Today’s upload shares two little productivity tips to help you accomplish more in life. The first is having realistic expectations by researching new tasks, jobs, and hobbies before diving in. I stand by my “7 day rule” which says, wait 7 days before committing to anything. You can plan, dream, draw out, research, discuss, etc. all you want, but don’t spend any money or make any permanent commitments for 7 days. Because I’ve found that after 7 days you have a pretty good idea of whether or not this new project or hobby is a good idea. The reason this is important is because after 7 days you’ve returned from the elated, excited, non-regular mindset, to the mindset that you have 90%+ days of the year. Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment we neglect to realize that how we feel now, doesn’t reflect how we normally feel. And when it wears off is when we say, “oops, what did I get myself into?” Of course I should also mention that this can be good sometimes because we need to get out of our comfort zones to really experience life. But generally it’s best to be in control of these things and make rational, responsible decisions.
I also bring up the discouragement we feel when we’ve failed to achieve something. For example, for a few weeks you decide to begin learning a new language and you’re excited and diligent about keeping up with your studies. Then life interferes by dumping extra work on you or distracting you in some way. Suddenly it’s three weeks later and you haven’t studied at all. A feeling of disappointment sets in and you sigh, shrugging off the feeling and telling yourself, “damn if only I would have found time to keep studying. Oh well, I guess it’s not a big deal.” And your language studies cease. But here’s the kicker. It didn’t cease those three weeks ago, it ceased in that moment, because that sort of situation is nothing more than a reminder. Instead of shrugging it off, restart your studies. It doesn’t matter if you have to relearn things or start over. That’s like sending you message saying, “hey remember that language you were trying to learn? Go learn it now, you have some time.” Don’t get discouraged and quit, just do it again. Because ultimately it’s not even about whether or not you learned the language, it’s about maintaining a level of productivity that keeps your mind active and excited about life. So when these moments pop up, when you’re reminded of something you used to do, just start doing it again.
The last point I make in this video is that if you’re a content producer like myself (making videos, blog posts, etc.), don’t worry about quality at first. I know it seems incredibly important to only put out your best work, but the problem is that you’re going to struggle remaining consistent. Instead focus on producing regularly, regardless of quality. Get into a groove by releasing 1 video per whatever. No matter what. Consider all your content right now practice for future content that’s going to blow people away. Because I promise you that however you envision your content now, it’s going to suck and be rejected for years, until it finally reaches this magical place that people respect. And this applies to basically everything. Our perception of success grossly underestimates what it actually takes to be good. Take that into account when pursuing a project.