Have you ever had a project sitting on your to-do list for weeks, months, or even years?
You know it needs to be done, and you really do want to get it done. But every time you think about starting, the project feels so overwhelming that you put it off for another day.
But somehow, that perfect time never seems to come.
I’ve been there, too. Recently, I finally tackled a couple of homemaking projects that I’d been putting off for quite a while, including painting and organizing our garage. I started working on the garage at the end of July and didn’t finish until September!
It wasn’t a one-day project, and I didn’t have every detail figured out before I began. I just kept taking the next step until, eventually, the work was finished.
And it reminded me of something important: You don’t have to do everything at once to make meaningful progress in your home.
If you’ve been putting off projects around your house, here are a few things that can help you get started.
1. Stop looking at the entire project and find the first step
One reason we procrastinate is that we look at a project as one enormous task.
“Paint the garage” sounds simple enough. But when I actually stood in the garage and thought about everything that needed to happen, I realized there were many little steps involved.
Things had to be moved out of the way. The walls needed to be cleaned. I needed to get paint and gather my supplies. And then, finally, I could begin painting.
When I thought about everything at once, the project felt overwhelming.
So instead of focusing on the entire project, I started asking myself, What’s the first thing that needs to happen?
Breaking the project down made it much easier to see where to begin.
You can do the same thing with almost any homemaking task.
If your pantry needs organizing, you don’t have to think about organizing every shelf, sorting every can, and finding a place for everything all at once.
Start with one shelf.
If your bedroom closet is overwhelming, start with one small section.
If you’ve been putting off cleaning out a spare room, begin by removing the things that don’t belong there.
You don’t have to have the entire plan figured out. You just need to know what to do first.
2. Schedule a time to begin, not necessarily to finish
I think we sometimes put off projects because we believe we need a whole day to get them done.
We look at our busy schedules and think, I just don’t have enough time for that right now.
And maybe we don’t have enough time to finish the whole project. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have enough time to begin.
Instead of asking yourself, “When will I have time to finish this?” try asking, “When can I get started?”
Choose a realistic time when you can work on the first step. If it helps, write it on your calendar like an appointment you intend to keep.
3. Make sure you have what you need
Sometimes, getting started is as simple as preparing yourself to begin.
I had been putting off painting the garage partly because I didn’t have the paint. It was one more thing I needed to take care of before I could move forward.
So I added getting the paint to my to-do list and made sure it got done.
Once I had what I needed, I could actually begin the project instead of continuing to think about it.
If you’ve been putting off a project, take a few minutes to think about what might be holding you back.
Do you need cleaning supplies? Storage containers? A donation box? A particular tool? Do you need to measure a space or look up how to do something?
Write down what you need and make a plan to get it.
You don’t even have to start the main project that day. Sometimes gathering the supplies is progress in itself because it removes one more obstacle between you and the work.
4. Give yourself permission to work on it a little at a time
This may be one of the most important things I’ve learned about getting projects done around the house.
You don’t have to do it all at once.
I started working on our garage at the end of July, and I didn’t finish until September. I worked on it in little pockets of time whenever I could.
I’m glad I didn’t wait until I had enough time to do everything in one day.
If I had told myself that I needed to finish the entire garage in one afternoon or even one weekend, I probably would have continued putting it off.
Sometimes we don’t start because we know we won’t finish. We look at a big project and think, “What’s the point of starting if I’m just going to have to leave it unfinished?”
But that way of thinking can leave us with a whole house full of unfinished tasks that never get any attention because we’re waiting for the perfect opportunity.
There’s nothing wrong with making a little progress and coming back to the project when you have time again.
An unfinished project that is making progress is still better than a project you never begin.
You may not see the results immediately, but those small efforts add up.
This is one of the important things I teach in my course The Motivated Homemaker Blueprint.
5. Write down what comes next
When you’re working on a project over several days or weeks, it can be helpful to write down the next step before you stop.
Otherwise, when you finally have time to return to it, you may find yourself standing there trying to remember what you were doing or figuring out where to begin all over again.
Instead, leave yourself a little note.
“Next, clean the top shelf.”
“Next, pick up the paint.”
“Next, sort the clothes in the bottom drawer.”
It doesn’t have to be complicated. You just need a reminder of where to pick up.
This is especially helpful when you’re managing a home and your time is divided among so many different responsibilities.
You may only have fifteen or twenty minutes to work on a project, and you don’t want to spend half that time deciding what to do.
When you already know the next step, it’s much easier to get moving.
6. Let a little progress encourage you to keep going
One thing I’ve noticed is that I don’t always feel motivated before I start a project. Sometimes the motivation comes after I’ve made a little progress.
When I see one section finished, the rest doesn’t seem quite so overwhelming. When I finally get the supplies gathered, I feel more prepared.
And when I can see the difference my work is making, I feel encouraged to keep going.
You don’t always have to wait until you feel ready.
Sometimes you just need to begin, even if it’s with something small.
And as you work, remind yourself that the little things you’re doing matter.
You may not have an entirely organized home by the end of the day. You may still have laundry to fold, dishes to wash, and projects waiting for you.
But that doesn’t mean you haven’t accomplished anything.
Every little bit of care you give your home counts.
If you have a project you’ve been putting off, I hope you’ll choose one small thing you can do today. It doesn’t have to be impressive, and it doesn’t have to take very long.
You may not finish the project this week, but you can make a little progress.
And sometimes, that little bit of progress is exactly what you need to keep going.
You don’t have to do everything today. You just have to take the next step.