How to eat an elephant one bite at a time, or learning to manage a large project

"Have you ever eaten an elephant?" I asked them. The older ones looked at me with their wide, perplexed eyes, and Simone burst out laughing, saying, "Of course not!" I added, "Do you know how you eat an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time!" So, we made a game plan for a week. This is the kind of thing we, adults, do in our heads when we have a big task to tackle. But since our children have no access to what goes on in our heads, Les Belles Combines created a little trick that will allow us to model our organizational method. Let me explain:

1. First step: assess the tasks to be done or evaluate the size of the elephant to be eaten

First, let's write down everything that needs to be done, then prioritize these tasks. In our case, we decided it was better to clean up the puzzles and board games at the end, as we might find pieces scattered throughout the game boxes and toy chests. The little ones do have the annoying habit of emptying all the boxes and spreading the pieces all over the house!

2. Second step: break down tasks into several steps or evaluate the number of bites to take to eat our big elephant

Next, let's break down the tasks into several steps. Since the basement playroom is large and filled with boxes for organizing toys, we decided to divide the task into four steps: sorting the costume box, cleaning the kitchen corner, sorting the toy boxes on the floor, and sorting the toy boxes on the shelves.

3. Third step: plan tasks over time or make sure to eat our elephant gently so as not to get sick

Doing all that in one day is really too much! To avoid discouraging the children and keep them motivated, we decided to plan everything over a week: two bites on Monday, two on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, one bite on Thursday, and a final one on Friday. We then wrote each task on our family planner for everyone to see, to remember what needed to be done each day, and we attacked the elephant. Ultimately, the children (and parents!) found it much less painful than they had imagined. It would be a lie to say it was done without a fuss, with joy and cheerfulness, but I'm sure the children thus developed their sense of organization a little more. Then on Friday evening, we ordered a pizza to reward ourselves! We deserved it!

Do you also have an elephant to eat? Download our little trick!

HOW TO EAT AN ELEPHANT ONE BITE AT A TIME

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