We often shy away from starting a new project, justifying it by saying we don't have all the resources yet, we're not inspired, or we don't have the time. Instead of tackling the project, we put things off.
99% of the time, however, the truth is that we have everything we need to get started. We have enough information, the resources have been gathered long ago, and the inspiration comes as soon as the work is started. The only thing we need to do is schedule enough time for the project, but with these tips from another article, that's not a problem either.
There are two reasons why we postpone new projects anyway. I will present these challenges in this article, and at the end I will propose a solution to prevent us from not reaching our full potential.
Lack of Organization
The first challenge describes that we have organized the needed resources for a project too poorly. This leads to some problems:
- We think we are missing information, even though we already have it.
- We think we don't have ideas, although we just haven't written them down.
- We think we have too little time, although it is only scheduled incorrectly.
- We think we are missing something, although it is actually available for us.
By pooling and organizing our resources, we realize that we actually have everything necessary to start a new project. Those who write down their ideas, link them to other information and manage their time well do not succumb so quickly to the illusion of a lack of resources.
Pandemic of Preparation
But even when you're organized, you can still feel like something is missing. This is perfectly normal, because we will never have gathered all the information before starting a project. A lot of things come up once the project has begun, or we do more research at a later date.
We don't have to have a perfect plan before we start. On the contrary, most of the time it is even better to start with too little information so that we can remain mentally open to inspiration and ideas that arise only during the work.
We shouldn't hope to eventually have everything necessary for a project together to get started. Don't over-prepare or you won't get any real work done.
Instead, take the plunge and just get started. The rest will fall into place as you work.
Move Information to the Second Brain
The best way I've found to respond to these two challenges is to create a Second Brain (or External Brain). Such a system is extremely versatile and offers much more than what I can present in this article. Particularly relevant to our intended use is the notes system.
In your notes you can collect all information and ideas for a project. This way you can keep track of everything and notice when you have collected enough resources to get started. In addition, you can add anything that comes up during the work phase. This system prevents you from falling into the lack illusion, because you have all the necessary information in front of you at all times.
If you want to learn more about creating a Second Brain, feel free to read this article about the most common Second Brain mistakes.