Getting Stuff Done - Committing

Now that you’ve broken your goal down, are you really serious about doing the work required to get it done? Are you ready to commit to getting it done, regardless of how you’re often not going to enjoy it?
It will mean regular sacrifice (of either time, money or both). There will be times when:

• You regret committing to it.
• You feel you are wasting your time.
• The amount of remaining work suddenly grows greatly.
• The work is too tedious, and you’re surrounded by far more interesting things.

At these points, you’re going to have to keep on doing it regardless.

Take your time, and think carefully about your answer. If you consider the question and quickly get a strong ‘yes’, then you’re likely not thinking it through fully. Once you’re in, you’re promising to yourself that you’re going to do it. It’s like getting a dog, or getting married, or getting a tattoo. You’re committing to something which will bring please and pain, not just getting the upside.

Let me make something clear. If you decide to not commit, then that’s OK. You’ve just saved yourself from a lot of headaches, wasted time and pointless day dreaming. It also leaves you free to commit to something else.

If instead, you don’t make the decision, then you stay in a cycle of pipe dreaming and half baked attempts at chipping away at the task. You can delude yourself that you're getting something done, and brag about it to your friends, but over time your enthusiasm will likely fade and you'll stop doing it - because you're not committed to it.

So, take your time, perhaps a week or two if it's big, and then decide whether you're ready to commit.