Have you ever had a big project that felt like no matter how long or hard you worked you couldn’t seem to get it done as quickly as you expected to?  Every time you think you see some light at the end of the tunnel there is a dip or turn or obstruction and the glimmer of light fades away.  It’s a dark and lonely place, a place of low morale, frustration, burnout, hopelessness, and even despair.
It’s not uncommon to find ourselves in this predicament, in fact, I believe it is in our nature.  We experience this on both short-term and long-term tasks.  You may feel like this during moving, or pregnancy, or shoveling a mountain of snow in April, or with bays and a lot full of cars or on a remodel project or working on landing a big account or building and implementing something new at work.  If you are a successful person, (and I know you are; you are reading Reman U aren’t you? 😉) you’re likely ambitious, take on a lot, and heap pressure on yourself to keep driving forward and making things happen.  Those great qualities that help separate you from the heap are also the ones that can put you in the dark tunnel.  Few among us can charge ahead undeterred and unaffected along the journey.
Good news! The tunnel is not real and neither is the light.  Oh man, you thought I meant you were actually digging a tunnel? It’s a metaphor.😉 When we take a step or back or reach task completion and gain some perspective, the pitfalls are easy to see.

• We are prone to underestimate time.
  • I can build that unit blindfolded in 2 hours (sure you can if everything goes perfectly and that always happens right?)
  • Your computer won’t ever crash on you while writing a Reman U or working on that spreadsheet.
• We go into projects with assumptions.
  • I have all the parts I need for this one on hand…until you discover that failed weld on a drum you didn’t expect to replace.
  • All of our agents will show up to work today
• The scope of work often changes.
  • Let’s add radiant flooring to this bathroom remodel as long as we’ve got it open.
  • Great demo! But, you know what would be great, if you added…
• Resources you counted on may not be available when needed.
  • See above “All of our people will show up to work today.”
  • Helluva day for our heavy duty lifts to take a $h!t on us!
• Unforeseen challenges and opportunities arise.
  • Did someone say golf outing?! 😊
  • You knew this would be comeback week, didn’t you?
  • Huge new fleet account but the first three absolutely must roll out tomorrow

Taking those factors into mind there are a lot of ways to safeguard ourselves and keep enthusiasm and momentum going on projects.  Some of my coworkers use project management methodologies like kanban boards (or Trello) and scrum which use simple organization tools to visualize work and progress and address estimating shortcomings.  These systems can produce great results, but there are a few things that can be done simply with a “shift” (they pay me extra for these when I use Transmission words) of mindset, or perspective.
When you feel the tunnel taking shape try:

• Celebrating project milestones
• Recruiting some help
• Acknowledging unforeseen developments and adjust expectations accordingly
• Getting some sleep or find a way to recharge your batteries
• Pacing yourself and break up big tasks into little ones

Bottom line is you don’t have a crystal ball and sometimes you don’t know what exactly you’re getting yourself into or what will happen next.  Be reasonable with your expectations, deadlines, and assessments.  This holds true for individuals, teams, and especially leadership.  Keep going! whether you make it there today, tomorrow, or even never; you are making progress and that’s where your focus should be to stay productive and effective.