How To Progress On A Personal Project. My First 100 Blog Post.

I have always been interested in many things. But with a hectic job, I used to think that I wouldn’t be able to get my personal projects done. Until one day, I started to apply “The One Thing” to the projects that mattered to me.

Thanks to this, I had the chance to run marathons, one iron man, learn 3 languages, and dedicate a year to intensive reading…

And for the year 2021, I’ve started a blog project. Why?

I like to read and share my experiences and I thought it would also improve my English (my native language is French).

Without being a writer, and not even in my native language, I could line up 100 blogs and over 64,000 words.

So imagine what you could do in just one year.

Why am I telling you this?

Because you can replicate this method and make massive progress on any of your projects, that’s what I’ll share below…

I’ll use my last project as an example and describe the four steps process. But this applies to all your dreams. You just need to adapt it.

1. Intention: what do you want?

At the end of the year, I work on my life plan and review my dreams and projects. I go through my diary and find most of my desires. If you don’t journal, then start, it could be your first project 🙂

I always have too much, and I’ve learned to prune to be effective.

You can never prune enough. When I start the exercise, I always convince myself that I could start the blog, run a marathon, improve my chess game, and progress in Italian and German.

I may know the method, but I always fall into the trap. It’s just expected at this stage. It’s essential to cast a wide net so that you can see everything you want to do.

2. Decide

But then you have to choose.

This is well described in the book “The One Thing.”

Of all these projects, which one do I really want to do. I like to go through the “why” stage.

For each case, write a few lines about your why. And decide.

In 2021, for me, it was the blog. I found notes in my journal where I wrote about this desire for years. And that’s where I had my biggest fears. So I threw myself into it.

3. Work on your process

First things first.

I have a principle that works for me. I dedicate 30 minutes every morning before anything else (including weekends). I’ve tried it at other times and often the demands of the day take all my energy and I don’t have the courage anymore.

This doesn’t mean that I do everything in the morning, but I dedicate my first half-hour to the project.

In the case of the blog, the most important and most challenging part is the writing. So what do you think I start with? Yes, the writing. I never said it would be easy :). I’m just saying it’s super effective.

Then on the weekends or in the late afternoon, I want to do more because I’m already caught up in it. Search a book, work on my notes, connect ideas, edit my text ect…..

Work on your process.

The better your process, the more efficient you will be.

I’ve read dozens of ways to do it for writing and tried different ones. Until one day, I started to feel more comfortable with mine. A kind of creation that I have improved with each trial. It looks like this today : ( it’s constantly in motion, I’m sure I’ll improve it again)

• Collecting ideas => Tools: Drafts/evernote
• Review my ideas and choose => Evernote
• Open a mind map and write the structure => Mindmanager
• Search my notes/books => Evernote
• Write in one draft without stopping on punctuation and grammar => Panel note in MindManager.
• Proofread and edit => Google note.
• Publish

And it was different for learning languages or preparing a race, but the substance remains the same. Work on the process; it will help you be consistent and efficient.

4. What you don’t know yet.

A project always brings you more than you think.

Let’s continue with the example of the blog.

Direct effects.

• Improve my learning. I work more on my notes, my reading, I retain, apply and grow more.
• English as a second language. I read with more attention and look up words and expressions I don’t know. Dialogue, exchange, answer questions in English.

Indirect effects.

• Through the blog and communities like Reddit and Twitter, I have connected with hundreds of people I have common interests. It’s an enriching intellectual journey.
• More satisfied with my main job. As I work on my projects before my day starts, I feel more fulfilled and start my workday fresher. I enjoy and perform better at my work.
• I had more courage to quit: And yes, even though I enjoyed what I was doing till the last day. My reflection on the blog clarified what I wanted to do. I loved my job but it was taking up most of my time. And I wanted it back. The greatest wealth for me is time. So when the opportunity presented itself. I quit.
  Even if it was not its first vocation, my side project allowed me to test the field. And I was more confident at the end of the year to take the plunge. After one month, I’m happy with the choice.

Conclusion.

We all have the same time in our possession. A few adjustments on how we use it can make huge differences. We know more or less all these settings, but we rarely use them.

I started only 6 years ago to implement the “Annual Project,” which changed my life. Each experience has given me a lot directly and even more indirectly. I wish I had understood this 20 years ago 🙂

None of us knows how long we have on earth, but we all know we are just passing through. So let’s take advantage of every moment to live our dreams.

It is within your reach. Don’t deprive yourself anymore…

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