The Notebook

If you've read this blog for longer than 5 minutes, you'll know that I'm fairly obsessed with using very simple solutions to achieve, eventually, big results. Some of this is because I dislike all the happy horsesh*t and snake-oil we're sold in this society, and some of it is because I started this business while carrying six-figures of law school debt, so I had no choice. One of these days, I might actually find myself being grateful to Sallie Mae for this experience of forced austerity and the lessons it taught me about the human spirit, and how law school was the wind beneath my wings...one of these days indeed, but not today.

Today, I just want to share another strategy for getting out of your own way...hence, the notebook. When trying to create something important, say a new business, or a professional networking strategy which will help you achieve a job/career you love, or write a book, or WHATEVER, one of the most important things you must realize is that if you're not creating the opportunities you need, you're wasting time.

So, in a small business for example, if I'm not generating the business I need...I'm wasting my own time. I might  be doing something that sounds nice on Facebook, but if it won't, directly or indirectly, lead to generating client interest...it's a waste of time. This is something I have to remind myself and clients all the time. That two hours researching ideas for my new website? The website will lead to bigger branding, sponsoring and client-development...those were two hours well spent. They may not immediately bring in cash, but eventually they will. That 45 minutes spent on a conference-call with people who have no idea what they're doing? Might as well watched some "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," since those prospective clients are never going to get their sh*t together. Does that sound cold-blooded? Alas.

Thus, the notebook. I have, off and on, had various notebooks in which I listed, every day, the 5 constructive steps I took every day to achieve whatever goal I was focused on. (Some of you are realizing, with a shudder, that I'm far, FAR, more compulsive than you thought. Thank you! I do try.) At a certain point, the routine action of doing the steps usually takes over and I can put the notebook aside till I'm starting on something else more challenging. I mean, I have to hope that when I'm 85, fer Chrissake, I won't be in a motorized cart, with a notebook in my bra, and a cat named "Mr. Monkey" in the basket, going through the drive-thru at Taco Bell. Though honestly...hold that thought, since that truly might be paradise on earth...hmm.

I'm just sayin'. If you're trying to change something important in your own life, this is a simple yet effective way to get started. Buy a cheap notebook, and commit to every day doing and writing down the 5 positive steps you took that day to get one day closer to your goals. For many of us, knowing we have to write something down will force us to stop procrasturbating and get something real done. The act of accomplishing something significant releases those wonderful chemicals in the brain and you think, "Well...that was awesome. I could do something else." Rinse and repeat. (And yes, on the first day, you can write down buying the notebook as one action if you really want to be that cheesy.)

Want some more help on committing to your goals and getting out of your way? Of course you do! Email me at carlotazee@gmail.com, and like my Facebook page, "Carlotaworldwide Creativity Yenta," for a free consultation.

xo
C.

31Ways2GetItStarted™!: January 7, 2013

Day 7: Do One Thing Today to Make Tomorrow Easier

AKA start cultivating healthy habits. I write this as a someone who has really made an art form of procrasturbation. Interestingly enough, a habit I started in law school. (#surprisesurprise) Ahh law school: wherein, if you have a paper due at 9am Monday morning...why would you get started before midnight or even 1am? Where's your love of adventure? First of all, you have to catch up on DListed.com; what your friends are posting on Facebook; the apartment needs to be vacuumed... oh there's a ton of sh*t to do whenever a legal writing assignment is due! Eventually, it's 8:52am and you're calculating how long you need to print and drive furiously to the law school, depositing the paper on your prof's desk at 09:01. Smirking. Ahh, good times. #notreally

Of course, in college, when I studied subjects I was actually you know, interested in, I was the kind of nerd who would turn in papers weeks earlier than requested. (I suspect that if I had done that in law school, the professor would have thrown it back at me with a disdainful grunt for actually making him work, when he really wanted to be giving interviews on public radio...or blogging. Not that I'm at all implying that law professors are hideously overpaid for the small amount of work they do. No, not at all.)

Now, as my own boss, I get to do a lot of stuff I love (coaching), and many things I dislike (too many to list), but invariably, when I ignore my own to-do lists, they, also invariably, keep growing till eventually it's 3am and I realize that I'm under the proverbial gun. On the other hand, when I force myself to suck it up and do today the irritating things I wrote in today's to-do list...usually they're not as horrible as I anticipated, and afterwards I feel less guilty and the next day is a lot easier. "Usually."

Thus, on Day #7, my hint to you is to continue working on cultivating health habits and do one thing today which will make tomorrow easier. Whether it's going to the gym, or returning an irritating phone-call, or working on your resume: do it, get it over with and make your life easier. Because the more you do today, the more you'll feel able to do tomorrow. Conversely, the harder you make tomorrow, the harder you'll feel it to be and then forget it. That thinking leads nowhere fast. Eventually you'll be holed up in an underground bunker waiting for the end of the world...but hey, you still won't be a law professor, trying to pretend that learning civil procedure is valuable, so things aren't all bad!

Want some help figuring out which one thing to do today? (I've actively deleted any and all knowledge of civ pro from my brain, so please, don't even bother.) Email me @carlotazee@gmail.com! And feel free to leave any rants, comments, praise in the comments section!