Tuesday, July 28, 2015

8 X 10:00 - A Daily Practice To Reach Your Goals



45 years.  That's how long I had been on the planet when I decided I wanted to be an artist.  Better late than never - as the saying goes.  As a late bloomer, I have had a bit of a feeling that I needed to "hurry" to catch up to the talented souls who had  figured it out early in life.  How do you accomplish big dreams when you feel like you missed the starting gun?  Eight small steps at a time.

How do you reach the top of a mountain?  (That's code-speak for your goals)  You take one step at a time.  In my case though, I thought maybe I should take eight steps at a time - or eight small actions everyday to move me toward my goals.  I came up with a strategy.  I would complete eight actions every weekday by 10:00 a.m. to bring me closer to the top of the mountain.  That's 10:00 A.M. in the morning.  That lasted about two weeks.  A slight adjustment to the plan - a 12 hour adjustment, to be exact - worked much better for me.  The new strategy would be to complete eight actions every weekday by 10:00 P.M. in the evening.  MUCH better!

So began my 8 X 10:00 practice.  I kept a journal of entries to keep me accountable and it is working out pretty well.  I know every morning when I wake up that at least eight task need to be accomplished that have to do with art.  They don't have to be monumental task. They can be as easy as writing a thank you note to a buyer, or writing a blog post, or sending out images to a greeting card company. Let's do the math.  Eight actions X  five days a week = 40 small steps. That's 2,080 steps in a year.  Do you think that could change your life?

Now, when I feel myself wanting to watch another episode of Law and Order or I want to peruse Facebook for half an hour, I can look at my daily list and see how many things still need to be accomplished.  Sorry Olivia Benson, your crime solving will have to wait.  I'm busy climbing a mountain.

I think this 8 X 10:00 strategy could work for a lot of goals that don't have anything to do with art.  Maybe you could apply it to becoming more fit or to building a better marriage.  It might come in handy for your kids to use to get through a tough project.  Or you could use it to be a happier you.  There is greatness inside you!!  Even if you start late, you can find it. 



2 comments:

  1. What a wonderful plan. I find myself wasting time on Facebook everyday. I am going to have to be diligent and put to action your plan.

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    1. I feel for you Susan. If I am not careful (with Facebook, especially) an hour can easily slip away. Here is another great way to look at time management. Think of each minute spent on social media as $1.00 and then "budget" your time around that. I like to spend about $15 a day (15 minutes) between Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram combined. That's all I can afford :)

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