When you have multiple projects on the go, it’s easy to get bogged down.
If you’re like me, then you’ll have created goals at the start of the year. Broadly, mine was to have the busiest year of my life, writing-wise.
At some point during the year, you’ll find you lose sight of your goals. New stuff pops up, new challenges await, goals and deadlines get missed and everything starts to slip a little.
Some of you might have lost the train of thought months ago, some might be going strong.
Over the past couple of weeks, it’s been dawning on me that I’m probably losing sight of the goals I set, and my enthusiasm/concentration has been pretty low.
This article is a collection of thoughts about how I’m dealing with this ebb. If you’re feeling a bit low about goal achievement, this will help. I’m going to give some helpful tips, but even if you don’t read the whole thing, bear this in mind: We’re coming up to the halfway point of the year. You might not have achieved a whole year of results, but you can hit six months of goals before you have to write next year’s resolutions.
Let’s get to it.
Recognising The Rut
Nothing is going particularly terribly for me. I still have freelance clients. I still have projects. I still write for this site daily, and for this site, my metrics keep going up. May was a record month, June will probably be a record month if nothing changes. I’m still chugging along with my writing.
So, what’s the problem, and how do you recognise when you’re in a rut?
Obviously, if you’re homeless and strung out on heroin, you need to sort your life out. Most of us don’t have that problem though; we’re all strolling along minding our own business, and nothing is particularly wrong.
Recognising the signs that you’re in a rut depends on your personality type. For me:
- Constant searching for new projects – even when I’ve got more than I can handle.
- Procrastinating on the internet.
- Complete boredom with any and all work, no matter how exciting
And a new one for this year:
- Having trouble of a topic of the day for this site
These are all signs that I’m in a rut. The first one is the biggest, and I’m sure it’s something that a lot of people can relate to.
Within that point, I include this: Constant over-optimisation of current systems. Let’s talk about this in detail, because it’s a pretty insidious form of procrastination.
Over-Optimising A Plan
I naturally think in terms of systems. I like thinking about strategy and I like thinking about long-term planning. I like optimising my workflow and creating a lot within a short amount of time.
This is, for me at least, a massive trap.
Here’s a thing about writing: It’s not complex at all. It doesn’t require huge amounts of strategy or long-term planning.
You plan what you’re going to write in any given session, and then you write it. The fact doesn’t change whether you’re trying to write a huge amount quickly or a small amount over a longer period of time.
Whether you’re writing fiction or sales letters, most of the science has been worked out for you: You write to a plot or you write to a template incorporating the various emotional hooks that drive a sale.
I’m logically aware of this, and have written about it numerous times before. However, when I get into a rut, I want to go back to the drawing board and find a better way to do everything.
My Advice To Those Who Do This (Or, Me)
You might have noticed that I’m writing this article for myself. This section is no different. If you feel that this applies to you, then I suggest you follow it. However, it might only apply to me, and that is who I am writing it for. Here we go.
Starting tomorrow, get off the internet. Check what needs to be done business-wise, and then log on at specific times to deliver work, send emails etc. Other than that, come off the internet. It’s a time sink.
For plans, follow the rules that have been set in the strategy post (10% of time spend on strategy or less) and the simple business plan post (if you can’t fit it on a sheet of paper, then it’s too complex.)
You had a goal in mind at the beginning of the year – an actual, tangible goal. How many projects did you want to complete? How many words did you want to write per month? How much income? Work these out or remember them, and then consider them your major goal. Nothing else matters in your day-to-day life aside from hitting those goals.
Come off the computer entirely if you haven’t been working for five minutes or you’re not intending to work for five minutes or more. Save your eyes and head (and back and shoulders) for when you need to be at the computer.
Stop doing stupid dopamine/cortisol stuff and shorting your reward circuitry. (i.e. stop eating junk food, stop wasting time reading the news, etc.) You need to get your dopamine fix from actual achievement.
For those of you who are still reading, write a list like the above for yourself. It’ll help to put it on paper/on screen.
An Example: Hobby Niche Sites
You might have read on Saturday that I didn’t have such a great week as far as the niche site challenge went.
In fact, it’s become pretty stressful – another sign that I’m in a rut – because I’m overthinking it.
The niche site challenge is easy. It’s fun. It’s not all that serious. That was the whole point of it.
The past couple of weeks, I’ve been worrying about it – how will I write all the articles? How will I come up with enough niche site ideas to make all twenty eight? How will I manage them all?
It’s time to stop.
Not to stop with the challenge. Time to stop with the stupid worrying and stressing.
The niche site challenge is easy, and it’s designed to take up a small amount of time. Here’s a really simple blueprint:
- Find a niche with a couple of $100 products.
- Write sales letters for those products.
- Write some other helpful info and then point it to those products.
- Update if you think of something new to add.
That’s literally all it takes. You could do that in a free weekend. I could do that in a free weekend. There’s no magic ingredient or secret strategy, and there shouldn’t be until you have done the above.
Let’s talk about something else I’m getting stuck with: Fiction. The principle is still the same:
- See what’s popular (and has been for a while.)
- Read a couple of books in that market.
- Create a story to that market
- Write the thing – at one chapter an hour it’ll take you a week to finish it.
- Get someone to create a cover (or do it myself from one of my templates)
- Release
Again, there can be more to it than that, but until you’ve finished writing it, there’s no point in worrying about the other stuff.
Final Thoughts
For those of you who are still with me, apologies for this article. Like I said above, today’s writing is as much about clearing things up in my own head as it is about giving advice. Hopefully though, we’ve got some stuff that’ll help everyone.
If you’re in a rut:
- Recognise the signs. Are you hurtling towards your goals, moving slowly or at a standstill, or sliding backwards?
- Once you’ve recognised this – reaffirm. What were your goals, and what does it mean to get back on track?
- Give yourself a specific framework by which to do that: What do you need to do, and what do you need to avoid? If it’s binge-watching TV shows, then promise yourself you’ll avoid it.
- Break down your behaviours into simple steps and eliminate all the mental baggage that accrues and gets in your way.
- Do the work – reap the rewards.
That’s about all there is to it.
Of course, if you’ve got helpful tips, drop them in the comments!
Otherwise, we’re almost halfway through 2016. It could be the best year of our lives for goal achievement. Let’s do it!