I used to drop everything to focus on a single project at a time. I would try to do all the tasks as soon as possible, in the hopes of getting it done and out of the way so I could relax.
For example, if I had an administrative project, I told myself I’d just do it in one afternoon. This approach made me feel horrible—I would dread the afternoon I scheduled it. My smart brain would find smart ways to procrastinate, which caused delays and cost me psychic energy too while I was avoiding the task.
Instead, I recently tried approaching an admin project like I do with my blog: do a small bit of it, every day. Instead of prioritizing it, I made it a practice.
Break the admin project into small pieces, and commit to doing 5–15 minutes per day. Do just one admin project at a time.
For example, when I was filling out a visa to travel, I’d take a day to plan out the tasks. I’d fill out half the form one day. I’d take passport photos the next day. I’d fill out the other half the next day. I’d book an appointment to the embassy the next day. I’d go to the embassy when my appointment was. Then I’d pick up my visa, and voila! I was done in a couple of weeks. I had one other (larger, less time-sensitive) admin project to do, but I held off until I finished this one.
It felt effortless because I didn’t have to make time in my schedule for it. Real life still happened, and I didn’t fret about where I was going to find the time—it was just 5–15 minutes every day for two weeks. Those small bits were easy to find.
For the more difficult admin projects, I’d also make time to hire a coach or mentor to teach me about the work and review it with me. Those sessions might take 30 minutes—more than 15!—but it was still relatively bearable.
More often than not, this process also helps me build momentum right away. Sometimes, I find myself more than willing to do an extra 15 minutes. Towards the end of the project, I have enough energy to easily spend an hour or two just going to the finish line.
I found this process to work well for me, even if it takes longer and “costs” more time overall (from context switching, etc.).