Work-Life Balance Concept: The Power of Small Tasks

Writer’s block… it’s a dreaded phenomenon, especially to those whose focus is in academia where mastery in creating written content is a compulsory mandate to the job. So it is of extreme importance, especially where deadlines are involved, to be capable of producing written content in an adequate amount of time. (Editorial comment: I have a few papers due in the upcoming weeks, so this topic is more of a reminder to me than anything!)

The easiest time to be susceptible to writer’s block is at the very beginning, when the finish line is as far away as it can be. This is where the task seems at its most daunting, much like a poorly thought out New Year’s Resolution.

The second habit from Dr. Stephen Covey’s book, 7 Habits for Highly Effective People, comes to mind at times like these – and that is to begin with the end in mind. Without a firm understanding of necessary objectives or a solid idea for what the completed project will look like, it can be very difficult to know whether or not a person has made significant headway on a project.

Project outlines grow to be more necessary as the size and scope of the project increases. Without a starting point, it can be difficult to make progress, but an outline can provide keywords that create the necessary spark for productivity. That spark is often capable of carrying a person through a 4-hour production binge on a given topic, which is more than lovely.

Of course, many of us do not have this much time available in the real world. What then? If the project is outlined well enough, then even a 30-minute gap can be enough to make significant headway in the overall scheme of a project. Even if the topic that is covered in that time contributes only 4% of the project, that is a 4% that you’ll be glad you’ve finished when crunch time comes. (And it is a 4% that will be of higher quality than stress-time 4% will be.)

This isn’t going to work for everyone, as every person operates differently. But these steps are sure to help, whether help is needed in writing a 10 page paper, installing a CRM system at work, or planning a week-long vacation. Because if you don’t know what a satisfactory result will be in a topic, then how will you ever know if you got there when it’s over?