JotaTe
01-29-2010, 05:08 AM
Hey everyone. I finished the book earlier this week and have been lurking around some of the old posts for a couple days. Hopefully I'm not asking too much with this post, I appreciate any help you can offer.
Let me start with some back story. Understanding that folks here quite likely might be on an information diet and not interested in the story, I'll put a TLDR (too long, didn't read) further down so you can skip to the point if you want to.
Reading 4HWW, I was overwhelmed with ideas throughout each section. I started writing them down immediately. Upon finishing the book, I went back to the first step: dreamlining. The first step of the first step: what are my goals? What do I really want to do? What would I do if I had nothing holding me back?
I've thought on it. I have come up with nothing.
I have a few hobbies but no passions. I snowboard, but not often. I play drums, but hardly ever practice. I read, but quickly get distracted and currently have about 8 books that I've started but not finished in the last three months (4HWW being the only exception). Expounding on that book trend, I start so many hobbies that I give up in less than a week: a ton of diets and exercise routines, writing mediocre short stories (something I've been doing off and on since middle school), learning the trumpet, learning the piano, rollerblading, several websites, cooking, a blog, a Youtube channel, juggling (both soccer and the regular kind), biking, geocaching, hiking, and so many many more. Hell, I played Dragon Age almost non-stop in November and stopped about 5 minutes before the final boss... and I haven't felt the motivation to finish it.
I go into everything with excitement. The slightest bit of difficulty or simply the passage of time can be enough to remove my excitement and retire the hobby all together. After procrastinating day after day, I finally just add one to the list and walk away pissed at myself for not following through again.
It occurred to me that this trend extends into my work habits. The longer a project draws on (even as much as a week), the more frustrated I become with it. I become more and more desperate to ignore the voice screaming in my head "This is the priority, do it first."
So I asked myself, when do I ever set my mind to something and walk away with a feeling of accomplishment?
I feel good after I clean up my house; I clean every room in a 3-5 hour go. I feel good when I get a work request in the morning, hammer away at it all day, and get a pat on the back and a "Wow, I didn't expect you to get this for me today!" I feel good when I decide to get a bunch of small things done that I've been putting off; I pick one day and pay all my bills, do all my laundry, get my oil changed, and get a haircut.
So the idea struck me. I need to do things that can be started and finished in a day.
TLDR - Information snack time:
Seeing the trend that I feel accomplished when I can start and finish something in the same day, I've decided that I need to test the theory. I need to come up with one project that I can begin and complete in an evening or a Saturday. I need to feel that demonstrated sense of accomplishment and know that the satisfaction is something that I can control and use.
My ultimate goal in doing this is that it will give me the fuel I need to gradually expand my attention span to multi- day, week, and month long dreamlines.
So the first step of the first step of the first step: I need a goal that can be started and finished in a single day. I need to be able to do all the research, buy or rent all the equipment/supplies that I'll need, perform the work, and complete the project in one day.
I need your ideas. What should I do? Where should I go? What should I build?
I have just two stipulations.
1) I'm not a rich guy...yet. Keeping it under $100 is necessary.
2) I want to have something physical at the end that I can hold and think "I did this."
Let me start with some back story. Understanding that folks here quite likely might be on an information diet and not interested in the story, I'll put a TLDR (too long, didn't read) further down so you can skip to the point if you want to.
Reading 4HWW, I was overwhelmed with ideas throughout each section. I started writing them down immediately. Upon finishing the book, I went back to the first step: dreamlining. The first step of the first step: what are my goals? What do I really want to do? What would I do if I had nothing holding me back?
I've thought on it. I have come up with nothing.
I have a few hobbies but no passions. I snowboard, but not often. I play drums, but hardly ever practice. I read, but quickly get distracted and currently have about 8 books that I've started but not finished in the last three months (4HWW being the only exception). Expounding on that book trend, I start so many hobbies that I give up in less than a week: a ton of diets and exercise routines, writing mediocre short stories (something I've been doing off and on since middle school), learning the trumpet, learning the piano, rollerblading, several websites, cooking, a blog, a Youtube channel, juggling (both soccer and the regular kind), biking, geocaching, hiking, and so many many more. Hell, I played Dragon Age almost non-stop in November and stopped about 5 minutes before the final boss... and I haven't felt the motivation to finish it.
I go into everything with excitement. The slightest bit of difficulty or simply the passage of time can be enough to remove my excitement and retire the hobby all together. After procrastinating day after day, I finally just add one to the list and walk away pissed at myself for not following through again.
It occurred to me that this trend extends into my work habits. The longer a project draws on (even as much as a week), the more frustrated I become with it. I become more and more desperate to ignore the voice screaming in my head "This is the priority, do it first."
So I asked myself, when do I ever set my mind to something and walk away with a feeling of accomplishment?
I feel good after I clean up my house; I clean every room in a 3-5 hour go. I feel good when I get a work request in the morning, hammer away at it all day, and get a pat on the back and a "Wow, I didn't expect you to get this for me today!" I feel good when I decide to get a bunch of small things done that I've been putting off; I pick one day and pay all my bills, do all my laundry, get my oil changed, and get a haircut.
So the idea struck me. I need to do things that can be started and finished in a day.
TLDR - Information snack time:
Seeing the trend that I feel accomplished when I can start and finish something in the same day, I've decided that I need to test the theory. I need to come up with one project that I can begin and complete in an evening or a Saturday. I need to feel that demonstrated sense of accomplishment and know that the satisfaction is something that I can control and use.
My ultimate goal in doing this is that it will give me the fuel I need to gradually expand my attention span to multi- day, week, and month long dreamlines.
So the first step of the first step of the first step: I need a goal that can be started and finished in a single day. I need to be able to do all the research, buy or rent all the equipment/supplies that I'll need, perform the work, and complete the project in one day.
I need your ideas. What should I do? Where should I go? What should I build?
I have just two stipulations.
1) I'm not a rich guy...yet. Keeping it under $100 is necessary.
2) I want to have something physical at the end that I can hold and think "I did this."