🎨 Decision and What Then? How to Make Things Happen

At a Glance:

• Why you should trust me on execution topic
• 8 rules of effective execution

If you asked people who know me, many of them would tell you that I’m an achiever, that I make things happen. Magically, topics that haven’t been handled by anyone for ages come to me, and I just push them forward and make progress. I do it at work but also, or most of all, in life.

But I have never seen it as anything special. It was my regular way of handling things. If there was something to be done, I was simply doing it. No excuses. I didn’t like the feeling of having a list of TO-DOs waiting for me. I preferred to deal with things and then enjoy the feeling of relief and satisfaction – ‘yes, I have already dealt with it.’

Some real-life examples? Now when I think about it, I do have plenty of examples.

Coming back home, I will first get everything sorted out, clean up the kitchen, get changed, do the laundry, etc., before sitting down and having a rest. I want to do things and get them off my agenda.

Coming back from holiday, I instantly unpack my bags, no matter how tired I am. I just want to have it done to be able to take some rest. While my sister... her bag could sit in the corridor for a week, waiting for someone to trip over it.

Getting a new big project at work, I would invest the first days into setting it up and running to get more free time later on and let things get done. I would rather invest time in teaching someone new things and then have that person doing it than doing the job myself over and over again.

I decided to build a house. Yes, there was a time of looking for a ready one or for a piece of land, so the decision process took some time. But when I bought it, I had a plan in my head for how quickly I wanted to do it and what the execution path should be. And I tackled things one by one. Along the way, there were some essential adjustments – when you build a house for the first time, you learn a lot and have to adjust your plan. But in the end, 18 months after starting construction, it was in a state to move in, just before Christmas.

And now, I have decided to reshape my career and professional life, and I’m doing it. Step by step, idea after idea. Instead of thinking long months and hours, I have taken action and continue doing it each day. When I speak with people around me, many of them are unsure of what to do, looking for a perfect life idea or a perfect market niche. And I could have been in the same place if I hadn’t believed in myself, my abilities, and my plan.

If you are the one who struggles with decision-making, check out one of my previous posts where I shared my way of making decisions. It might inspire you to take action.

My Way of Making Things Happen:

Rule 1: I Get Excited

(Side note: if I can’t, I made the wrong decision to do the thing in the first place.)

My excitement is my power to push me forward. When I make a decision to do something I’m really passionate about, this becomes my motivation to act. Someone could say that I’m on a short fuse, and maybe that is the objective truth, but I see this as being action-oriented and having a magical power to make things happen.

I realize you may now think, “But what if I have things that don’t excite me?” Then this rule doesn’t work. That’s not true. Or at least that’s the wrong way of thinking about things. When there is something I’m not excited about doing, I look for a reason to get excited. What do I mean by that? Let’s say there is that bloody suitcase full of dirty clothes from the holiday that stands in the hallway. My way of thinking is that maybe I don’t feel like sorting this out now, but if I do, then everything will be clean and tidy at home, and I do love a clean home, so this will make me happier and excited. So, I just sort out the suitcase to get the clean house excitement.

But I also apply one thing in all that excitement process – I would think if the thing that I ‘have to’ do is really something that I have to do. Maybe I can delegate or outsource it? Or maybe I don’t want to do it at all, and the ‘have to’ feeling is more pressure from someone or an expectation I have inside me that people expect me to do it. If that’s the case – this is no longer a thing to be done, but simply to remove from my mind and acknowledge I took the wrong decision of wanting to do it in the first place.

Rule 2: I Plan. And I Plan Well.

This, of course, applies to bigger things that require planning. I make a proper plan. Whether these are holidays or a business project, I will have it all sorted out, usually in an Excel file, to execute one by one, with deadlines, all the information saved and categorized.

Without a solid plan, the first step will scare you even more than making a decision. So make sure you have at least the first step sorted out and scheduled with a set deadline right after making the decision. And the next day, carve out an hour or two to create a further plan.

How to create a plan? Good question. A very high-level guide to planning: Depending on the size of the task, you should make it annual goals > quarterly milestones with OKRs > monthly tactics > weekly lists > daily tiny tasks (tiny means something that will not scare you).

Rule 3: I Organize Myself.

I’m a master of organization and planning. I have Excel sheets for everything, and my Google Drive is full of dedicated folders. This helps me make a solid plan and control the situation. I even set up a family project management Excel, with deadlines for tasks. There were some rebellions who treated this as an authoritarian tool to suppress them (e.g., my sister), but at least now I have everything in one place, all construction documents, and history.

When you plan the decision execution, think about organization straight away. Especially if there are things you hate doing – automate them, delegate them, or find a different idea for dealing with them. But you should be organized or have a person helping you with this to be able to then deliver on your plan and execute the decisions well and in line with your plan.

Rule 4: I Keep the Momentum.

The excitement part always makes me want to do things right away. This can sometimes be dangerous, so I need to take that into account as a risk factor, but I really focus on taking the first step ASAP. The sooner, the better. Before I start overthinking, before I start analyzing and doubting my decision, I will simply push it forward by either already taking the first small step in execution or starting the planning process.

Rule 5: I Share It with People Around Me for Accountability.

Something I haven’t been doing often in the past, but I have started doing much more now. Group accountability helps me even more. I’m in a couple of communities related to my business ideas, and this is my accountability zone for ambitious and huge projects that I have planned for my future. So, I didn’t want to be just dependent on my strong will, and I decided to secure my risk and find people who will lift me up if I have any doubtful moments or limiting beliefs invade my head.

Rule 6: I Eat Frogs in the Morning, Especially the Large Ugly Ones...

Like with that suitcase, I just like having this done as soon as I can, so I eat those frog(s) in the morning. Big things are intentionally planned to be done first thing after my morning routine to get that satisfaction feeling – I have done this, and now it’s only going to be easier. But – I also use the ‘eat the fly’ technique – so eating my fly just after waking up, by making my bed. This is a tiny achievement that sets my day from the beginning.

Rule 7: I Make Sure Steps Are Small Enough Not to Tire Me, but Big Enough to Show Me the Progress.

As mentioned earlier in the high-level planning process – breaking down your plan into daily steps that I plan the day before makes it easier to execute. And if my assumption of doing thing X in 2-3 hours was too optimistic and it still scares me, then I break it down further into 2-3 tasks (or more if needed). But the more you are familiar with various topics you do, the better you know how to make a realistic plan. All comes with experience and reacting and learning from your past mistakes or the mistakes of others – if you are in a community where people share those to help each other.

Rule 8: I Delegate.

I try to do whatever possible to make the process smoother. I’m a perfectionist who always thinks I will do something the best, so it’s not easy for me to delegate. But delegation has to come in pairs with control over results. So always delegate smartly, explain things, and when necessary, control/provide ongoing feedback.

But I’m improving step by step. I started at work, at times when I was working too many hours and at the same time building a house – I simply lacked hours in my 24-hour day, so I had to accept the imperfection of reality and start delegating way more. It wasn’t an easy mindset change, but I know this was the only right approach.

5-Second Rule – Under Exploration I’m experimenting a bit with waking up and instead of keeping the alarm away from bed, I try Mel Robbins' 5-second rule. I want to test it out in more cases and see how this can improve my execution process, especially for things that I do want to procrastinate on.

What’s Your Homework Today?

You tell me! Do you struggle with executing decisions? If so, first of all, you need to decide that you want to improve. And then try to apply my rules to execute it. What’s the worst thing that can happen if you do so? It isn’t scary, so go on, and start right now. What’s the last decision you took and haven’t yet acted on? This is your homework.

Closing Remarks:

I have shared with you my real-life approach to various things. And of course, everyone is different, but I believe that this can at least inspire you to think about your own way of executing decisions. If you are good at this, then think about how you can become better and challenge your own way more and more.

But if you struggle, maybe this message will encourage you to take tiny actions to improve. Whether by using my rules or different ideas – it doesn’t matter as long as you take that first step and plan your improvement journey.