#263 Stop, even if you could do more

ByLukas
|

Ernest Hemingway allegedly stopped his writing sessions in the middle of a sentence so he knew how to start his next session. He stopped writing, even if he could do more.

Julia Cameron teaches to write precisely three pages of stream-of-consciousness journaling a day. Stop journaling, even if you could do more.

I’ve gotten better results studying foreign languages 20 minutes a day for several months than rushing into a new language and studying it for 3 hours a day, then crashing and burning. I stop myself from learning, even if I could do more.

Because burnout and overindulgence stifle progress, and in the long run, moderation leads to more.

Similar Posts

  • | |

    #81 Am I willing?

    ByLukas

    I can say I want to publish a new book.

    Double my income.

    Get in shape.

    Learn another language.

    But hidden beneath the surface of lofty goals are daily actions.

    Publishing a book… What does that really mean?

    Who is that person who has published the book? (Not just written… actually published?)

    What do they say to themselves?

    What do they think?

    What do they feel?

    What do they do every day? And what can I start doing every day to become more of that person who has written that book?

    Most importantly, am I willing to take those actions every day to reach whatever goal I’m after?

    Am I willing to change?

    If not, is that goal even important to me?

    Who do I choose to be?

  • |

    #313 Keep it Achievable, Pleasurable, Sustainable

    ByLukas

    I’ve been publishing daily posts for 300+ days now.

    The secret?

    Writing less.

    • I don’t want to spend hours writing daily posts, so I keep them short.

    • I don’t want to drag myself to a 4-day writing session to create all posts for the coming week in advance (then not write for the rest of the week)

    • I don’t want to set writing goals that are painful to reach and make me feel burnt out.

    • I do want to write a little bit every day, so I prove to myself every single day that I’m a writer.

    • I do want to feel that writing that daily post is achievable and fun.

    • I do want to build momentum.

    Keep it achievable. Keep it pleasurable. Keep it sustainable.

    In other words: Tiny Trust Builders.

  • |

    #130 The perfect excuse

    ByLukas

    Perfectionism is the perfect excuse for not showing up.

    If you don’t publish because you’re waiting for the perfect blog post, you’ll hide behind your desk forever – because there’ll always be something you can improve.

    If you don’t go for a walk because you’re waiting for the perfect weather, you’ll be stuck forever inside – because there’ll always be a day with more sunshine or a nicer breeze.

    If you wait to live the life you desire until you have the perfect age, amount of money, degree, or partner, you’ll wait until it’s too late to enjoy your life in the first place.

    If you know things will never be perfect anyway, and you’re not allowed to wait until they’re perfect, or even until they’re “good enough”…

    What could you start doing today? What have you been putting off?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *