#5 of ~ “ The 10 things I learned making a short film that took 10 years to make that I finished 10 years ago.”
Go back to part 4 here
5) Chunks of Time
Now, if I had settled on finishing the film by spending just five minutes everyday on it, I would still be making it 100 years from now. Five minutes is a means to an end, and more psychological then completely practical. Enter the Chunks of Time method. For a few years on Christmas vacation or if I could take a week off or have a long weekend I would set a mini goal (goals again) of “I will complete x by the time I go back to work.” This deadline of utilizing a gift of free time became a huge motivator. I looked at it like a challenge. “Can you accomplish that one big thing in 7 days? Watch me!” The important thing here is to pick one thing and focus! Once you finish that one thing, if you still have time, focus on the next thing or enjoy your vacation, you earned it. Singular focus is extremely important so as not to get overwhelmed and to be much more efficient. You’ll find stopping and starting ( as invariably will happen if you are making your film on the side) not very efficient. Since you have to factor in time to go back and remember where you left off. By focusing on one task to its completion you’ll find you are getting your project done before you even knew it.
10 Years later :
I don’t have anymore to add. This is good. The best way to get things done, especially big projects is to tackle them in doable small bits. Those little victories really fuel you to keep going. Breaking up the big goal into smaller goals and then working at with tricks like — game-a-fying or frying your work. Challenges for yourself. I still have to remind myself, trick myself, to do this. It is immensely powerful and empowering.
tomorrow:
6) It has to be a hobby you love
Here we come back to the Why Goal?
