Have you ever begun a project with enthusiasm only to find yourself give up after a few days, weeks or months? Too often is my answer. Why does this happen? Whether a personal or work goal it is frustrating.
Let me share a recent experience and how I plan to reboot a goal that I started at the beginning of this year.
For example, take this blog. I had high expectations and was full of excitement about blogging. My goal had been one blog post per week. As you can see from the blog history I was successful for one month. On the upside, January did have five weeks.
What went wrong?
Having spent the last couple of months during Corona virus disruptions considering this, I have come up with a couple of conclusions. First, time. January was a month of gearing up for this year, which has had its own twists and turns. However, I had time to write every week. Then along came February and my schedule filled up with teaching and a conference, then more teaching and you get the idea. I did not manage my time well.
Second, I lost my vision of why I was writing a blog in the first place. It was originally for our supporters and others to encourage them with what we are doing here in Kenya. I lost sight of that and so it did not stay a priority.
Third, it became easier each week to not think about it. Every week I did not write it became easier and more acceptable to me not to write a post. The chain had been broken and motivation lost.
I did not schedule time to write a blog post and therefore it did not happen. Then as it became easier with each passing week to not feel guilty, as I did at first, it was simply not going to happen.
My main takeaway however is the second point. I had lost the “why am I writing” and as a result I was off track. Having evaluated this in myself, I have regained my reason for writing a blog and plan to restart my weekly writing. This time, I will keep the vision in front of me, start a chain of weekly posts that I will not want to see undone, and make time each week for writing a blog post.
What are some ways you can reboot a project or goal you have?