Man, am I nervous. I told myself I needed to post everyday. That's all well and good as a concept but to put into practice is something else. First and foremost, what in the world will I talk about. It's not like I can simply dictate my everyday musings, or even what I've done in my day. No one cares about unfinished tasks or my grocery list.
I can honestly say I've never taken on such an endeavour before. I've challenged myself in many ways in the past, especially when it came to learning new things. I would identify what I knew or did well and focus on the aspects I needed to improve. My way to achieve balance. But, in the realm of creating content, it's been a seesaw kind of situation. To bring into this a proper example for me, when it comes to posting images on instagram I'm hot and cold. It's not that I don't have pictures to post, or that I dislike Instagram, but that there doesn't seem to be an end goal to it. And so, it clearly doesn't keep my motivation going. (I can see why game developers add daily challenges or new objectives in their games... Gotta keep the people coming back for more and do so consistently.)
My will is there. I have a clear goal in mind. What will keep me focused on this task is the fact that there is more to it than simply posting on this platform. I'm hoping to create, engage (with you, the reader) and eventually turn this into a sustainable activity.
How do you stay focused on your goals? Are you more of a "New Year, New You" type, where once a year you prep for the long term? Or do you revisit what you've planned often, making sure that you stay the course? I find myself to be in a different category, one of singular goals. Even if my list of goals will get filled with many different things, I will only work on one at a time. If I have too much on my plate, l will lose focus on what the end goal is or my energy goes into several different directions thus exhausting it before completing a task. A huge advantage for me in doing things this way is that I get a sense of accomplishment early on in the process which motivates me to keep going so that I'll be able to check something else off the list.
A side note: I read blogs and books by authors who specialize in "Getting things done" and one recurring theme among many of them, that goes beyond staying focused and organized, is "Not talking about your goals". They claim that you are less likely to do something if you have talked about it with someone than if you don't. I can honestly say that I'm not fully behind this way of thinking because there are times in the past where I just couldn't keep my big mouth shut and had to complete my goals lest I be thought a fool. (If you have thoughts on this, drop them in the comments! I'd love to hear what you think!)
See you tomorrow... Promise I'll keep them coming!
Chris