7 Tips for Getting Your Project Across the Finish Line (and Finally Accomplishing that BHG!)

You've been there before — a project looms before you like an imposing mountain peak. The path to the top is unclear. It’s certain to be littered with obstacles and ripe for procrastination. But not to worry, the journey becomes significantly smoother once you understand how to get a project across the finish line.

So let’s arm you with practical strategies, resources, and the essential knowledge you need to tackle even the most ambitious projects. You’ll transform those intimidating peaks into manageable hills.

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Understanding the Challenges of Project Completion

Tackling big projects are a challenge for many online business owners. You may find yourself battling procrastination, lack of focus, insufficient planning, imposter syndrome, or a fear of failure.

Struggling to finish (or even start) projects, especially big ones, is a common struggle. So, take some comfort in knowing you’re not alone.

Why Do I Struggle to Finish Projects?

Before you can overcome an obstacle, it’s helpful to have some insight into what may be causing it in the first place. So let’s start here.

When it comes to completing big projects, you might encounter one or more of these challenges:

• Lack of Clear Planning: One of the most common reasons for struggling with big projects is a lack of detailed and clear planning. Without defining specific goals, setting timelines, and outlining responsibilities, a project can quickly become overwhelming.
• Resource Constraints: You may lack the necessary staff, time, or funds to effectively manage and execute large projects. These constraints can slow down progress and lead to project delays.
• Distractions and Multitasking: As an online business owner it’s easy to get distracted by all of the other tasks on your plate. This can lead to multitasking as a solution. Mutlitasking often leads to mistakes and reduced productivity which hinders the completion of your projects.
• Lack of Delegation: Online business owners often try to do everything themselves, either to save costs or maintain control. However, this can lead to burnout and can significantly slow down project completion. Not delegating tasks can become a major bottleneck in the process.
• Insufficient Skills or Knowledge: Some projects may require skills or expertise that your or your team do not possess. This can lead to difficulties in execution and stall the project.

Overcoming Internal Challenges

As if all of these external challenges aren’t enough, internal ones could also contribute to your lack of progress on your projects. Common internal obstacles could include:

• Motivation Dips: Motivation is a driving force behind all of our actions, including project completion. However, motivation isn't always constant. When it dips, it can slow down progress, lead to procrastination, and in extreme cases, can cause the project to stall entirely.
• Decision Fatigue: Decision fatigue is the mental exhaustion resulting from the sheer number of decisions a person must make daily. This exhaustion leads to difficulty making quality decisions. As your decision-making capacity weakens, you might start to either make poor choices or avoid making decisions altogether. Either way, both can impede project progress.
• Perfectionism: While striving for high standards can drive quality, an excessive obsession with perfection can become an obstacle. The pursuit of perfectionism can lead to stress, burnout, and ultimately, stalled projects.

Constantly revising and tweaking your work, maks it hard to complete tasks on time.

No matter which external and internal challenges you face, combating them starts with self-awareness. Once you’ve identified them, you can strategize your approach to time management, decision-making, and resource allocation in a manner that helps mitigate them.

The Essentials of Project Management

How Do You Get a Project Done?

Getting a project across the finish line requires meticulous planning and disciplined execution. Getting a project across the finish line also requires you to be adaptable and flexible in the face of unforeseen hurdles.

Before you can manage any of that, you must start with setting clear, realistic goals. In other words, begin with the end in mind.

Goals make planning much easier. Then it’s as simple as prioritizing your tasks effectively and managing your time wisely.

Remember, a well-planned project lays the foundation for smooth execution.

Key Strategies to Speed Up Project Completion

Wondering how to get a project over the finish line quickly without compromising on quality? There are many strategies that can help, but here are a few to consider.

Leverage the Power of Delegation

Delegation is one of the most powerful tools an online business owner can utilize. By entrusting tasks to team members who possess the right skills and abilities, you free up your own time to focus on strategic decisions and core business activities.

Effective delegation not only speeds up project completion but also empowers your team, building their skills and confidence.

However, delegation requires trust and a willingness to let go of some control. It involves clearly communicating the task, the expected outcome, and the deadline, then providing the necessary support, feedback, and flexibility.

Harnessing the Benefits of Outsourcing

Outsourcing is another excellent option you can use to speed up project completion.

Whether you have team members or not, outsourcing certain tasks that require specialist skills or when internal resources are stretched thin will help you make progress faster.

By outsourcing tasks like content creation, website design, customer support, or accounting, you can tap into global talent and focus other internal resources on the core aspects of your business.

Outsourcing can help accelerate project completion, reduce workload, and ensure tasks are handled by professionals experienced in their field.

The Critical Role of Deadlines

Deadlines can serve as powerful motivators and help keep projects on track. By setting clear, realistic deadlines for each task within a project, you can ensure steady progress and prevent last-minute rushes.

Deadlines help manage expectations within the team, fostering a sense of urgency that can drive productivity. They also enable better planning and prioritization of tasks, which makes project completion run more smoothlly.

Remember, deadlines should be challenging, yet achievable to prevent undue stress or burnout.

Implementing Project Management Tools

In the digital age, numerous project management tools are available that can greatly enhance productivity and project tracking.

Tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com can help you organize tasks, set and monitor deadlines, allocate resources, and facilitate team collaboration.

These tools offer visual overviews of project progress and can integrate with other tools for better workflow.

By leveraging these project management tools, you can streamline processes, improve communication, and ensure everyone is aligned, greatly enhancing your chances of getting projects across the finish line with ease.

The Role of Accountability in Project Completion

The Power of Accountability Partners

When it comes to getting things done, there’s nothing quite like the power of people. Something changes when you tell someone.

This is why having accountability partners can be a game changer for how to get your projects across the finish line. Accountability partners can exponentially increase your chances of success.

You can use accountability partners to help keep you on track, stick to your commitments, and improve your productivity in the process.

A good accountability partner understands your goals and your vision. They ask good questions and are good listeners. But more importantly, a good accountability partner will help you stay on track to get your project done.

It’s a big part of what I do in my coaching program. As your accountability partner, I help you maintain consistent progress so you accomplish the things you set out to accomplish, be it a big project or your short-term goals.

And should you need more help with managing your projects so that you’re making better faster progress in your business, book a call with me and let’s talk.

Introducing the Achieve Membership: Unleash the Power of Progress

If you’re not quite ready for a private coach and/or you don’t have relationships with other online business owners you feel you can trust, another option for finding accountability partners is to join a group program.

We’re launching such a program. It’s called the Achieve Membership. This program is designed to foster an environment of collective growth, learning, and mutual accountability.

You’ll also gain access to a supportive community of online business owners just like you who can help you stay accountable to your commitments.

This program is a powerful ally in your quest to cross the finish line of project completion.

Practical Tips for Getting Your Project Across the Finish Line

Breaking down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks is a critical skill to mastering how to get a project across the finish line. It might seem overwhelming at first, but when you break it down into bite-sized tasks, everything becomes more
achievable.

Here is your step-by-step guide to doing just that:

Step 1: Define Your Project

Start by clearly defining your project. What is the end goal? What outcome are you aiming for? Knowing this helps set the direction for the project and serves as a constant reminder of what you are working towards.

Step 2: Break Down the Project into Major Components

Once you've defined your project, the next step is to break it down into its major components or phases. These could be phases like planning, execution, and evaluation. Or they could be thematic, like for a podcast episode like: pre-production, production, post-production, and promotion.

Step 3: Break Down Major Components into Tasks

Each major component can further be broken down into smaller tasks. For example, under content creation, tasks might include: keyword research, drafting blog posts, creating infographics, and writing page descriptions.

Step 4: Use the SMARTER Goal Framework for Each Task

Ensure that each task in your project is a SMARTER goal. SMARTER stands for

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Relevant
• Time-keyed
• Exciting
• Risky

Think of this as a SMART goal, but amplified. This makes it super specific and, therefore, clear about what you're trying to achieve, how you'll know when you've achieved it, and when you aim to have it done by.

Step 5: Prioritize Your Tasks

With your tasks listed, the next step is to prioritize them. Which tasks are most important? Which ones are dependent on others? A good way to do this is by using the Eisenhower Matrix, which separates tasks into four categories: Urgent and important (do first), Important but not urgent (schedule), Urgent but not important (delegate), Not urgent or important (eliminate or reduce).

Step 6: Create a Project Timeline

Now that you have your tasks listed and prioritized, create a project timeline. This gives you a visual representation of when each task should be started and completed. It also shows how tasks overlap and align with each other.

Using project management tools will help you see clearly what’s done, where you’re getting stuck, and what’s complete. If you’re working with a team, this is a necessity.

Step 7: Regularly Review and Adjust

Finally, remember that your project plan isn't set in stone. Regularly review your progress and don't be afraid to adjust your tasks and timeline as needed. Flexibility is key to overcoming obstacles and maintaining momentum towards getting your project across the finish line.

And while this isn’t an “official” step, I’ll just add this: Don’t forget to celebrate your wins along the way. Every step forward, no matter how small, is progress.

Celebrating small wins not only boosts your morale but also builds momentum, fueling you to drive your project towards completion.

Your Path to Project Completion Success

As you approach your next project, remember that every big project is just a series of small tasks. Consistent action, no matter how small, is how you’ll make steady progress and ultimately how you’ll get you project across the finish line.

Don’t allow the big picture to overwhelm you. Instead, maintain forward momentum by taking one step at a time. When obstacles arise, accept that it’s part of the process. Keep going and ask for help when you need it.

It's not about being perfect — it's about making consistent progress. Keep moving forward. With every hurdle, you're just one step closer to the finish line.

Here's to your success!