It’s Like Drinking Out of a Fire Hose

Are you overwhelmed with too much information? Too much work?

How about an ambitious goal you’ve set for yourself?

Or a project that needs to be completed?

However, you never get started because “it’s like drinking out of a fire hose.” Too much. Too overwhelming. Not enough time. The (water) pressure is immense and what you end up doing is spending time “contemplating” how you’re going to get through the day. Or what steps you need to take to start the project.

And you never get started.

Have you heard of the term “chunking”?

It’s a process used to break down projects, goals or your work day into realistic, achievable steps. It’s a series of mini-goals, with a realistic timeline of getting it done.

To start the process, work backwards.

For example, your goal may be to increase your email database of real estate agents from 50 to 500 (your end goal) so you can email them information on a consistent basis. Here’s what it would look like if it’s broken down into smaller steps.

Creating the email list:

Pick up local “homes” magazines and add emails of agents who advertise there
Visit real estate company websites and obtain email address from the list of agents
Go through your closed loan files and add the listing agent/selling agents to your email list
Go through your business cards and add emails
After reaching your goal, add 10 per week.

What will you email to them?

Choose a Done-4-You Realtor® article written for members…as part of your membership!
If you’re also a subscriber of MortgageCurrentcy.com, post mortgage rule updates.
Set up a “folder” on your computer with other relevant information you’d like to share.

Scheduling each task:

Schedule time in your calendar to add 30 Realtor emails a week – 9 am on Tuesday morning
Schedule time in your calendar to send an email with content once a week – 9 am on Wednesday morning.

If you were starting from zero emails, it would take you 16 weeks (or 4 months) to build that list. While you may think that’s a long time, a little dribble from a garden hose is so much easier to control than the pressure from a fire hose.

To sum up “chunking”….

Start
Create a visual map of what needs to be done with EACH step
Determine how much time you need to complete one step
Determine what time of day, day of the week, week of the month you will set aside to complete one step.

Keep focused on one step at a time until the job is done or the goal is reached.

What’s your process for getting a project completed?