A.I. Flashback: Break it Down to the Ridiculous

by Brad Isaac on October 20, 2006

Well, it’s the middle of the night, I’m blurry eyed and loopy from writing code all evening. Since there are a lot of new readers visiting (Welcome everyone!) I figured I could get away with linking to one of my personal favorite productivity techniques. It always gets me going and allows me to check stuff off a list. If you consider flashback linking a blogging crime and think I shouldn’t get away with it, feel free to post your noodlings below. :)

But if you find yourself stuck and in a situation where you aren’t making the progress you would like, try breaking your problem down to the ridiculous. I give an example of how I work with my own software project which can get overwhelming in it’s scope. Breaking it down is my only workable option.

At any one time, a full featured application can have upwards of hundreds of items that need to improvement. Looking at all of them at the same time is simply too much to mentally grasp in one sitting. Breaking it down to the ridiculous helps me deal with the mental side of the project by giving you many small wins that eventually add up to one big win.

I pick about 3 sub projects I can work on today that will make the most impact. Three may sound like a small number but if you break them down to the ridiculous – into their individual little parts, my work normally includes 10 or 15 smaller items to do on the list.

Break it Down to the Ridiculous

Technorati Tags: goals and goal setting, productivity, gtd, work

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