Making a Start is Half the Battle
Posted On: 2007-11-12
It's often easy to think that you're the only one in the world who sometimes struggles to get things done. You've got to build another gallery today but ... well ... you don't really feel like doing it. You've got a schedule to work to for your next free site but ... well ... you don't even know where to begin.
You can't seem to think of a theme even though you've got plenty of images to use. You can't think of a suitable layout for your pages. You want to try something different but you just can't decide what that ‘something different' might be. You know you've got to work but ... well ... you just can't get motivated.
It's easy to find distractions online that take you away from the work you should be doing. The world outside your window looks really inviting and maybe the beach isn't too far away. Hell you might even be prepared to do some housework rather than make a start on what you really should be doing.
Yep, if that's how you feel from time to time then Steve and I can really relate to you right now. We've just come off a great weekend where we didn't do much of anything at all. We bummed around ... we hit our favorite cafe for breakfast and coffee ... we watched dugongs playing out in the water ... we slept in ... we just unwound.
And now that the weekend's over we're struggling to get wound up again. But it's a big week for us with a very major project about to finally start and so we need to be wound up. We need to be switched on and motivated and there's no room for feeling lazy or listless. We've had our weekend off and now we need to get down to work.
But how do we do it? How do we get a start on the work when we would rather be doing just about anything other than sitting in front of our computer screens? Heck ... even getting into the groove to write this article was a bit of a struggle.
Well to make a start on writing this article my first step was to shut down all the other distractions and open up a new document on my word processor and start typing. Yes, I know that may sound rather simplistic but that's all it takes to make a start and making a start on a job that you have to do is half the battle over and done with.
I had to write an article so I started typing about what was on my mind right now. Overcoming lethargy and getting back into the work groove was important for me so that's what I started writing about. Obviously I've had to go back and rewrite parts of it just to tidy it up but it's shaken me out of my weekend and put me back on the path towards another productive week.
You may not have to write an article but if you've got a gallery or a free site to build then open up a new page in your HTML editor and start putting together a web page. Start with a header, add in some sales text, throw some images at it and get back into the groove of doing what you know you have to do.
Of course, if you're facing your monitor with no motivation to work ... and you're not coming off a weekend of relaxation ... then perhaps your brain is telling you that you really do need a break. If you've been working to the max for days and days and now you can't get motivated then do take a break. Switch your computer off, get up and get out of the house for some fresh air and a change of scenery.
You simply cannot work day after day after day without any sort of break. Your creative ability withers and dies when you try to work like that. If you want to make money in this industry then you do need to stay creative even if you're only building free sites and galleries. So give yourself a break.
When you come back you may find that you don't need any motivation to get started on more work. Sometimes just the break is enough to revive you and get you interested in what you have to do but if it isn't enough then try the simple strategy that I outlined above.
Just make a start ... you might have to go back and clean up some of the things you've done in making that start but making a start is half the battle when you need to get motivated.