Hey Reader,

Do you ever feel like you know exactly what you should be focusing on but you're too busy to make that thing a priority?
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In the past couple of weeks I've talked to a lot of PhDs whose goal it is to submit the PhD before the end of this year.

They really wanna finish, I can see it and hear it in their voice.

But when I ask if they are ready to commit to making it happen - for real, with a deadline - a reply I got way more often than I expected is some version of this:

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"I'm too busy."

At first, I didn't get it. Like, how can you be too busy to focus on the one thing that's important to you?

But it actually makes perfect sense.

They probably are too busy!

The to-do list is as long as ever and it doesn't magically get shorter just because you decide you want to finish the PhD. Sometimes it does because a big commitment can make it easier to identify priorities and sort out all the things you don't really need. But that clarity often doesn't appear at the first instant.

What typically happens first is this: the pressure increases. The stress increases.

And if we know one thing about pressure and stress is that they are not useful for keeping a cool head and making well-weighted decisions about priorities.

So ironically, the minute you commit to achieving a big goal (like submitting your PhD) and you attach a concrete deadline to it, it can get harder, not easier, to see what is important. And the first impulse can be to pull back, to walk back the pledge, to give yourself a way out in case you won't make it.

To go from a "Yes!" to a maybe.

Let me say this with love, Reader: The minute you say yes to a big goal, you are saying no to a lot of other things. That's scary, and a lot harder than it sounds.

So just in case you are feeling this way too hard I wanna offer a few thoughts to make it easier for you:

• A "no" to something is rarely as definite as it seems. Often it's a "not now". You won't have to abandon a project or a task completely. You can come back to it once your big milestone is behind you (and if you don't, congratulations - you just allowed a non-priority to sort itself out 😉).
• Committing to a big goal is accepting the risk that you might fail. And failure sucks, we all know that. But it's something we overcome, and we learn from, and "I know I've tried my best" is a way more empowering feeling than a nagging "what if I had tried".
• What if it did work? How great would it feel? What would it unlock for you? What great opportunities are waiting on the other side?

And finally: You don't have to do this alone!

Share your big goal. Share your overwhelm. Priorities are often way easier to see from an outside perspective. Find someone who doesn't have skin in the game and have them help you to identify what's important and to keep you accountable when you're on the verge of saying "maybe".

That's what we do in the Ph*ing Do it Challenge. 90 days committed to your big goal of finishing the PhD. With the system, structure and team to help you see what should be your focus and help you do what needs to be done. We start next Monday.

If you want to join, let's talk!

Take care,

Andrea