Zoom in if Overwhelmed; Zoom out if Bummed Out

When you're overwhelmed with a big, ambitious project, you need to zoom in.

For example, "Going 1099" is too big a project. You need to zoom in and find the smallest step to take.

"Make more money" can be broken down into the first step of estimating your bill rate by dividing your salary by 1000.

Or "networking" can have a first step of writing down the name of one person you used to work with to reach out to for coffee.

On the other hand, when you are feeling sad or depressed, zooming out is the right tactic.

Your life is probably pretty good, but you feel "bleh" about work or some other persistent aspect of your life so it gives you a negative outlook overall.

To zoom out, you can think about how far you've come, how good you have it relative to others, and get excited about the potential for big changes in your future.

Knowing when to zoom in and zoom out is a powerful tool to prevent you from getting stuck in a negative state of mind.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.