How to Get Yourself Off the Dime

Done Talking About It?

Talking about a problem or describing a frustration is easy. What’s harder is getting ourselves to do something about it. Often, we just get really good at describing the problem. We convince ourselves that we can’t do anything until we figure it all out… which is pretty tough to do without taking any action. And that’s how we stay stuck.

So how do you get yourself off the dime?

If you’re hearing yourself say: I’ve been talking about this for a while now. I really want to do it. Something’s got to change. This isn’t working for me anymore. My heart’s not in it.

…then the good news is you’ve already come to a certain conclusion. You do indeed have a degree of clarity. Namely, you are saying that you’d like to: change something, improve it, work on it, or take it to the next level. You don’t need to know more than that.

All that’s often needed is to declare it a project.

Declare it a Project

A week ago, I received a text with multiple exclamation marks. It was from my friend Jackie who was excited to report that she had submitted an application and her name was on the list to become a literacy volunteer during the next opening in the fall. Teaching others how to read is something Jackie has wanted to do for a long time, but between work and family, it hadn’t happened yet. Plus, she wasn’t sure where to start. Once she framed it as a mini-project it became easier to move forward. The first step was to look into a program she had heard about that was sponsored by a nearby organization.

Ironically, Jackie had been a project manager earlier in her career but even project managers occasionally need a little help with getting off the dime. In fact, that brings me to an important caveat about this motivational technique that Jackie and I discussed: Avoid making the project unnecessarily complex or heavy.

Declaring it a project just means giving yourself room to explore something or to delve in. You are acknowledging that it’s important enough to work on and worthy of your time and energy. Declaring it a project is the action before the action, or more accurately, it’s the decision that moves you into action.

Move Into Action

As I think about this technique, I realize it’s the step that each person takes when he or she decides to engage in coaching. Just last week I had a conversation with an attorney who wants to broaden his work. He has a few ideas and a whole lot of questions about how to do this. He’s been sitting with his questions for months and some of them have turned into dilemmas. He was encouraged to realize that he could “declare it a project” and explore these questions in a more creative and proactive way.

It is very motivating to go from describing the problem to describing the project. By deciding it’s a worthwhile project, you’re granting yourself permission to make the first move.

This Week’s Call To Action.

• What interest of yours, challenge, or opportunity are you now ready to call an active project?
• Name the first few steps to get started.
• Take action before we meet next!

“Remember, a real decision is measured by
the fact that you’ve taken new action.
If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”
-Tony Robbins