’Tis the Season for New Projects

It’s summer and we’re in full ‘home improvement’ project mode. There were a few things we wanted to accomplish this summer – fix the back deck with a railing (so no one falls off), and epoxy the garage floor (better look and safer when it gets wet, etc.), plus a few other assorted projects along the way.

It looked great on paper… and simple.

Oh, we’ll just fix ‘this’ because it’s going to make our lives easier, the garage will be more usable/organized – a better system to store the vehicles and all the gear we have, the deck will enhance our lives, we can actually sit out there and not be worried about a potential lawsuit and so on. You get the idea!

You make a plan & you get excited for the plan.

The possibilities of future use, fun & adventure are ENDLESS.

The project(s) begin! The tearing apart is the necessary 1st step. This is important to remember because it’s a mess!! Even if you’re a pretty organized and non-messy person to begin with.

Nails everywhere.

Tools in piles.

Wood, paint cans and assorted stuff all over the backyard.

AND if that’s not enough – we had 2 projects going on simultaneously – the back deck and the garage floor epoxy. So ½ the garage contents were also in the back yard. If you’re going to do it, go big.

Walking through the back yard, you could lose a small pet or child. Or your mind.

Somewhere along the way, towards the middle of the projects, we’re full-blown psycho-analyzing every decision we ever made about the projects. We’re questioning our wisdom, the plans, the paint colors, the mess it created and wondering if we should just quit, sit on a beach somewhere and have a glass of wine.

Been there? Felt that?

When you do any improvement project, whether it’s at your home or in your business, there is a cycle that happens. Exciting plan, tear everything apart, messy middle – nothing seems to be where it needs to be. It’s clunky, nothing is working. Every good idea gets questioned. You question not only whether the plan was good to begin with, but whether finishing will actually accomplish what you want it to.

Your team (business or home) questions your ideas, leadership and wonders whether the new system|event|plan will actually, well, work.

It’s enough to make you not want to start in the 1st place.

Except, after a while, we forget this messy part of the process.

We didn’t even mention all the things that went wrong and a few Hail Marys that we launched with the hope that it would all turn out good!

Then – perseverance turns into something amazing. Most of the time – better than you thought it could be.

Here are a few things we reminded ourselves and learned along the way.

Start

It’s important to not only have a good plan, but one that’s flexible! It’s inevitable that something will go awry, so plan for as many things as you can that may not work well. Remind yourself that a realistic time-frame is important too. If you think a system change or a project will only take a week, then give yourselves double that. Plan for the ‘unforeseeable’.

Communication is really important with your ‘team’, whether it’s just 2 of you or 20! At the beginning, communicate the dream, get everyone to buy into it, get everyone excited about what the goal is and how much FUN it will be to have the project completed!

Middle

Keep the vision. When things become chaotic, not simple, you can’t find THE screwdriver you need (and you JUST had it in your hand) or everyone is feeling the pandemonium of a needed system change but now the old system is looking kind of better… time for your leadership to shine before anarchy happens!

Buy a pizza, have a ‘middle of the project’ party, whatever you do – make it FUN and RESHARE the VISION! Vision to see the completed project, the dream, the goal when the middle looks cloudy will be one of your strongest weapons against feeling disheartened.

Communication is even more important at this stage. Have a daily or weekly meeting together that discusses the progress and the plans!

Finally, the End

Enjoy the completion and celebrate! Even if you need to keep tweaking a few things here or there, make sure to have fun using your new system or project.

We’ve had a lot of mornings drinking coffee while our grandson plays at our feet, as well as friends and family relaxing on the new deck all through the day. It’s shaded & we have a mister when the weather is hot. Our garage is neater & more organized than we ever thought possible; super usable too, as now everything has a place. It’s actually the garage I dreamed of having for years.

The messiness in getting to HERE has been worth it.

Cheers to having a great rest of your summer and all the home or business projects you’re starting/in the midst of/or finishing up – don’t give up! Keep the Vision! It WILL be worth it.

Traci Evans