Bad doesn't even begin to describe it. I had help from my nephew on the weekend, then have spent 2-3 hours on my own each day since. Two days ago I attacked the table saw, covered as it was with ... stuff, with more ... stuff piled under and around it. Yesterday was the radial arm saw, more of the same ... stuff.
I am now having breathing problems, so much dust. I started wearing a mask yesterday, a couple of days late. But on to the story.
On the phone my brother confessed that he stayed away from the garage on the weekend because he looked and looked but couldn't figure out how to start. The job was just too big. Too much ... stuff.
Then in rapid succession my sister then my mom phoned, both saying basically the same as my brother, that they were unnerved by the sheer size of the garage job, sheer immensity of the ... stuff. Like my brother they thanked me for getting the garage job started, and wondered how I was able to get the job started when they couldn't.
"Naivety" I told them, "I just didn't know better, " but there is more to it than that.
Every decent-size project, in any type of business, is complicated. Immense size and mind-numbing complexity are givens. If it is worth doing it will be hard to do. Lots of ... stuff to deal with. So? Should that stop you?
It can, but shouldn't. The trick is look at your ultimate goal, in this case a clean garage with an inventory of all the ... stuff, then to forget the goal and look at the parts or steps that have to be done to accomplish the goal. Don't get lost in the strategy (clean garage) but instead focus on the tactics (steps to take).
Project management 101. Break big jobs down into little jobs, then tackle each now-manageable job one-by-one. Sure it is nice to have a PERT analysis of the critical path and Gantt charts to help you know which small jobs are key to overall success and which should be done in what order, but hey, we are only cleaning a garage, not Boeing building the Dreamliner. Yet no matter the size the steps are the same: know your goal, break big job down into manageable smaller jobs, then do these smaller jobs in a step-by-step, systematic manner.
Another angle: look like fun?
That is what I am doing this morning. As soon as I post this I am rushing to the garage to get there before my brother. Why? So I can plan out the next few steps, making it easy for him to pitch in and help (this a lesson from Situational Leadership).Finally, before I go, let me try to tie this into earlier themes and to Acme. Re: themes, the process I am using to clean the garage is a good example of my dreams-reality theme, that you can't achieve the dream (clean garage) by dreaming about it, but only by living and working in gritty (and dusty!) reality. You must manipulate reality to achieve dreams. Just dreaming more (or worrying) won`t do it for you.
Re: Dick and Acme, everywhere Dick looks he sees huge challenges, immensely complicated tasks, all needing doing now, all SHOUTING for his attention! He must resist the urge to drink: it is fun, but doesn`t help.
Dick must start with a clear description of a goal, then work backwards from it, step by step, milestone by milestone. Once he has a map (or list, chart, path, whatever) he can describe the smaller jobs to people, again starting from a clear description of the goal to be achieved, and get them started.
Truth be told I was terrified of the garage job. I really did not know where to start, but I knew where I wanted to end. Fine. I looked for low-hanging fruit, some smaller jobs that could be easily (sic) accomplished. Nothing breeds confidence more than success. Now I am on a roll, all but the bench and shelves under the stairs. I can not even look there, yet.
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