Staging: It’s Not Just for Your House

Make it Appealing

In the last issue entitled: How to Get Yourself Off the Dime, I described a motivational technique that I call: Declare It a Project. I advised against making the project too complicated, big or scary because there’s nothing like overwhelm to quash your motivation. Scoping the project that way will only feed the procrastinator in you with the ready-made excuse: I have no time for that big honkin’ project. But what if the project is overwhelming or guaranteed to be time-consuming? How do you get yourself ready to take it on? That’s where staging comes in.

Walk through any open house in your neighborhood or watch a show on HGTV such as one of my favorites, Flip or Flop. When the home staging is done effectively, various factors combine (lack of clutter, attractive décor, sunlight, pleasant aromas, creative use of space) to make the house so appealing that you can picture yourself moving in.

In the same way, you want to make your project appealing and move-in ready.

Move-In Ready

If your project involves physically moving stuff around, the staging will be visible. One of my projects this summer is to conduct a major purge throughout my office. I decided to attack it in two stages: file drawers first, then closet shelves. I’ve also designated a staging area that I’m using to place items that need to be transferred elsewhere. Staging it from Clear Out My Office to Clear Out File Cabinet #1 was what I needed to make the project move-in ready. As of this broadcast, I’m 33% done and motivated to take it all the way.

If your project has to do with exploring an idea or working on an intangible, then staging is naming the phases or series of related steps. Over the past few months another project of mine, Writing a Book, has evolved from one day to sooner than I thought. The momentum picked up after I named the first stage: Brainstorm Possible Book Ideas and Formats.

Whatever your current project is, stage it out. You can make your project appealing, more enticing, or at the very least, approachable.

The Scene of Any Action

Staging reminds us we’re always in process. Once you’ve named the project, jump-start your motivation by setting the scene.

This Week’s Call To Action:

• What do you need to make your project more appealing and move-in ready?
• What stage are you in? Name the distinct steps to be taken.

Staging is the scene of any action.
Set the scene. Stage it out.