [00:15:04]:
My last tip here is, I think, a super important one. You want to remind yourself of why you're doing this in the first place. What is your purpose? What is your why? What is the impact going to be in your mind? What is the impact going to be in real terms, in real life? With real people and with real consequences? And what are the results and the benefits going to be? I think it can be so helpful to jump ahead in time and see, how am I looking to change things? And to have that change, that end result, be the picture that you keep in your heart, in your mind, at the forefront of the process, The middle, and then towards the end, because it's going to keep you, again, being consistent. It's going to keep you in integrity with your word. It's going to help you build momentum. It's going to help you see the success that you know you really crave and desire and so richly deserve. So in summary here, there's so many different ways to prepare yourself For success. We sometimes forget.

Dr. Christine Li [00:16:21]:
And then when we forget, we fall prey to procrastination. We think delay is our only option, but delay is probably one of the worst options we can choose when we have the options to declutter, to call a friend, to dream really big for ourselves and the next couple days on our schedule. Remember, my general philosophy is that you need to be kind to yourself, be reasonable with yourself, and you're going to find that time, the universe, your community, your body will rally around you and your wishes when you do this all together. When you decide, I work in a healthy way, I am naturally productive. I use my energy appropriately and wisely. Just coach yourself through and you'll have an extra coach in you. But of course, you can also listen to some of my podcast episodes. You can check out my Instagram.

Dr. Christine Li [00:17:26]:
I'm @procrastinationcoach for an extra boost. We all could use an extra boost. I hope you use these tips right away to help you make something much Easier. If you'd like a free worksheet that will help you start, go to maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com/startingline. Again, go to maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com/startingline. I'll have a whole list of tips for you ready to go when you go to that link. All right, I will see you next week when the next episode drops on Thursday, right on cue. I'll see you soon.

Dr. Christine Li [00:18:12]:
Have a great week.

Dr. Christine Li [00:18:14]:
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Make Time for Success podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard, you can subscribe to make sure you get notified of upcoming episodes. You can also visit our website, maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com, for past episodes, show notes, and all the resources we mention on the show. Feel free to connect with me over on Instagram too. You can find me there under the name Procrastination Coach. Send me a DM and let me know what your thoughts are about the episodes you've been listening to. And let me know any topics that you might like me to talk about on the show. I'd love to hear all about how you're making time for success.

Dr. Christine Li [00:18:55]:
Talk to you soon.