How many times have we heard someone say, “I want to do thing x, but I just can’t find the time?” Or worse, we have said it ourselves. Then we wonder how successful people manage to be so successful? Did they invent themselves a time-machine or something?
The simple fact is, that if something is important, then we will find the time to do it.
Think back over the past week. How much time did you spend on Facebook or surfing the web? Watching TV? Playing games? Then contrast that to how much time you put into achieving your goal.
Don’t think for a second that these things aren’t important; downtime is absolutely critical to
Set out a plan with realistic milestones that lead you towards your goal. Then work out roughly how much effort each of those milestones will take to achieve. These are estimates only, and once you have started, you may have a better idea as to the actual effort
Once you have a roughed out plan, work out how much time you can devote each week to working on them. If that is an hour a week, then go with that. It really doesn’t matter, it’s up to you to work out how long you are willing to work at it.
For some people, it’s easier to set a specific time each day or week where you can focus on your goal. For others, it’s when the creative juices are flowing. It really doesn’t matter which, just so long as you do it.
Sometimes, life will get in the way, or you will have had a busy few days with work or with kids or other activities, and you just don’t have it in you to spend on your project. You may start to feel guilty if the duration away is extended for whatever reason.
If this happens, remember to be kind to yourself and not give up. When you get the space to pick things back up again, look at your plan again, adjust accordingly, and go again.
The real trick is to make progress, no matter how slowly. A tiny step forward is still a step forward. But if it’s important, you will find or make the time to take those steps.
Life is for living.