How Do You Eat a Whale?
June 29, 2009
by Jodi Granok - Organizing Magic, LLC
Melinda Mae
Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae,
Who ate a monstrous whale?
She thought she could,
She said she would,
So she started in right at the tail.
And everyone said,"You're much too small,"
But that didn't bother Melinda at all,
She took little bites and she chewed very slow,
Just like a little girl should...
...and eighty-nine years later she ate that whale
Because she said she would!!!
Written by Shel Silverstein (1930-1999)
Hello readers!I
apologize for my long absence. I was working on my own "whale" of a
project - planning the 20th reunion for my high school class! My class
has 750 people in it, and I spent the last 5 days calling about 500 of
them to see if they are planning on coming.Why on earth would I do that? And how could I do it?Good questions.I
did it because I have already invested a great deal of my time these
past several months planning our reunion, and I want it to be
successful. I know that a lot of my classmates have every intention of
buying their tickets, but needed to be reminded of our looming deadline.
I want to honor the dedication of my fellow reunion team planners - and
none of us want to get stuck with the bill from the venue!So,
how did I call 500 people? By calling 50 classmates at a time. Hence the
poem by Shel Silverstein, which has always been one of my favorites.I
have learned through many life experiences that any project, no matter
how large or insurmountable it may seem, is possible. One of the keys to
success is to break the project down into smaller steps.My message to you today is this: It's time for you to sit down, roll up your sleeves, and "Eat your whale!"
- Think
about a project in your life that you have been putting off or
procrastinating - because you think it is too large, too scary, too
overwhelming, etc. Write the project idea down on a piece of paper.
- Brainstorm
on that same paper how to make smaller projects out of the large one.
My large project was to call 500 classmates. I made mini goals of
calling 50 people at a time. Although the idea of calling 500 people
seemed overwhelming to me, I focused on calling 50, and celebrating each
time I reached that goal.
- Once
you have written down the smaller goals, use your planner or calendar
to record deadlines for these goals, and build in a reward for yourself
for accomplishing each one. I
gave myself a break or a reward for accomplishing each mini goal. I
believe this reward system is key to keeping up morale and motivating
oneself to continue. The rewards can be small, such as watching a favorite television program, reading, or getting a pedicure. Whatever works!
I would love to hear from you about what your "whale" is - and how you plan to "eat" it!Good luck, and Bon Appetit!© Organizing Magic, LLC - 2009. All Rights Reserved.
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