Projects? You’re On Notice. Metaphor Mouse Said So.

I used to like projects because they were fun and creative…

(This was especially true when I was teaching 3rd grade.)

But in 2006, I stopped liking them because they got stressful.

Which wouldn’t be a problem…

Except that my whole life and business revolves around projects.

So much of it is about planning on doing things and (hopefully) getting them done.

Since I’ve been noticing some stress when I think about my current projects, I knew I needed some help…

So I called in Metaphor Mouse to help me reframe this whole thing about Projects.

What Metaphor Mouse And I Realized While Chatting Outside In The Sun…

Projects = stressful. But also necessary.

How I’d like projects to be is fun, exciting, easy, and full good experiences.

I want them to feel good. I want them to be something I look back on with good memories.

Lots of happiness and good times (not regret and stress and drama.)

Kinda like…

Going on a trip. Oh yeah. Awesome.

A trip that I’ve been looking forward to and I want to do as much as I can to experience things and enjoy myself. Like the road trip my Sweet Bee planned all those moons ago when we drove up the PCH from Newport Beach to San Fransisco.

We did all sorts of fun things and stopped in all the best spots along the way to make good memories.

He mapped it all out ahead of time and thought about how long it’d take to enjoy each thing. That way we could Stack The Cool and get lots of fun stuff in a short amount of time.

We considered the amount of time we had available for the trip, and thought about all the most important stuff we wanted to get done during that time.

It was a total blast and it was largely because of the planning that happened ahead of time and the whole energy and attitude we had toward taking the trip.

That’s way more fun than the way I’ve been doing projects lately…and the trip itself was totally a project. Go figure!

So instead of doing projects… (Starting on them, working on them, and finishing them…)

I’m going to be Taking Trips! (Planning then, enjoying them, and making good memories.)

This feels super good…and brings me to this question:

How Do I Determine Which Project Trip To Take?

After talking with the Sweetest Bee, this is my criteria:

• Is this trip in alignment with why I’m on the planet? Will this trip take me closer to fulfilling my bigger purpose and outcome?
• Will this trip use mostly my strengths? Or is it going to require me to rely on my weaknesses?
• Is this trip aligned with my Wealthy Dynamics profile? (I’m a Lord profile.)
• Is this trip going to be Easy, Lucrative, and Fun? (In other words, is it worth my time, energy, and attention? Will I look back on it and feel good about it?)

Answering those questions is going to help me focus on taking…

One Trip At A Time.

This part is huge.

Because let’s face it, I can’t be in New York and Florida at the same time in real life, so if I wanna go to both places, I have to go one place first. Then the other.

No more mult-projects going because it’s not actually possible in the realm of Taking Trips…

My trips are going to have finite parameters. Start date, end date. One trip at a time….

Questions I’ll want to ask myself about each Trip I take:

• How will I celebrate before, during, and after?
• What will I need to do more of on this trip?
• What will I need to do less of on this trip?
• How can I make this trip easier?
• How can I make this trip faster while still totally enjoying it all?
• How do I prevent getting road rage during my trip?
• Where can I apply the 80/20 principle?
• What Qualities are going to be important for me during this trip?
• Which resources or learning materials will help me during this trip?
• What kind of stuff might come up along the way that slows the trip down?
• What will I do in those situations? What’s my back-up plan?
• Which friends would I like to have be a part of this trip?
• What’s the purpose of this trip?
• ??? (Have some others to add?)

Will I need any props?

Yes!

Havi told me that the more we can live in our new metaphor and practice it, the better.

Props help like crazy.

So some things that would help me realize that I’m Taking A Trip (yay!)  instead of doing a project are…

• Old folding maps that I can hang on the wall or fold out like an explorer to plot my steps places I want to visit.
• Maybe a bulletin board for sticking pins in. Some yarn to connect the dots.
• Some kind of a suitcase that I keep everything related to this trip in. (I’ve seen the perfect thing for this at TJ Maxx Home & Garden, actually!)
• Pit stops for good food. Maybe even plan out some of the places I know I’ll eat along the way b/c they’re my faves.
• Snacks for eating while traveling.
• A camera and scrapbook for remembering what I did and being able to look back with fond memories. (These might also take the shape of templates that would remind me how to do things the next time I Take A Trip.)
• A passport! Yes – with stamps indicating the different trips I’ve taken. Love this!
• Postcards. Yes again! With updates and news that I send to my friends back home (my subscribers) to let them know how things are going! This is so cool…
• Souvenirs. Hmm. What might these be?
• Mix-Tapes for singing along with the windows down. (They Might Be Giants’ album Flood for sure.) Music compilations that are fun to work drive to.

Ah-ha!!

What if I get rid of WORK all together…and anything that used to be work is now Driving…on my awesome road TRIP!?

This is getting better by the second.

Instead of getting back to work, I’d be getting back on the road. Getting back behind the wheel. Time to drive to my next awesome pre-planned destination. This is so good…

And I’ll be driving my Projects Trips to completion. Just like Jim Collins says in his book Good To Great: Get the right people off the bus, the right people on the bus, and then Drive.

*Jumping up and down to celebrate I’m going on a Trip!!*

Anything else you can think of that would help me stop working on projects and start Taking Awesome Road Trips?