We live in a world of start-ups, solopreneurs and digital nomads. Never before have people had the chance to do work they love, work that matters, be true to themselves and provide an income at the same time. We live by our own rules, make more money and in a way that’s fulfilling, challenging and exciting, and we get to shout about it online, for free, to anyone who’s interested to listen. And it’s fantastic! Or is it not?
Some people let idea after idea pass them by, never to return and never to grab hold of any of them either. Liz Gilbert, in her book Big Magic says that ideas come to you, they light you up, they stick around for a while, they flirt… they give you the chance to grab them and convert them into whatever they are meant to become. And if you don’t get hold of them, they get tired after a while and levitate towards someone else, another person who might help bring them into reality.
Other people do choose to follow suit. They grab the idea, they toy with it, they test and strategise, they devise a plan to bring it into reality, to manifest it. These are the creative spirits, the risk-takers, the open-minds, the originals, the innovators.
And yet, sometimes working on a project can be daunting, especially when working alone. Most people might not get it and these people probably aren’t supportive either. There’s no one to lend a hand or at least to throw an opinion on how to go forward. There are probably more moments when things get tough than anyone would actually like to admit, and getting stuck might not be so uncommon. And yet, we move forward.
If you’re working on a project, a side-hustle (Chris Guillebeau‘s term for side-business) of your own, congratulations! And if you ever get a little stuck, here are:
Three ways to immediately get un-stuck and continue with your project (and your life):
1. Have a clear goal
It’s when we think that we have a clear goal in our heads, when we’re most unsure about what we’re aiming to achieve. There’s something magical happening when you put your goal on paper, when you assess its clarity, when you make your best efforts to be specific about what you want. That’s when you’re actually setting your internal GPS towards your goal. And when you’re setting a GPS, you’re very specific about your coordinates, aren’t you?
When you know exactly where you’re going, you can work out the steps you need to take – backwords. You can decide what needs to happen before the goal is achieved and then make your way towards that thing / those things. This ensures you always have something to look towards, the next win towards achieving your goal. And so, whenever you get stuck for a bit, you can just go back to the description of your goal, and work out where on the map is your next pit-stop.
2. Think big picture
If you lose your way in a corn field, are you gonna walk around until you hopefully stumble on a path or are you gonna climb the tree that’s next to you and see the path from above? It’s the same thing when it comes to business / projects / school assignments / life in general. When you get lost in the detail, the best way to get un-stuck is to think high level, to look at the big picture and then find your way all over again. It’s not a coincidence we say the devil’s in the detail.
3. Be clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing
If you want to get un-stuck, it might be that that bit you’re stuck in, is not even that important after all. Ask yourself, why are you doing what you’re doing? What does this particular bit bring to your project? How many other ways are there to reach the same result?
I’d like to hear from you
What projects / side-hustles are you working on at the moment? How is this advice helping you move forward? Do you have your own advice for overcoming stuck states? Leave a comment below.
