I have a client. She’s amazing. I’ve seen her develop and change her outlook extraordinarily in our time together. For the most-part, it’s been a fabulously successful partnership.
But we did have a few stumbling blocks. One of the big ones, was the whole concept of ‘Do It Now.’
Now, normally, I quite like this. It mostly works for me, and many that I work with.
But, it’s not for everyone or every situation. And here’s why.
A lot of us like to procrastinate. Probably more often that we would like, and particularly on the big scary things that we really want to do.
But… some of us are ‘doers’ – really fast acting, decision-making doers. Doers, that as soon as they are sold on an idea/decision/action they are off doing it.
Now, you might think that’s a good thing. Yes, get it started. Get going. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but get it out there.
Yes, normally I am with you.
But there is something big that you need to consider first.
And that is: What’s the bigger picture here? And, how does this fit in?
For this client, once she decided on something, it happened. She got on and made it happen mega-fast. The wheels would almost be in motion before we finished a session.
Big problem though – no clear strategy. Decisions and action were random and many, going in different directions and down many avenues all at once. Which made it difficult for everyone else to keep up, and be clear on what the strategic direction was.
The result? Chaos and confusion. And a situation whereby no-one on her team felt clear and empowered enough to make any decisions, meaning every single decision at every level fell to my client. She became a very busy, very stressed individual heading straight down the path to burnout.
So, a word of warning on the concept of ‘Do It Now’: Use with caution.
Use it for the quick wins, the easy tasks, the things you can do without thinking, the routine tasks.
But for everything else, make sure you think about the bigger picture. Slow down a moment, and think about how this decision will affect your vision, your goals, your plans.
And then map out your next steps.