starting a side project whether it's for personal development creativity or business
is one of the most rewarding ways to spend your free time free time a funny concept in a day
there's not much of it but add it up over the course of a year and there's a lot you could do
in a day you won't notice much but in a year you can look back and see spectacular progress
in a year that is if you start now many think starting is the hardest part i disagree starting
is exciting starting is full of hope starting is fun starting is the second hardest part
the first hardest part is continuing after things get tough a month in and you may tire
of staying up an extra hour or waking up early to make the most of your free time
free time isn't free after all it comes with a price and paying that regularly will make
quitting something you constantly debate winning that debate that's the hardest part
in the past year i embraced the side project in doing so i've learned a few things
some hard skills like narrating an audiobook or drawing in photoshop but also some soft skills
such as time management and burnout prevention these soft skills have enabled me to find time
and stay motivated making my side project a key part of my life a habit ingrained in my very being
if you're thinking of starting a side project here are a few tips in developing a process so when the
excitement fades and the going gets tough they'll catch you and keep you moving forward develop a
schedule from march 28 to november 14 2020 i published 34 videos documenting myself typing
the great gatsby before i started the project i knew the possibility of me giving up was very high
for the first few episodes i was looking forward to typing and recording my process but after the
fifth episode with many more to go i couldn't wait for it to be over in order to avoid collapsing and
giving up on the project i decided to publish weekly every saturday the weekly schedule made
it sacred i'm not a religious person but this was as close as i got to attending church i had
to show up once a week by having a weekly schedule i could plan for the future once you plan for the
future you can anticipate how your week is going to go and ask yourself when am i going to do it
the time for me was often after work on friday starting a sad project is all about how you manage
your time and one of the easiest ways to manage time is to set a schedule whether it's a daily
or weekly mark make sure you have one this can be as simple as something you track in your calendar
over the course of many months you can scroll back and see every time you showed up little by
little when i was recording the narration of the metamorphosis by friends kafka i did a little
bit every night to avoid burnout starting a side project can be exciting and you might get obsessed
however if you don't pace yourself you could end up draining all your energy and interest if your
side project is going to be worth anything odds are it'll take more than a few days to complete
therefore doing little by little bit by bit day by day you can get the project to the finish line
spreading your project out through the course of time also allows you to develop
a relationship with it it becomes a phase you go through a season you can reflect on
when i was recording the metamorphosis i knew i could find a day hunker down and record the whole
book if i did that i would only have one recording session and that would only be one chance to learn
try and do instead i chose to record a couple paragraphs each day and edit it in batches each
recording session was a whole new experience with its own challenges and by overcoming new
challenges each time i learned more the more times i did it the more i learned this experience was
the real metamorphosis use a list with scheduling milestones and doing a little consistently
working on side projects became a part of my everyday life once something becomes a part
of your everyday life you'll find that you may not have the same amount of free time every day
there are some days where you just need to do less thinking less brainstorming just do
my advice when anticipating busy or tiring days is to have a list prepared work off of a list so that
you know what you need to get done today tomorrow and maybe even a week from now earlier this year
i wanted to improve my digital illustration this was an extracurricular activity that
i might not have ample time for every day yet it was something i wanted to do daily drawing
pokemon allowed me to follow a list which enabled me to practice without having to be inspired
i didn't need a muse i only needed to know which pokemon was next on the list to draw pokemon is
an easy choice because all those critters are numbered if you aren't pursuing anything that
involves pokemon you'll have to develop a long list of your own and work your way through it
little by little once the list is done evaluate your experience ask yourself is this something
you want to keep doing if the answer is yes make a bigger list if the answer is no you finished it
you can hold your head up high and pursue another side project that's the beautiful thing about a
list eventually if you're disciplined with your scheduling and your little by little you'll get
to the end as i mentioned consistency is the key not getting started however in order to remain
consistent when things get hard how you start and how you prepare will make all the difference
so remember make a schedule pace yourself and follow your list before you know it time will
pass and your side project will be done what side project are you working on let me know in
the comments below and for more videos on writing and the creative process don't forget to subscribe
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