Today, I will look at how to keep the inspiration alive and how to best keep going towards your goal.
When finding inspiration happens very much spontaneously, keeping it alive and striving towards your goal takes some dedication.
For me, organisation is key. Everybody is different but I find that if something is on a to do list. It will get done. The way you work with your to do list is a very personal matter: there are countless apps that you can use or you can use the calendar on your phone to trigger alerts and reminders. You can also go low tech and use a diary in which you write the things you have to do. I like this idea as I get a lot of satisfaction of crossing out what I have already accomplished day by day!
Once you have chosen where you will host your to do list, you need to look at your goal and split it into small bitesize pieces. Personally, writing this weekly blog is one of my objectives, so my goal is split in: coming up with an idea, writing the actual blog, finding or taking suitable pictures and publishing it. If you have a much larger goal, I would suggest you work backwards from your goal and decide on what are the steps necessary to get you there.
Either way, the large goal that is inspiring you needs to be cut into much smaller, achievable little goals. When you do that, bear in mind the amount of time you will be able to allocate to achieve each of these goals. If you are a very busy person, split your main goal into small, not too time-consuming bits, because as much as it is a lot of fun and feels good to cross out what you have done from your list, it can become quickly disheartening not to be able to do so.
What works for me is to sit down at the weekend and plan my week in my diary, making sure I don’t overload my days. For this, take a good look at your daily activities and see when you can realistically fit working towards your goal in your current day to day schedule. I find that early mornings work best for me, and mid-afternoon for the quick admin tasks. Up to you to find what is convenient for you. Please be realistic and kind with yourself, especially at the beginning, don’t plan too much in a week and see how it works. If you find at the end of the week, that you could have achieved more, then change your plans accordingly for the following week.
By doing a little bit every day towards your goal, you will maintain the flame of your inspiration alive. Every time you cross something off your list, you will have moved closer to your goal, while still living your normal day to day live.
Next week, we will look at how to maintain your momentum from week to week and, hopefully, month to month.