The hurricane in my mind, competing priorities and time
I am far behind the objectives I set for this week, and I am fully aware that I will miss the deadlines for many goals this month. In the image above, I stand in front of a beautiful mountain I want to climb, and these are my goals. My ambitions and adventures are right before my eyes. There’s not enough time, and competing priorities are a hurricane in my mind. I am overwhelmed with my ideas and how much work there’s to be done. Also, I am almost three months into the two-year deadline I gave myself before my resignation. Does it sound small? That’s 12.5% of the time gone; it makes me nervous.
So what do you do? Firstly, you let the storm cook. The words and the thoughts must have their say. Let them talk to you! I have felt helpless and depressed in the last four days, but I have listened to it all. This afternoon, I wrote in my diary, “Good things take time. CALM YOURSELF DOWN”.
Secondly, I forgot that one of my roles as a software architect was always to keep business objectives in mind in a priority order. I worked strategically, and whenever my team panicked, I tried my best to address the situation by keeping the priorities, costs and benefits in mind. In my situation now, I am the strategic leader and the team. I am the only one in multiple roles. I am the YouTuber behind and in front of the camera. I am the writer of my blogs, newsletters and other magazines. I am the guy who posts on social media and edits the photos and the videos. I refine my ideas, think strategically…. and the list goes on. I am not just posting YouTube videos; a lot is happening behind the scenes that fills my diary. I have had no break in the last three weeks, including weekends. I am busy laying the foundation for future business. And yes, I have not ignored my health or family.
So, I put on my strategic leader’s hat and removed all other hats. I wrote my objectives on the board in priority order and assigned them a value. I can’t ask myself to do everything at once; it will lead to chaos, confusion, and burnout. “I need to keep my sh!t together! Prioritise my dreams and work.”
The scale of the goals I have set for myself is daunting, but I have trained for it in my previous life as an employee. The difference this time is that this is very personal.
Set goals > prioritise > break down your priorities into smaller tasks > work > self-analysis > repeat.
Also, I helped myself by celebrating what I have achieved.
From 0 to 4000 YouTube subscribers and growing. I wasn’t expecting that to happen this quickly—one viral video and hopefully another one on the way.
My newsletter family has grown to about 362 people.
So far, I have had so much creative and personal fulfilment. I have learned so much, and the way forward is becoming more apparent.
Through creative endeavours, I have covered 20% of my expenses in the last two months. I never expected that.
I am writing for an international site in the US and getting paid.
I will be published soon and paid in a popular South African magazine.
A short film of mine will be shown in a cinema next month, followed by a Q&A (says a person who doesn’t like the spotlight… )
I have done two retrospectives, one on finance and the other on progress, which have helped me identify areas for improvement.
I shouldn’t be afraid of walking slowly. I should only be scared of standing still. I have achieved a lot, and more is to come!
Your support has meant more to me than you can imagine, and your replies to my emails have made my day and kept me motivated. Stay in touch, fam! Your feedback is welcome.
Quote of the week: “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value" ~Albert Einstein
Video of the week: The Real First Step: Overcoming The Mental Climb To Success (I share my video this week)
Kind regards
Muji
