Life vs. Your Big Plans
As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been updating the blog very much recently. Between a part-time job, working like crazy on freelance projects, moving to a new apartment, and preparing for a wedding at the beginning of August, something had to give. In this case, it was actually two somethings: the blog, and my “top secret” product.
Now that things are beginning to settle down a bit from my move, I’m planning to bring a regular schedule back to the blog. But this whole experience got me thinking about the times when life gets in the way of our Big Plans.
When that happens, it’s really tempting to respond by trying to force things or give up completely. Unfortunately, those extremes don’t usually help. But here are three ideas that do.
1. Don’t try to force things
Though trying to force things by working ridiculous hours may produce results temporarily, long-term it isn’t a viable solution, and is likely to leave you disillusioned and discouraged. Remember, there is a reason you’re having difficulty with your Big Plans right now. Trying to solve it by just “buckling down” won’t solve things if you aren’t addressing the underlying problem.
2. Take baby steps
While trying to force things isn’t such a great idea, neither is just giving up. Do you really want to walk around with a question mark hanging over your head constantly asking “What might have been?” A better idea is to break down your Big Plan into the smallest possible component tasks and work on one task a day until you’ve accomplished your goal. This way you have the satisfaction of know that even if you aren’t moving as fast as you’d like, you’re still making progress.
3. Live your life
The most important thing to remember, though, is to live your life. Sometimes we can get so caught up in our Big Plans that we start living in the future and ignoring the present. But the present is a precious thing, and fleeting. If we’re always living for the future, what happens when that future becomes present?
Take time to play with your kids, go out with your spouse, or hang out with your friends. After all, it is these things that make all our Big Plans worthwhile.
Photo by jazzmasterson (license)
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Hey Joshua! Take your time with the project, better to make it good than rush too much
I have been facing a similar situation with my own blog/business/life/everything, and my conclusion is the same as yours. The rest of the world will wait for me (or at least new opportunities will open up to replace the missed ones), but my family needs me right now.
So, if there is a conflict between my other interests and my family, family comes first. But of course that doesn’t mean that I would give up on my projects for good. Just like you, I’m moving forward - at baby steps.
[...] Life vs. Your Big Plans from Joshu Clanton - Design for the WEB has 3 great tips for the times when life interferes with your intentions. [...]