#330 You only need one

I can choose to procrastinate on a project for weeks – then finish it all in one go, right before the deadline.

In absolute terms, I might have been very efficient with my time – but the time I saved, I spent frustrated with myself.

The long-term effect on my self-image: I’m a procrastinator.

What if I work a little bit on a project every single day – and have it finished well before the deadline?

I might spend more time in total – but every day, every moment spent makes me feel good about myself.

The long-term effect on my self-image: I cultivate an identity of discipline and consistency. I do what I believe to be good for me. I build character. Taking small daily actions towards a goal becomes part of my identity.

What’s more: I avoid the frustration and resentment that comes with procrastination (=not doing what I know I should be doing), and feel good about myself instead.

Long-term, the benefits of small daily actions always outweigh huge last-minute efforts.

Day 20 of my daily publishing experiment. What I’ve learned (or remembered) so far:

• Self-trust is built by taking action. On some days I woke up stressed out, thinking “I have no clue what I’ll post about today”. But then I start writing, and the post reveals itself on the page every single time. After experiencing that several times, the fear of posting (or not being able to write anything) is fading away. In other words: action defies excuses.
• Starting to journal (Morning Pages) over 600 days ago led to an explosion in creativity. Starting to publish a daily insight is giving me a similar boost.
• In the past, I leaned towards bigger, longer writing projects that required a lot of energy and thinking before I produced something “valuable”. I now see there’s power in consistently writing short posts about ideas and insights, no matter how insignificant and no matter how imperfect the writing. Because through the writing, I understand them better. I remember them better. And I’m confident that over time, from all these small insights, bigger ideas will emerge.

In short, a pattern I’ve observed many time in the past years is playing out again:

When I start defying my own excuses by taking action, no matter how small, my self-trust grows, my self-image shifts, and I become more of the person I want to be.

Which begs the question:

Where else am I frustrated, holding on to a static identity of the past that I could prove wrong by taking action?

I don’t always have to feel like writing to know I want to be a writer.

But to be a writer, I must write.

So I write.

There is no other way.