I’ve got to admit something: I am a half-assed flake when it comes to my biggest dreams. But not intentionally.
See, I have this terrible habit of setting goals without ever formulating a proper, detailed plan to reach them. I assume that once I’ve made a goal, even written it down on pretty paper (like you do), that it will somehow magically happen by sheer will. This has often led to major procrastination and last-minute rushing at best, and the intended goal completely deflating and never being realized at worst.
So clearly, I’m no expert on the subject of Getting Shit Done. And I’m not about to tell you How to Get Shit Done when I’ve got plenty of my own shit that needs Getting Done. (Next week’s blog post: “Knowing when you’ve abused the use of capitalization and/or are a bloggy asshat.”) But I am slowly understanding where the holes in my plans (or non-plans, as it were) lie, and it’s worth sharing this recent insight.
The biggest issue for me is a lack of a timeline with smaller, more specific goals to help make the ultimate goal a feasible reality. It’s one thing to create a nice little list of the things you know you need to do. It’s another thing entirely to put those events on a calendar and stick to them. It seems so simple, this idea of taking it step by step. Yet many of us–myself clearly included–are too eager to get to the real deal. We’re so blinded by the shininess of the prospect of glory that we forget that it takes more than a singular thought to suddenly get into grad school, or write a solid first draft, or run the marathon… without collapsing in a sweaty pile of despair.
If the first issue is solved by creating these more manageable goals, it in turn helps fix the second issue, which is not working toward the goal every single day. Imagine the benefits of working just a little bit– whether it’s a mile or page a day– rather than in one big chunk the night before the due date. Of not having to stop and think, “Now what comes next?” Because you already know. Because you haven’t had time to forget where you left off. And, you have your nifty little timeline of events.
These are not exactly ground-breaking revelations here. Many people before me have figured this process out, and with great success to back up its effectiveness. So why can’t I make life a little easier? Why can’t I break it up into cute, bite-sized chunks rather than just winging it and hoping for the best possible outcome?
Admitting your faults is the first step to success. Implementing ways to fix those faults is the necessary step to keep on that track. I’m going to give it a serious go in the coming weeks. If it means going to bed with a sticky note taped to my face, so be it.
What are your plan-making/time management issues? Or, better yet, what are your best practices for avoiding general wastefulness?
I think you’re well on your way to accomplishing your goals, just by putting this out there!
My favorite way to stay on track is by using the Gmail Tasks list–and constantly updating/prioritizing it with everything I need/want to accomplish, no matter how big or small. I’m on Gmail all day, so that list is always staring me down and I can’t help but be accountable to it!
I love Gmail for that reason. I finally started filling out my Gmail calendar with little email reminders. (Like: “deadline in 3 weeks,” “deadline in 2 weeks,” “deadline next week,” and “IT’S TOO LATE!”)
I’m reading this is an effort to avoid writing the huge paper that’s due tomorrow, and I’m like ahhh I could have written a couple of pages a day this week instead of giving myself a procrastination induced heartattack tonight! I think writing down the little tasks makes all the difference; there’s something about checking even the tiniest achievement off of a list that makes you feel like a productive human that gets shit done…..maybe I’ll be that list making human tomorrow
Hope you got your paper written… and that you slept, too!
Hang in there – you’re on the right track! Don’t schedule your life so that you look back at what you didn’t get done today, but celebrate (by blogging) what you did accomplish and how you’re still working towards that brass ring!! You’ve got lots of supporters behind you.
xoxoxoxo
I don’t really have a plan. I was supposed to work on the outline for my book to help me through NaNoWriMo over my vacation, and never got it done, and I’ve been working on a short story the last few days and just haven’t messed with it in a while bit makes me nervous about doing NaNo now, because I’m afraid without an outline I’ll get stuck and discouraged easily.
The good news, though, is that I at least wrote a short story, so I’m getting myself back into the swing of things. I hope you find your balance. I’m still getting there and that’s tough enough, but actually getting started in pushing yourself onto those first steps is the hardest.
I always wish, therefor I plan to do more in the run of a day than come home from work, make something to eat, clean or relax. But, it never happens. We live in a beautiful area, and I should be out walking my Dog, getting exercise, taking photos of our beautiful surroundings… but I’m such a lazy ass… I let time fly by without doing something outside of my boring routine. Grr!
I know, I totally take my beautiful surroundings for granted, too. I was better about it this year, but I still should’ve gotten out more. Would it be weird to schedule leisurely walks days in advance?
I totally nerd out on this stuff – I download the app “Wonderful Day” (I know… I know) which is a great, simple way to track the days you do and don’t do things. Having that visual helps.
You know what, Cassie? I think I’m STUCK on the ‘admitting your faults’ first step. I examine my blocks, my fears, my reasons for procrastination…and I know them. Boy, do I ever know them, inside out, upside down, and backwards. I struggle to get past them. I suck at it. I can’t move beyond ‘thinking’ to ‘doing’. And then I beat myself up over it.
The awful thing is that I’m quite productive at work, at errands and day-to-day logistics. It’s the DREAM that I keep putting off. Doing creative work.
It’s heartwarming to know that I’m not the only one who struggles. Thank you for your well-written post…it made me smile.
Ugh, I hate that! It’s so easy to be stuck on that first step. I think it’s important to be careful about that, because that’s where self-loathing comes in. (No bueno.) I’m glad I’m not alone, either. Now let’s make progress!
i over-plan. and as a result, i often waste a lot of time doing nothing. the most helpful thing for me is to just START. do one thing today that will get the ball rolling on an idea. it’s amazing how even the smallest effort can produce a lot of action. i wish i realized this sooner!
This past week, I wrote down all of the little tasks I could think of that I need to get done, and I spaced them out over the different days of the week. Content, I went to bed that first night, woke up the next morning, and promptly did none of the tasks on the list for that day. However, I eventually got about 5/15 of the tasks done over the span of the week, and I am going to go ahead and label that as a huge success, because it’s one step closer to being as efficient and productive as I want to be. From no tasks to five tasks! Now that’s something to write home about. Or call my mom about. Which is actually one of the things I did NOT get done…
Heck yeah, those are things to celebrate! But I do that too, where I write down what needs to be done and then go right on NOT doing it. Very useful.
Lists! I love lists so, so much. Whenever I have a goal, I get really scattered and confused and the whole thing seems impossible. And then, I make a list! With a calendar. I write down a weekly schedule with how much I can comfortably get done each week until I’ve totaled up to the end goal date. It works really well for me. I can go on about lists forever, haha.