“Onward or forward movement towards a destination”
Progress is one of my favorite words to replace perfection. Progress is one of those words we often lose sight of in our day-to-day lives. We often forget to recognize all the small steps we take each day that move us forward.
Start Small
There is no goal or task that just by thinking about it, gets it done. To achieve, complete, or accomplish anything, there’s some work to do. Oftentimes, the overwhelm becomes too much and we end up delaying the start. This only makes things worse. Now you find yourself in a cycle of frustration, worry, repeat.
The situation can begin to feel daunting and as if there is no way forward or no way out. This is where starting small comes in.
One of my favorite time tips is included below. Take a timer, a Ten touch timer if you have it, and set it for 10 minutes. Before you start the clock, make sure you have everything in front of you to tackle this task. Whether it is analyzing a business situation or tackling your attic that you haven’t cleaned in 5 years, get yourself all set up and ready to start. Say to yourself you’re just going to put in 10 minutes. You’re going to see where you get in 10 minutes and that’s all you’re going to give to it today.
10 minutes is not a lot of time. Say this to yourself out loud. The idea is to turn the daunting into doable, and get it started. And so you begin
The Magic
Here is my favorite part of this tip, I promise you that when that timer goes off, you are going to be amazed at what you find. What I have seen with the 10-minute tip is one of two magical outcomes.
The first is that you get in a rhythm and go past the 10 minutes. The 10 minutes gets you over that hurdle that you were worrying about and you find that it’s not so bad after all. You realize you do know what you’re doing, you do know how to do what has to get done and you decide to keep going. You might even find it wasn’t so bad and you get it done in under 10 minutes!
On the other hand another piece of magic might happen. You might realize you need some help. You might realize you need help from someone that’s specializes in something that would help you get over that hurdle. Maybe you need to speak to an accountant, maybe you need to speak to a lawyer, maybe you just need help from your team and delegating parts of the project would help. If you’re cleaning your attic, maybe it is asking friends or family for help. You reach out and ask your questions, schedule a consultation, or book a time to tackle the task together. Suddenly things are moving, and you can see the path and even the finish line.
I promise you in that 10 minutes magic will happen. All outcomes leave you feeling good, because you started the task! Whether the task is now complete or you now know what you need to do and how you need to move forward, you did it – progress has been made!
Celebrate Every Step
Whether you take a step forward or you take a step backwards, they are still steps. Progress! You’re still putting in the work. You learn from both. Steps forward are of course fantastic and you should celebrate them. But even with a step backwards, there’s something you learned, and there is something you gain from that experience. You may learn something you don’t want to do again or realize there’s a better way to do it. This is the challenge, to recognize and celebrate any and every step you take on your path to that goal.
Progress Instead of Perfection
Without the focus on perfection, you can see more clearly, start to embrace each step, whether forwards or backwards. Imagine if you could let go of the worry of perfection.
“What could I do if I just knew it didn’t need to be perfect?” – What Else Can I do? from Encanto
Without the worry of perfection, what might you do to move things forward? What might you be willing to do differently?
Do you have a personal or professional challenge that you’re facing? Something you’ve been putting off? Try the 10-minute timer tip shared here or something else that helps you just take that first step. With that first step, recognize that you started the process and celebrate it. With the next step whether it is forwards or backwards continue to celebrate. You’re doing it. You’re doing the work.
To all my willingness warriors, the fact that we show up each day to try again that in itself is progress.
Change the thought, Change everything Tip!
The 10 Minute Timer!
- Select the task that has been daunting you.
- Make sure you are at the location you need to be.
- Set the timer and start.
- When the timer goes off take a look at where you are.
- Celebrate whatever progress you made or whatever you may have learned.
Meet the Author
Fran Attilio is the Chief Integrative Marketing Strategist at Ten Touch Creative. Fran is Reiki 2 attuned (currently in master mentorship program), and 200-hour trauma informed yoga teacher. Fran’s approach integrates her learnings in energy and yoga training, and she is here to change the way we think about our businesses. Business cultures traditionally have used “it’s not personal, it’s business” as a shield for years. The first thought to change – it’s all personal. Everything we do in and for our businesses is rooted in who we are and what we believe. Entrepreneurs go out on their own to do things differently, and we are here to help them find success doing what they love.