Move the Monkey

What a Relief!

Do you have something you’ve been dying to get off your list of things to do but just can’t seem to get around to it? Well I had one of those that was hanging around for over a year (actually more, but I prefer not to think of how long). It was something important but I just couldn’t seem to move it up the list. Other things always seemed to take priority. “Enough!” said I, one day. I declared it a project and committed to my advisory team that I would get it done within a certain time frame. I told them it was a monkey on my back and I was tired of carrying him around.

A few weeks ago, I finally completed this project and relieved doesn’t quite describe it… giddy is more accurate. I immediately sent an email to my team with this note and picture: The monkey is officially off my back. Now he’s just hanging out with me in the jungle, with a silly look on his face. One of my friends replied: Congratulations, my friend. Way to move the monkey!

Project “Move Monkey”

Have a monkey who’s weighing you down? Here’s how you can get him off your back:

1. Acknowledge the monkey. He’s even more of a nuisance if you don’t let him know you see him.
2. Decide to move him. Is the project still as important as you once thought? If the answer is no then give him a banana and tell him to go home. But if the answer is yes, then declare it a priority and commit to seeing it through.
3. Treat it as an important project. Break it down and list the steps. How many bananas (steps) will it take to move your monkey? My project had 14 steps.
4. Tell your inner circle that you’re working on it so they can cheer you on and help you if you get stuck.
5. Engage your humor along with your diligence. Post a picture of this silly monkey if that is what it takes to lighten up. Don’t stop until you’re done and don’t worry if it takes longer than expected. Keep at it and be even more determined.
6. Celebrate. Go bananas!

Get Him Off Your Back

What’s the monkey you want to move? What’s the date you now commit to moving him by? Go to it. You will be deliriously happy when you’re done! In the meantime, here are some quotes to inspire you. The first is one of my favorites:

“That which hinders your task is your task.”
—Sanford Meisner

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.”
—William James

“I’ve been looking over the list of spring chores I made up last fall,
and darned if they aren’t fall chores, after all.”
—Robert Brault

“Putting off an easy thing makes it hard.
Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible.”
—George Claude Lorimer