Extra Credit 04:
Project Manifestos
(skip to Main Coaching/Prime Path)
From time to time, you are going to undertake significant, large scale projects in your life. Here are some possible examples:
Moving.
Looking for a new job.
Changing careers.
Losing weight.
Getting in shape.
Starting a business.
Writing a book.
Starting a band.
Learning to play a musical instrument.
Learning a new skill, such as designing websites.
Getting a degree.
Buying a car.
Buying a house.
Finding a life partner.
Planning a wedding.
Dealing with a divorce.
Planning a vacation.
When you are faced with a big project, you might find it useful to develop an "inquiry" in writing concerning the project at hand. This is particularly true if thinking about the project has you feeling somewhat overwhelmed, scattered, intimidated, or paralyzed.
Let's talk about this in terms of using pen and paper to undertake this inquiry, since this is what I usually do.
I use a legal size notepad. (I like legal size pages.) You can use a letter size pad if you wish, or you can use loose pieces of paper, or a spiral notebook, or whatever works for you. (You can even modify this coaching so that you can do it on a computer, if you wish.)
At the top of the first page, write down the topic of your inquiry. Let's take "moving" for example. You might head the first page with the words "Moving Inquiry."
(However the word "inquiry" sounds boring to me. So, I use the word "manifesto." I like to use the word "manifesto" because I think it makes the project sound more interesting.)
(So, let's call our example the "Moving Manifesto.")
So, like we said, title up your page. Then, at the right top side of the page, put the date. Up in the top right corner, put the page number.
Then, start writing.
As you will often hear around here, at the start of intentionally orchestrating movement or growth, the first thing to do is to "get where you are." "Getting where you are" means to tell the truth--the down and dirty facts--concerning your current situation and circumstances. This is particularly impactful regarding facts that you are concealing from yourself or others, about which you are in denial, about which you are lying or being misleading, or about which you are resistant, afraid, ashamed, or embarrassed.
So, the first thing to do in your project manifesto is to "get where you are"--that is, to write a general description of your current situation.
Include in this description your current state of mind involving the project at issue. So, if you were moving, you might include a statement such as "I am overwhelmed, confused and intimidated regarding the things that I need to do in order to move, and this has left me disempowered, paralyzed, and stuck."
Then, after your factual description of the current circumstances, write down any thoughts that come up regarding the project at issue. Just splash these thoughts out upon the page. Include feelings when appropriate. Get them out of your head and onto that paper.
Of course, include in these thoughts the various things that you have "to do" in order to do to get the project handled. Just deposit these words out upon the page. Write, write, write.
Then, read over what you have written. More things will come to mind. Write them down. Write, write, write.
Put the manifesto aside for a while. Come back to it. Read it over. More things will come to mind. Write, write, write.
As we said, as you write, put down as many of the things that you have "to do" to complete the project as you can think of (and that you have been worrying about).
I frequently do project manifestos for SkyVillage. I've had SkyVillage project manifestos that go on for a page and a half, and I've had manifestos that go on for quite a bit longer. Every time I get stuck, I get out my legal pad and my pen, and I sit back and do a project manifesto involving the part of SkyVillage on which I am stuck. It has gotten me unstuck, every time.
OK, after you craft your project manifesto, if things aren't moving fast enough yet, then do this to take things to the next level:
After you write stuff down for a while, look over what you have written and recognize the "to do" items that are included. Highlight the "to do" items on the manifesto page. (You can underline these items, put a star next to them, or call attention to them with a colored highlighter--whatever works for you.)
Then, take a separate piece of paper, and write on that paper all of the "to do" items that you have highlighted in your manifesto.
After you've got something resembling a complete "to do" list, prioritize the items.
(I prioritize my "to do" list by putting the letter "A" beside the most important items, the letter "B" beside the next most important items, and so on. Then, I prioritize the items in each lettered category using numbers: "A1", "A2", "B1", "B2", etc.)
Some things are of an obvious high priority, and some things need to be done before other things can be done. These tend to be "A" items. Take this into account in your prioritization process (obviously).
Otherwise, get this: prioritize the easiest and simplest items first, because tackling the easy and simple things first gets things moving.
Then, start doing the things on your "to do" list. When you get something done, draw a line through the item, and give yourself a nugget of praise. That's right: when you get something done, praise yourself. Say out loud "good job, Padawan." (Or use your name.) Reward yourself, too. Have a cookie. Or grant yourself whatever you consider to be a reward. Seriously.
When you get stuck, go back and work on your manifesto and "to do list" again. Be patient with yourself, and take your time. Praise and reward yourself when you get something done.
People often know the things that they should be doing so as to get their lives moving, but they still aren't doing them. They lack traction, as we say around here. When you have traction, stuff gets done. When you don't have traction, stuff doesn't get done. There's a lot to this traction business, and we'll delve into it at length over the course of SkyVillage.
But if you find yourself staring down the barrel of some projects which are are of real world importance when it comes to the quality of your life, and you are still spinning your wheels, scattered and avoiding and frustrated with yourself, well, we've got some good "get stuff done" coaching tucked away in a side path, which you can access by clicking here.
But back to the topic: project manifestos. Do you have a project that shows up for you as big and intimidating? Like, maybe, looking for a new job, moving, getting in shape, starting a business, writing a book, or changing careers? Sure you do.
Well, get out some paper, and break it down in a Project Manifesto, my Padawan--and, like magic, things will move.
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