'Do One Thing'

[Pete.]

I was talking about this to someone today and now I wonder does anybody else subscribe to this philosphy for getting things done on a project. I used to be on a forum called Oldskoolsuzuki, I'm sure some of the members here must remember it (the old one, not the new reborn one that's going now). It was a forum about (back then) mostly air- and oil-cooled Suzuki motorbikes and Suzukis seem to be the most modified of the old Japanese bikes with a huge modification following. There was a discussion going on about projects and how some were dragging on, and some people saying they were finding it hard to get back into their bike projects etc. Anyway this one member comes out with the most simple yet profound comment:

"If you want to get your project done, just go out every night and do one thing"

This really stuck with me and no doubt you've noticed that I tend to put out a fair bit of work. Of course I don't do something every night but I do find that if you don't allow a job to languish, if you can go out and tackle even one small part of it for 15 minutes in an evening, pretty soon all those little things add up and get you a long way down the road towards the finish line.

So how about it - does anyone else do something similar? Or do you leave it until a particular weekend then have a marathon session?

 

[Gragson]

I'm a real slow coach, and definitely in that camp. Thing is I do hop from one thing to another but never marathon sessions into one thing in the shed, as long as it's moving on that's the main thing.
Home landscaping, decorating or building work, needs must and all that. But home workshop stuff I definitely pace out and have to be in the mood for it.
I've taken on your tidying up mantra, works surprisingly well for focus on the job at hand

 

[ukracer]

I'm a real slow coach, and definitely in that camp. Thing is I do hop from one thing to another but never marathon sessions into one thing in the shed, as long as it's moving on that's the main thing.
Home landscaping, decorating or building work, needs must and all that. But home workshop stuff I definitely pace out and have to be in the mood for it.
I've taken on your tidying up mantra, works surprisingly well for focus on the job at hand

What's his tidying up mantra?

 

[minimutly]

My dad used to say this - no matter what, do one thing...

 

[frank horton]

being retired or what ever that is is not the answer.....
not sure how I found the time to go to work in the old days let alone projects....
have an Indian Scout project that over 40 years old......hahaha.....
quite fancied an old school Suzuki....but found the lower bars and rearsets just kill my back....

 

[Pete.]

What's his tidying up mantra?

Stop every hour, not more than two. Tidy the bench, put all the tools away and get out only what you're using.

 

[GRW]

For me, it's the truth behind 2 things:

1. "Procrastination is the Thief of Time" (Guilty!).

2. The truth behind a retort I use to irk any female who trots out the old chestnut "why can't you men multi-task!" Which is - "Men prefer to do one task at a time properly rather than **** up 6 tasks at once"
(Always makes a guy popular with the ladies that one ).
I find it's true though - I find I need to focus on one goal at a time - having your mind on more than one thing is a recipe for errors, faffing about and feeling like you've made hardly any progress and the time has gone.

 

[GRW]

Stop every hour, not more than two. Tidy the bench, put all the tools away and get out only what you're using.

This is something I now do much more.
Admittedly some of the tidying is necessity due to very limited work space - but it's a good habit to adopt.

 

[awemawson]

It’s important to know what your objective is any one session of a project. Set your objective but make it realistic so at the end of the session you finish satisfied not frustrated. Break to job into small tasks and be clear what they are.

we used to call it ‘management by objectives’ when getting a team to function on a project.

 

[selectedgrub]

I picked up my grinder again after I read the word Suzuki.
What was the question.?

 

[daleyd]

I practice the “do one thing” philosophy.

I just don’t specify a time frame

 

[Fastdruid]

For me is three things, first and foremost is that one to just do something every day, even if you spend just 5 minutes on it.


Second is to take photos of progress (even if you never share them), because you can look back and *see* the progress even if you feel nothing has moved.

Third one is in a big project to not get bogged down to the point it gets boring. Move to another part of the project for a bit and come back to it later.

I think I should add a number 4 though to tidy up every 2 hours though!

 

[8ob]

I have had this do an hour a day in the man cave thing going on for quite a while, it makes a huge difference.

Bob

 

[northwest]

A long time ago I was involved in something that was unbelievably stressful and I was working 16 hour days. How I got through it all intact I have no idea but I was also building a car at the time. I remember being very determined that this would not stall and I clearly remember doing an oil change, it took me a week, or maybe more. One day I took the oil filter off, the next day I put it's replacement on, then I dropped the oil the following day and so on. I was determined this was going to happen and it did but I also remember the effort that I had to make to accomplish it. It is a lifetime away now but I often reflect on the week to change the oil episode and it reminds me of what I can really achieve if I want to. This was a very bad time in my life and although it seems small potatoes today, it wasn't.

 

[Wildefalcon]

It's effective. I've too many stalled projects. And I need to clear up a chunk of workshop mess. One hour a day works.

 

[Leecapri83]

I can relate to this philosophy in a big way. I'm digging quite a substantial base for a workshop. One hour a night = 5 barrow loads x 6 approx. week from Christmas and I'm nearly there!
Hard education while undertaking a house renovation, every little helps.
Another good one which sounds obvious is, if you can get all materials and tools ready in your lunch break/before work or at the end of your last work session then when the day job finishes you are ready to rip into job #2 rather than standing in screwfix.

 

[ukracer]

Stop every hour, not more than two. Tidy the bench, put all the tools away and get out only what you're using.

Wow I would never find Nything if I put things away.....sadly much of my stuff does not have an "away" it just exists..lol

 

[RichardM]

A bit of "me" time is always useful. I find if something on the project is not working how I want, it is better to move on to another bit rather than stalling. The solution to the problem part will usually crops up soon.

 

[Dr.Al]

My philosophy is "don't worry if you get nothing done and if you're not enjoying a project, stop". Sometimes I'll wander out to the workshop and end up just meandering around thinking about what project to start (although I've usually got several on the go at once). If I'm not feeling motivated to get on with a project I've started, I'll leave it and (maybe) come back to it when I am feeling motivated. I'll get much more enjoyment out of my hobby if I do what I feel like doing when I feel like doing it.

I recently finished making a filing machine. I started it several years ago. The initial work was cutting up all the stock on the bandsaw, then milling everything to cuboids of the right basic size. I then decided I'd had enough of standing at the milling machine and wanted to do something lathe-y for a bit so I put the prepared pieces in a drawer and left them (for several years!). It was only recently that I felt that it was time to get on with that project so I did and I enjoyed finishing it off. I think if I'd carried on doing it straight after milling all the cuboids I'd have felt fed up by the end of the project.

 

[8ob]

A clear workspace has to be first on the list, I keep things like drill or grinders that are waiting on bits in a project box/crate and put it away, its so much easier when the parts turn up not to have that time wasting hunting for bits.

Bob