Do just a little bit.

This afternoon, I received a call from a potential client that had physical and cognitive challenges from a brain injury. She said she was really overwhelmed with paperwork. She explained that she didn't think that she had the funds to afford my services, even after I offered to give her a reduced rate to assess her needs and get her started with some simple strategies.

I was driving when she called, so I pulled over and proceeded to have an in-depth conversation with her. I was able to ascertain that she was auto-paying many of her bills, which was really helping her manage some of her mail. But she still received a large amount of mail that was really causing her anxiety. She loved her catalogs, but she hated the management of all that paper.

I suggested that instead of looking at all of the piles of paperwork strewn around her apartment, how about if she just focused on a small area of the dining room table, just a 1' x 1' space. What if she just concentrated on attacking that small space, and processing the papers just in that area. She loved that idea. She said that it made her feel more in control of just that small doable space. She could work on that space and then have a feeling of accomplishment for taking care of one area at a time.

She had mentioned in our conversation that music helped her stay on task as she was working. So, I suggested that she put on her favorite music, which could help her to stay on task and motivated to complete the area she agreed to work on. I also asked her to email me after she accomplished her task and let me know how it went. What worked and what didn't.

A few hours later she emailed me that she was able to clear off an even larger area then we agreed upon. She was really elated and said that she was looking forward to working some more on the dining room table tomorrow. She would use the same technique of just doing a little bit at a time. Slow and steady won the race, just as the tortoise.