1555: Three Steps for Completing Large Projects by Cal Newport on How to Improve Focus and Discipline

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily. Three Steps for Completing Large Projects by Cal Newport of calnewport.com.

[00:00:08] This is the final post in our discussion about completing large projects. Last week, I reprinted some general thoughts on the subject from a pair of exceptional young adults who have certainly mastered this skill.

[00:00:20] This week, I want to move beyond generalities and focus on what we love best here at Study Hacks – specific, clear, actionable advice.

[00:00:28] Here, I present a three-step process for tackling major endeavors. This information is based on a mixture of my personal experiences and the hundreds of student interviews I've completed.

[00:00:39] As always, I want to hear your thoughts. Simply reply to this message if you have something to add, question or applaud.

[00:00:46] The next post will move us onto a new topic – Student Time Management, also known as Stop Being an Idiot About Your Schedule. Seriously, Stop. Expect that in 7-14 days.

[00:00:57] Now, on to the advice. Three Steps for Completing Large Projects

[00:01:03] 1. Reduce from a project to a reasonable task 2. Construct a habit-based plan 3. Complete and Repeat

[00:01:12] Large projects are complicated, especially if they are of the ambitious variety – something that most people your age might doubt that you can accomplish.

[00:01:20] This is intimidating. It can incite you to put off the work, fearing that the current moment is not quite right for starting something so scary, so momentous.

[00:01:30] The key, therefore, is to reduce the significance. That is why the first step of the three is to extract some reasonable task that will simply move you closer to the full project goal.

[00:01:40] Reasonable, in this instance, means that you have what you need to get started, and the whole task shouldn't take more than one to four weeks to complete.

[00:01:47] For example, publish an article in the New Yorker is not a reasonable first task toward a goal of publish my first book.

[00:01:54] You probably do not already have everything you need to get started on such a task, like being a well-established nonfiction writer connected in New York literati circles.

[00:02:03] On the other hand, publish an op-ed in my college paper or join a campus magazine staff are both eminently reasonable ways to get started.

[00:02:11] In fact, these were the first two tasks I tackled on the long road toward publishing my first book.

[00:02:17] Once you've chosen your reasonable first task, you need to figure out how to implement it.

[00:02:22] The key lesson here? Your willpower sucks.

[00:02:25] A big mistake made by many momentarily inspired people is to think that their excitement for the project, mixed with their solid work ethic, is enough to keep them plugging along toward completion.

[00:02:36] This almost never occurs. We are not wired to be persistent.

[00:02:40] Your willpower will desert you.

[00:02:42] This is why, as you've come to expect here on Study Hacks, the secret lies in having a plan.

[00:02:47] Figure out when and where you're going to work on your task, and what you're going to accomplish.

[00:02:53] Try to find a place and time you can hit consistently.

[00:02:56] Something you can transform into a habit before your excitement for the project wanes.

[00:03:00] For example, when writing my first book, I wrote one hour every morning at the desk in my dorm room.

[00:03:06] I took out the same notes, made the same cup of coffee, and arranged my desk in the same way each time.

[00:03:12] I had to make it a habit because there was no way my motivation would hold up consistently, day by day, over months.

[00:03:18] But once this became ingrained, it was just something I did. Accomplished work accumulated.

[00:03:23] I didn't fret about it. I didn't gnash my teeth or procrastinate.

[00:03:27] It became a hum in the background noise of my life, and eventually, it got done.

[00:03:32] If you were not able to accomplish this second step, then you probably have more basic needs to attend to.

[00:03:37] Perhaps you're not really sold on the importance of the project you are pursuing, and your mind is seeking excuses to abort.

[00:03:44] More likely, your daily schedule is too chaotic for you to insert the type of regularity demanded by a habit-based plan.

[00:03:50] In this case, you need to execute some remedial changes. For instance, regularize your weekday sleep, upgrade your nutrition, build a daily schedule, use a capture system, and time block instead of making to-do lists, topics that will be covered in later posts.

[00:04:07] Assuming your habit-based schedule is in place, you will, soon enough, accomplish that first task.

[00:04:12] At this point, it's time to repeat. You are now closer to completing your project than before.

[00:04:18] Survey your options and come up with a new reasonable task that will bring you even closer to your goal.

[00:04:23] Once your new task has been selected, come up with a new habit-based plan and get back to work.

[00:04:28] Your path toward project completion will proceed along these lines.

[00:04:32] One small task efficiently executed at a time until, eventually, you get within striking distance of your goal and make that final sprint.

[00:04:41] This doesn't sound glamorous. In fact, this approach stands in contradiction to the fevered genius image of accomplishment that the media so often associates with big achievements.

[00:04:51] But more often than not, this is how it really gets done.

[00:04:54] The big doers in life tend to be those who are consistently working piece by piece on at least one or two big projects at any one time.

[00:05:02] They get it done. Not in a week of caffeine-fueled frenzy, but in a year and a half of small, frequent steps forward.

[00:05:10] Once you integrate this style of work into your daily schedule, you'll be surprised by the size of the endeavors that begin to enter into the realm of possibility for you to tackle.

[00:05:19] From term papers to life-changing quests, the skill of completing large projects is crucial.

[00:05:25] Today is as good as any to start working on it.

[00:05:32] You just listened to the post titled, Three Steps for Completing Large Projects by Cal Newport of calnewport.com.

[00:05:40] And thank you to Cal for letting us share his post today.

[00:05:43] Cal is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University and the New York Times bestselling author of seven books.

[00:05:50] His most recent, A World Without Email, talks about radically reimagining work so we can get past constant communication.

[00:05:58] It's an interesting one.

[00:05:59] One of his other books, Digital Minimalism, is also really popular.

[00:06:03] It's regularly referenced on our podcast, Optimal Living Daily as well.

[00:06:07] That podcast covers minimalism a lot.

[00:06:10] And that book is all about being more selective about the technologies we adopt in our personal lives.

[00:06:15] And another book, Deep Work, is super popular as well.

[00:06:19] It shares how focus is the new IQ in the workplace.

[00:06:23] So you can check those out, his popular blog and more on the Study Hacks blog at calnewport.com, along with his podcast, Deep Questions.

[00:06:33] So thanks again to Cal for letting us share his work today.

[00:06:37] Okay, I think that's going to do it for this episode.

[00:06:39] Hope you have a happy Thursday and thanks as always for being a subscriber.

[00:06:42] And I will see you back here for the Friday show tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.