Seeing the forest

It’s probably an idiom that you’ve probably heard at some point or another. Whether it’s at home or work, we’ve all run into situations where we become so focused on the details that we completely miss the bigger picture. Tackling a goal gets tangled up in excessive contemplation and planning and it’s only a matter of time before the momentum at the project’s start begins to wane and you’re left wondering what happened.

… we become so focused on the details that we completely miss the bigger picture.

Examples can range wildly; furnishing a new apartment turns into an endless search for the perfect piece, a software deployment gets hung up in establishing all of the possible use cases. Regardless of the particular objective, it’s important to remember to reorient yourself periodically when pursuing your goals. Things like setting out a plan that defines end to end what your steps will be can keep you centered since all of the planning is done upfront. You’re less likely to deviate if you’ve already defined your path.

What can work well for organizations is outlining your deliverables and timelines during the schedule creation of particular project. This leaves less room for interpretation and ensures that progress towards completion can be accurately tracked.

On a personal level, tools like calendars and planners can take the place of project schedules. Setting realistic deadlines for things you want to accomplish keeps you honest and working towards clearing them from your to-do list. There are plenty of services available to assist with this with offerings from Google being very popular, especially for those that are well-entrenched in their existing product ecosystem.

Being mindful of becoming mired down by the details is key to avoiding unnecessary hurdles when pursuing your goals. At the end of the day, not being blinded by the proverbial trees is critical to being able to successfully completing your goals in a timely manner. Have you had any situations where you realized that you were stuck on the details? Feel free to share in the comments below, I’d be happy to read about them.

Photo credit to flickr://ajtomaz