This week’s theme comes from Alexis Hope — one of the founders of focused space!

It’s called the “What If This Were Easy?” Method, and she developed it because she felt stressed and stuck while trying to finish her PhD.

It’s very common to get overwhelmed when we’re working on something big. If you have a project that feels high-stakes, or something you care about a lot — there is a tendency to get wrapped up in perfectionism, which can halt progress.

Perfectionism isn’t always bad if you can learn to manage when, where, and how much it shows up… but that said, many of us have a tendency to make things more difficult for ourselves in pursuit of a grand vision.

Getting started using this method is simple. If you feel stuck at any point today, try just asking yourself:

“What If This Were Easy?”

Then, give yourself a moment to imagine what it would look or feel like if your next step were simple.

What’s the very easiest thing you could do?

Giving yourself permission to take an easier path in a moment of overwhelm can truly help unblock you, making it easier to make incremental progress and get towards your grand vision.

Next, we'll teach you the three other questions at the core of this method!

P.S. Alexis recommends writing all of these questions on Post-It Notes and sticking them somewhere near your desk 😎

"Do I have to do all of this?"

This method is all about taking a pause in moments of overwhelm to imagine making a decision that puts us on an easier path.

It’s useful in those times when we’re stuck on the path of perfectionism and feel like what we are working on must be grand and complex in order to be good. 

And as we all know, perfectionism can halt progress because when nothing feels good enough… we stop taking steps forward.

So this follow-up question is all about permission, specifically, giving yourself permission to Cut Scope.

“Cutting Scope” can look like making a list of all of the things that you imagine doing for a certain project, and then deciding NOT to do some of them.

You can also think of this technique as a more aggressive form of prioritization.

How to Cut Scope:

Make a list of all of the things that you imagine doing for a certain project, and then go through it one by one, asking yourself:

⭐️ Which of these things matter to you most? 

🔪 Which of these things can be cut without harming the purpose of the project?

🤔 Is each item a “must-have”, or a “nice-to-have”?

"What if this were fun?"

We talked about asking ourselves the simple question: “What if This Were Easy?” and imagining versions of our tasks that are less complex — and most importantly, giving ourselves permission to pursue that path.

We also talked about “cutting scope” or eliminating some of the sub-tasks we think we have to do in order to simplify our projects.

Now we’re going to ask ourselves a different question: “What if this were fun?” 

As you’re working on a task today, try asking yourself this question and identify 1-3 ways to make the task more fun, engaging, or pleasant.

Maybe that means taking a moment to pick a really great soundtrack for folding the laundry, or making a game out of a certain boring task by setting a timer and racing yourself to see if you can finish it within that time.

Whatever fun means to you, taking a moment to reframe our tasks as something that could not only be made easier, but perhaps even more enjoyable, can have a huge payoff for our motivation and mood, which makes it way easier to build momentum.

⚡️ Today’s Challenge:

Look at your list of goals, and for the one that feels the least exciting or enjoyable, ask yourself: “What could make this particular task more enjoyable?”

"Wait… what if I actually didn't have to do this?"

We’re going to close on a spicy note, with a final question to ask yourself… “What if I actually didn't have to do this at all?”

We know, we know, it is not possible to avoid doing most of the things on our list.

But today, we invite you — in fact, we challenge you! 🌶️ — to begin a regular practice of asking yourself if you truly need to do every task on your list. What would happen if you… didn’t do it?

Which tasks are you doing because you think you should be doing them, but they aren’t actually required… or aren't serving your goals?

Which tasks could you possibly delegate, or ask someone else to help with?

It won’t always work, but it’s a nice tool to have in your back pocket — and it just might save you from unnecessary work once in a while!

✧˖°. ⋆｡˚:✧｡

Thank you for reading — it was so fun to share some of my personal techniques with you!

I hope you found something in this method that will make your days ahead a little bit easier and more fun.

P.S. If you could use help accomplishing your goals this season, please join us at one of our live guided work sessions, or morning planning sessions!

Take care,

— Alexis, co-founder of focused space