Hi there...it's been a while. How you doing? I could provide a song and dance about how busy I've been, but the truth of the matter is, I had good advice for myself, but didn't have an actionable plan to keep my blogging consistent. However, I did have tremendous success at making excuses about why I would "do it tomorrow".
Looking back, I was making it out to be a much "bigger thing" than it needs to be. I started looking at other blogs out there and telling myself, "You should have more pictures...you should be funny...you should inspire the world...you should have witty, remarkable, insightful things to say all the time!" Yeah, no pressure...
So, I'm going back to square one of behavior change theory and applying it to myself. When trying to create a new habit, think of it like a rocket launch. There is an initial phase where A LOT of energy (approximately a gazillion pounds of thrust in my pseudo-scientific opinion) is needed to get out of orbit. This needs to be constant energy. However, once the rocket has gained sufficient momentum and left the atmosphere, it is able to orbit with very little energy expenditure. Mostly to adjust course from time to time. (I'm going to totally ignore the re-entry part of things...)
With my blog-rocket (that sounds slimy and gross for some reason...like a snot-rocket) I haven't yet made it out of the atmosphere. I need to maintain consistent pressure. So...I will attempt to write for 15 minutes each day. No more, no less. I can find 15 minutes. I won't necessarily post every day. I may come back the next day and finish or proofread an entry before posting it, but I will make the commitment to create the habit. During the launch phase it's much more important to focus on consistency and frequency than lengthy duration. In behavior change theory, this phase will usually last about 3 months to truly integrate a new habit.
After 3 months, (once you are in orbit) you can alter the pattern more easily. Maybe I'll write twice a week for an hour each...whatever...the point is, during that phase I can more easily mess around with the pattern without as much risk of losing all momentum.
So yeah, for now, me and my blog-rocket are leaving the launch pad...15 minutes at a time.
(p.s. the Tough Mudder training is going really well...more on that another time...)
Let me tell you it does not get easier. After 103 columns, I find it sometimes takes a lot of effort just to come up with the topic let alone a new perspective on it. I haven't missed a day but taking your rocket analogy to new heights (hee hee) having made it to orbit I now have to worry each day about orbital decay ... falling back to earth. It takes just as much energy to stay in orbit as it did to get here in the first place.
ReplyDeleteMy blogging efforts have fallen into a ditch, but I'd made the decision to work on something more substantial, so I don't mind. Now, getting that substantial thing done is another story....
ReplyDeleteThe trick is not merely mentally committing to writing x minutes per y days, but making that commitment with the full understanding and acceptance that you're going to be be writing those x minutes even if you don't feel like it. Now, of course those aren't the most productive sessions (sometimes I'll spend an hour and only have three or four sentences to show for it), but they're important anyway because they keep up your momentum.
Though of course if I was really such a wonderful & diligent writer my thing would be done by now.
ReplyDeleteThose are all really good cautions/thoughts/comments and you've given me something to contemplate for my next post...
ReplyDeleteJoe P. - How long has it taken you to reach 103 columns? Are you pretty much holding steady at one a day? That's an impressive number in my book!
Joe G. - I agree with the "even if you don't feel like it". That's why I'm working on with 15 minutes a day...I feel like I can make room for 15 minutes and convince myself to do it "even if I don't feel like it". I'm also forcing myself to stop at 15 minutes too. Sometimes that can be tough, but it keeps me wanting to come back for more...in theory. ;-)
Hi Aymii, I'm right there with ya. I was curious if you've ever read the blog called Zen Habits? The author has achieved great things by focusing on a single habit at a time. He believes that we're setting ourselves up for failure if we attempt to change more than that.
ReplyDeleteHere is an article that explains it: http://zenhabits.net/1/
Just more food for thought. :)