Hello! I suppose I’m already on the summer schedule of irregular issue expectations but keeping the dream alive of only sending once I have a solid lineup of highlights to share. To the new subscribers: thank you for signing up! : )
🔨 1. Sorry, there’s no replacement for actually doing the work – “It doesn’t get done without that! Make peace with this first.” Putting in the work is step one. Seems silly to say this out the gate but really, there’s no way around it!
👉 2. Do what motivates you – “Gold stars on your calendar every time you hit a word count goal? Do it. Accountability buddies? Ask a friend to check in with you at the end of the week to see how it went.” For me, it’s to-do lists & our team worklog channel in slack. If I say something will be done by the end of the week, the accountability to the team ensures I make sure it’s done.
⏳ 5. Be honest about how much time you have – “Be honest about how much rest you need. Rest is not laziness! Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. Don’t burn yourself out! Your personal value is not measured by your productivity.” Be realistic about your potential output & don’t forget to factor in other expected & unexpected aspects of your daily life. Like rides! ; )
⏲️ 4. Be honest about the time you need – work is about getting it done but it’s also about deleting, rerouting/pivoting editing, thinking, and re-thinking. In other words, its rarely a point A to B linear effort so don’t over-promise & underestimate the time you need…
➕ 5. Now add 10%, maybe 20% – Whatever you’ve estimated as your daily/weekly/whatever time required—add 10%. Maybe 20%. Give yourself a buffer. “Be kind to yourself. Actually hitting a realistic deadline is more satisfying than totally blowing a fast one.”
📅 6. Ask why you need to hit a certain date – dig into what’s driving a deadline and work back from that. Often dates are set arbitrarily, have wiggle room or, conversely, are predicated by bigger initiatives that need the first deadline ot be hit. Work back from that date with the tips above and stay on track!
Let me know if these were helpful and/or if you have other habits you use to make sure to ship what you need to on time!
as always, thank you for reading & sharing,
Jon
p.s. if you’re looking for some new music, check this live set from one of my favorite local bands (they played to Twotone 5 Year party!):
Fix Everything!
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🙏 Thank you all for the replies & good vibes each week!
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