How to deal with being stuck
I’m a writer. Also, somebody that has not finished their master thesis, University’s second degree. I’m a book lover. Also, somebody that instead of reading, takes weird pleasure in spending time somewhere else. Somebody that has great ambitions & sometimes lacks power to chase the dream. But, I can’t be stuck forever — or can I?
Ech… I will not start with tormenting myself on the things I’ve supposed to do. There’s a lot on my list, trust me, starting from interesting edX Team classes that I’ve supposed to take, up to mailing my oldtime friend on congrats & some info on how she was able to learn Java in just half a year. If only I could do that. “Leave the things that are holding you back!” say slogans, that should help me out, but what if I am the one that’s holding me back? Let’s try to make some sense out of it — let me walk you through the steps that I take, in order to unblock myself from a power-impass.
I have accomplished something.
Let’s take a few steps back, and think of situations, that back in the day seemed impossible, but worked out somehow. And now, can fit in my success resume. I have at least three things, that I’m proud of, and I keep remembering how difficult it was for me to accomplish them. Let’s take United Nations internship for example. I was able to pass through the elimination process, find myself out in New York, work my mind off accessing councils and meetings, finally manage to get around the most beautiful city in the world. From a chair & laptop based in Kraków, Poland, I was walking 44 street, Manhattan, NYC. The process was long, but began with a dream & an e-mail. I keep such things in mind to keep me on track. If XYZ was possible, why do I get stuck on smaller achievements? Why do I feel down, when there are things that should make me more confident? Why do I believe I’m floating, when there were times, when I was swimming? Self-motivation can be a good thing. But…
I can’t overthink the past.
Ok, so there are things, that I’ve done terribly wrong. Bad decisions, lack of care for my improvement, waisted time. There’s a good grief point for our consideration, on how we messed up, but it should lead to a conclusion — what could be done better & how we can learn from our mistakes. It’s hard, especially if you are not a Harry Potter character, and you can’t reverse time. Take for example my waisted time, while I was on an 3-month onboarding process. I told myself, that I should learn SEM & SEO tools — with the time given I should, but it was not pushed or expected, just for self-ambition I knew, that such knowledge will benefit in future. Then I had time, now… when I really need those tools at hand, I’m starting from zero point, watching YouTube over & over on the basis of Google Analytics. If I had done it before, I could be more efficient. And here I am, wondering if this article will even reach readers, since I know nothing on positioning on the web. Two deep breaths. Ok, can I still learn it? Yes I can. But…
Small steps & written workflow
Having a workflow helps, even if your planing your personal life and you are the one that sets deadlines. If I try doing all at once, I’ll probably get frustrated & it won’t work, although piled up ambitions, all scream out loud “solve us now!”. I try to divide my “I wannas” to smaller pieces — not just “Learn SEM & SEO” — but: research where you want to learn that, how many online lectures can I watch per week, when I practice my new skills ect. Smaller pieces fit better — 20 minutes of a lecture everyday, sounds & fits to my daily schedule than 2,5 hours weekly. And I can still push things simultaneously, so I get the feeling of having done a lot, at once. When I have it planed, I tend to build an analog calendar — I use just my notebook to place there the most important notes, dates, to do’s and I take deep pleasure from crossing things out of the list.
A nichilist motivation
So now it’s time to push myself to work — I can either visualize the perspectives on what will happen when I finish my tasks according to schedule, I can also make small reward’s list on completed assignments. But, that works just sometimes — that’s the positive site to my story. On the other hand, there are days, when the negative site works. Can I stay stuck? If yes, what will “not” happen? For how long I can feel down? How do I “make” more time for self-improvement? Come on, my friend learned Java in half a year and I can’t finish a text? With a well planed workflow, small pins to my ego work. That’s why I get up, write an article on being stuck and get my mind around some real work.
